Action for Healthy Kids® Launches Lights, Camera, Breakfast Contest

Highlights Alternative School Breakfast Programs

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Oct 08, 2015, 10:30 ET

CHICAGO, Oct. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Action for Healthy Kids announces the Lights, Camera, Breakfast Contest to highlight the importance of alternative school breakfast programs nationwide in helping kids start the school day with a nutritious meal. Eligible schools are invited to showcase their school breakfast programs through a creative video that could win their school a grand prize of $5,000 to put toward school breakfast and health and wellness programming. Entries will be accepted between October 8, 2015 and January 8, 2016 at www.ActionforHealthyKids.org/Contest.

In 2014, only 44 percent of students participating in the National School Lunch Program also participated in school breakfast programming (30.3 million lunch participants vs. 13.5 million breakfast participants, according to the USDA), which means that millions of low-income children are not receiving a nutritious breakfast available to them at school. Alternative school breakfast programs incorporate this important meal into the school morning through a variety of models that reach students where they are located, including breakfast in the classroom, after the bell, in the hallway, or near the cafeteria and school entrance where grab-and-go breakfast works best. By increasing access to school breakfast and removing obstacles that prevent students from taking advantage of the program, schools are able to increase breakfast participation and feed more kids who would otherwise go without.

"Routinely we see that kids who need school breakfast the most don't or can't easily participate until programs like alternative school breakfast are implemented," said Rob Bisceglie, CEO Action for Healthy Kids. "We know the benefits of eating school breakfast – from increased attendance and better behavior to improved cognition and academic performance – and want to showcase all the ways schools have made great strides through alternative breakfast programs."

Eligible schools must 1) be state accredited schools (K - 12) located in the 50 United States and Washington, D.C. that offer an alternative breakfast program as part of their National School Breakfast Program (e.g. breakfast in the classroom, grab-and-go breakfast, second chance breakfast) and 2) have 40% or more of the student population eligible for free/reduced-price meals. To enter, schools are invited to submit a 1-minute video that creatively demonstrates their alternative school breakfast model. A panel of judges, including a representative from the School Nutrition Association, will judge the video submissions based on creativity, overall quality of submission, the best demonstration of alternative breakfast, and connection to the School Nutrition Association's 2016 National School Breakfast Week theme of "Wake Up to School Breakfast." Prizes include one $5,000 grand prize, two $1,000 runners-up prizes, and seven prizes of $200 each awarded to third-place winners.

Official rules and entry form for the video contest can be found at www.ActionforHealthyKids.org/Contest. This contest is made possible with support from the Kellogg Company Fund.

Since 2009, Action for Healthy Kids and Kellogg Company Fund have helped schools launch or expand alternative school breakfast programs that have helped schools increase student participation in the National School Breakfast program, on average, by 47 percent. For more information on school breakfast programs, view Action for Healthy Kids' recently released School Breakfast Impact Report at www.ActionforHealthyKids.org/Reports.

About Action for Healthy Kids®
Action for Healthy Kids® is a nationwide grassroots network supporting school-based healthy eating and physical activity improvements that increase academic success. With funding opportunities, expert technical assistance and our flagship program, Game On, we mobilize schools, administrators and parents to develop healthy school environments for children. To learn more about the ways our 90,000+ volunteer network is helping to make Every Kid Healthy™, visit us at www.ActionforHealthyKids.org, on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/act4healthykids) and on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Act4HlthyKids).

About Kellogg Company Fund
Kellogg Company Fund is the charitable arm of Kellogg Company. At Kellogg Company (NYSE: K), we are driven to enrich and delight the world through foods and brands that matter. With 2014 sales of $14.6 billion and more than 1,600 foods, Kellogg is the world's leading cereal company; second largest producer of cookies, crackers and savory snacks; and a leading North American frozen foods company. Our brands – Kellogg's®, Keebler®, Special K®, Pringles®, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes®, Pop-Tarts®, Kellogg's Corn Flakes®, Rice Krispies®, Cheez-It®, Eggo®, Mini-Wheats® and more – nourish families so they can flourish and thrive. Through our Breakfasts for Better Days^TM initiative, we're providing 1 billion servings of cereal and snacks – more than half of which are breakfasts – to children and families in need around the world by the end of 2016. To learn more, visit www.kelloggcompany.com or follow us on Twitter @KelloggCompany, YouTube and on Social K.

SOURCE Action for Healthy Kids