Food Services Article - Irving ISD

IISD Breakfast Participation Soars Past State Average

According to the February 2007, Texas Education News publication, participation in school breakfast programs across the state grew 2.3% between the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 school years. Irving ISD posted a 7% increase in students choosing to eat a school breakfast – more than three times the state average – in the same time period.

What factors contributed to the increase in Irving ISD? Irving ISD’s prices for school breakfast are among the lowest in the greater D/FW area, its menus offer more variety than ever before, and innovative breakfast initiatives, such as the “Breakfast in the Classroom” program, continue to make breakfast more accessible than ever before to students. Finally, schools have taken direct action, making sure that breakfast serving times are long enough that any students who want to purchase a healthy and delicious school breakfast have the time to do so.

Numerous studies indicate that students who start their day with a healthy breakfast perform better in school, behave better, and are absent less frequently than students who do not. Thus, Irving ISD’s huge increase in student participation at breakfast would seem to bode well for future student success in school.