SHARE

Stamford High School Launches 'It Starts With School Breakfast'

STAMFORD, Conn. -- Stamford High School is celebrating the beginning of the "It Starts With School Breakfast" campaign.

New York Giants Linebacker Mark Herzlich, center, and Connecticut dairy farmer Melissa Greenbacker, left, hosted the Stamford High School assembly.

New York Giants Linebacker Mark Herzlich, center, and Connecticut dairy farmer Melissa Greenbacker, left, hosted the Stamford High School assembly.

Photo Credit: Courtesy Stamford High School

"Fuel Up to Play 60, Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry" campaign and Dean Foods launched the campaign in Connecticut with a schoolwide event at Stamford High School. The campaign is set to increase school breakfast awareness and participation across the country so that all kids start each day with the fuel they need to help them succeed.

New York Giants linebacker Mark Herzlich and Connecticut dairy farmer Melissa Greenbacker hosted the schoolwide assembly and spoke with students about the many benefits of eating breakfast at school. Greenbacker presented the school with a $4,777 check for Fuel Up to Play 60 to help the school implement a new Grab ‘n’ Go breakfast program, representatives said. 

“School breakfast is one of the most important things we can offer our students,” said Donna A. Valentine, principal of Stamford High. “It is our duty as school administrators to make sure our students have access to healthy foods at school throughout the day. School breakfast is essential to a child’s ability to learn. It’s a tool for success just like books, homework, and class time.”

Funding for this program is provided by the dairy farm families of Connecticut through a partnership between the Connecticut Milk Promotion Board and New England Dairy & Food Council.

“Consuming a healthy school breakfast helps students establish positive eating habits that contribute to a lifetime of overall better health,” said Patricia Dombroski, interim administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service Northeast Region, U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Research shows that serving students fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean meats improves academic performance, decreases visits to the nurse and positively impacts classroom behavior.”

Dean Foods is contributing $100,000 in grant money to fund breakfast initiatives at Fuel Up to Play 60 schools across the country. Garelick Farms, part of the Dean Foods family of brands, is helping to support this exciting campaign in schools and at retail throughout New England.

“Success truly starts with school breakfast. Powering up with a healthy breakfast every day at school will keep students energized and productive throughout the entire school day,” said Greenbacker, dairy farmer of Greenbacker’s Brookfield Farm in Durham, Conn. “The dairy farm families of Connecticut are proud to support school breakfast initiatives through the 'Fuel Up to Play 60 program'.”

to follow Daily Voice Stamford and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE