Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
March 13, 2002
Long-running breakfast program a hit at Annunciation School
Government program helps needy students get adequate nutrition
By Alwen Bledsoe
At 7:40 a.m. Denver's Annunciation Catholic Elementary School opens its doors and 80-90 children pile into the cafeteria for a hot and free breakfast. Funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, otherwise known as the USDA, the free breakfasts are a great help to the low-income community the school serves, said Principal Sister Jean Panisko, S.C.L. The School Breakfast Program has been in place at the school for the last 17-18 years, the principal added.
March 6 Sister Panisko welcomed members of the USDA to the cafeteria as a part of School Breakfast Week. The week is designed to promote awareness of breakfast nutrition, said Wendy Henry-Moraski with the public affairs sector of the USDA. Sister Panisko received a plaque of appreciation for the school's long-time participation in the program as parents and students enjoyed a breakfast of milk, oranges and quesadillas (a student favorite).
The School Breakfast Week celebration also included a raffle for small prizes and a booth displaying nutrition-related information. "Sir Five-a-day," however, was the life of the party as he greeted the younger students in his fruit-and-vegetable suit of armor complete with a helmet bedecked with broccoli, a breastplate of corn, and pea-pod shoes. His mission, he told the students, is to promote eating five servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
According to USDA figures, more than 72,000 schools and institutions throughout the country participate in the School Breakfast Program. The federally run program provides states with cash assistance for breakfast programs in schools and child-care programs. Children with families who have incomes at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible for free meals, while those with incomes between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level can receive reduced-price breakfasts.
The program was started in 1966 and requires that meals meet the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Breakfasts also must provide one-fourth of the daily recommendations for protein, calcium, iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and calories.
"Studies done recently show a clear relationship between good nutrition, breakfast, better learning and fewer behavior problems," Henry-Moraski said.
The program allows those who don't receive breakfast at home due to parent work schedules or other factors to benefit from a nutritious breakfast, she added.
Each morning a group of sixth graders sits together to talk and laugh over breakfast. One, Joseph Barrientos, points at the quesadillas.
"These are the best," he said. But, he added, "I don't eat the pancakes."
Damien Greenberg, another sixth-grader at the school, said he eats breakfast most mornings at the school.
"Cause it helps me. It makes me think better," he said.
According to Sister Panisko, Hispanics make up nearly 80 percent of the school's student body, and the meals reflect the Hispanic culture of the area. Breakfast burritos, potato burritos and quesadillas join pancakes and cereal on the breakfast menu. And the extra touch is not lost on the students: many list the quesadillas and burritos as their favorite school breakfast.
After struggling out of the complicated "Sir Five-a-day" costume, Gerald Stankorb, senior food program specialist at the USDA, enjoyed a second helping of breakfast. Asked why he chose Annunciation as the site for the event he shrugged and smiled.
"Because I think it's a really neat place," he said. "And Sister Jean is great."
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