America's Egg Farmers Launch New School Program to Help Students Start the Day Right With a Healthy Breakfast

PARK RIDGE, Ill., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- While it may seem elementary, eating a nutritious protein-rich breakfast helps students stay more attentive throughout the day, maximizing learning and achievement. A number of scientific studies have concluded that the benefits of breakfast include improved memory recall time, improved grades and higher test scores.(1)

However, many families struggle to feed their children breakfast on the weekdays. According to Share Our Strength's recent "Hunger in America's Classrooms" report, 62 percent of teachers see children come to school hungry each week. As a result, teachers report a range of physical and behavioral symptoms in their students, including lack of concentration, lethargy and stomach aches.(2)

America's egg farmers are teaming up with Scholastic to unveil the "Good Egg Project Back to Breakfast Teacher Challenge" and a national education program – "Incredible Breakfast, Incredible Achievement" – to ensure children eat a balanced breakfast each morning. The Challenge will award grants to teachers nationwide to help improve students' nutritious eating, thereby, improving performance in school.

The "Incredible Breakfast, Incredible Achievement" program includes a set of standards-based lessons, family activities and recipes that encourage students and families to learn more about the importance of eating a well-balanced breakfast. This fall, more than 100,000 programs will be distributed to classrooms nationwide and in addition, teachers will be able to access the free materials online at www.scholastic.com/allabouteggs.

"We are committed to helping Americans eat nutritious breakfasts, especially children," says Craig Willardson, Chairman of the American Egg Board, which represents America's egg farmers. "We're pleased to join forces with Scholastic to launch the 'Good Egg Project Back to Breakfast Teacher Challenge,' which aims to get children to eat the high-quality protein breakfast they need to focus and perform their very best. Children will reap the benefits of a high-quality protein breakfast, like improved grades and higher test scores."

How to Enter

The "Good Egg Project Back to Breakfast Teacher Challenge" is open to teachers in grades 1-8 in the United States. To enter, visit www.scholastic.com/allabouteggs to submit a 300-500 word essay explaining how a $5,000 grant would help improve achievement, attentiveness and attendance in the classroom starting with the most important meal of the day – breakfast.

Essays should include creative ideas and solutions on how to provide a protein breakfast to students at school along with plans to enhance food education in the classroom, starting with the benefits of high-quality protein foods, like eggs, to start the day. All entries must include a budget outline along with a list of necessary resources to implement the program, a timeline and faculty approval should the idea be accepted.

Twelve teachers will receive the $5,000 grant to bring their ideas to life. Each winning teacher will also receive a video camera to document the idea from conception to implementation.

At just $0.15 apiece, eggs are all-natural and provide one of the highest-quality proteins of any food available. An ideal breakfast choice, the protein in eggs provides the mind and body with the energy students need to stay alert and active throughout the school day.  

To learn more about the Good Egg Project, visit www.GoodEggProject.org, and for quick and easy weekday breakfast recipes at home, visit the Recipes & More section on www.IncredibleEgg.org.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Contest runs from April 13, 2010 to May 17, 2010. Void where prohibited. Visit www.scholastic.com/allabouteggs to enter the challenge and view the complete rules.    

(1) Pollitt E, et al. Fasting and cognition in well-and undernourished school children: a review of three experimental studies. AJCN 1998;67:779S-784S.

(2) Lake Research Partners for Share Our Strength's Teachers Report. Survey conducted online with random sample of 740 K-8 teachers nationwide. Research was conducted Oct 21 to Oct 28, 2009. The margin of error for the survey is +/- 3.6%.

About the Good Egg Project

The Good Egg Project is an effort by America's egg farmers and the American Egg Board to educate people about where eggs come from and encourage people to pledge to "Eat good. Do good everyday." For each pledge made on the campaign Web site, America's egg farmers will donate one egg to Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger relief charity, up to one million eggs. Visit www.GoodEggProject.org to learn more about modern egg farming and how to give back to the community and live more healthfully.

About Scholastic

To learn more about Scholastic, visit http://mediaroom.scholastic.com.

SOURCE American Egg Board