Expanded Breakfast Success Story: Appling County

November 20, 2018

Appling County School Nutrition Director, Ellen Carter, reached out to The Dairy Alliance at the beginning of the 2017 school year for help to increase breakfast participation in their district schools. Appling County has low breakfast participation in both the high and middle school where participation was at 10.7% and 19.7% respectively. The main challenge for these schools was the lack of proper equipment to expand breakfast service beyond the cafeteria. The Dairy Alliance partnered with The Alliance for a Healthier Generation and presented grant opportunities to the Appling County Schools Wellness Committee. Appling County Middle School chose a Breakfast in Classroom model and was awarded insulated cooler bags with travel carts. Appling County High School started a Second Chance Breakfast service to capture more students after the first period. Grant funding for this school provided rolling milk barrels to transport milk. Both breakfast solutions resulted in increased breakfast participation and dairy consumption. Appling County Middle School breakfast participation jumped to 77.2 percent, an increase of 57.6% from the previous school year. The high school breakfast participation rose to 87% which was a 76.3% increase. Between the two schools, milk consumption increased by 13.6% moving a total of 68,536 more pounds of milk in the 2017-2018 school year. Yogurt offerings for breakfast at both schools increased by 120%. “Thanks to The Dairy Alliance, The Appling County School Nutrition Program was able to drastically increase our breakfast participation! The grant funding opportunities allowed us to expand breakfast options for students by purchasing updated equipment that ensures foods are held at proper temperatures for grab and go sites, as well as, breakfast in the classroom. This increase in participation has made a huge impact on the success of our school nutrition program! We are very grateful for the support from The Dairy Alliance,” said Ellen Carter, Appling County School Nutrition Director.