Designed to increase consumption of dairy and other nutritious foods, schools enrolled in the checkoff-funded Fuel Up to Play 60 program are eligible for a "Fuel Up Breakfast Grant" that can be used to create options such as "breakfast in the classroom," "grab 'n' go breakfast from a cart" and "second-chance breakfast after first period."
More than $260,000 has been distributed to 100-plus schools through the Fuel Up Breakfast Grant program, now in its fourth year. A total of $50,000 is available to schools for the 2012-13 year.
Breakfast participation increased 94% through these programs, according to schools that received grants last year. These schools utilized innovative breakfast options that ensure more dairy is available to students.
Grants designed to enhance breakfast programs maximize checkoff dollars.
"This is another example of a partner making a significant investment that helps extend the checkoff investment and is going against the same goals – getting more dairy offered in schools every day," said Paul Rovey, Arizona dairy producer and chair of Dairy Management Inc., which manages the national dairy checkoff.
Schools remain an ideal place to build lifelong dairy consumers. More than 2 billion breakfasts and 5 billion lunches are served in schools each year to 55 million students. This is why producers funded Fuel Up to Play 60, which is in more than 70,000 U.S. schools. Producers and partners collectively award millions of dollars in grants annually to fund FUTP 60 and grow programs that are focused on increasing dairy consumption.
For more information about the checkoff, visit www.dairycheckoff.com.