As Marion County children return to their school routines, the healthiest habit remains eating a good breakfast. Tight budgets and busy morning schedules often end with little or no time for what many consider the most important meal of the day.
Almost half of all Indiana public school students (45 percent) are eligible for free and reduced school meals. Marion County schools offer free and reduced breakfast opportunities. However, many children are reluctant to participate because they do not want to be identified as low-income. Nationally, only 44 percent of eligible children eat the free breakfast. To combat this, a program called Universal Breakfast is providing a breakfast option for all children.
In Warren Township, Universal Breakfast is offered to elementary-aged students. The program is voluntary and is more efficient than having some students eat in the cafeteria and potentially miss instructional time. A cooler with milk, juice and an entrée sits outside each classroom and students can choose to participate. The Marion County Public Health Department supports such programs for their obvious benefits.
“Studies have shown that eating a healthy breakfast improves student performance and behavior. With Universal Breakfast, not only are we offering a potentially hungry child a healthy breakfast, but we remove the stigma that sometimes attaches itself to students receiving free and reduced-price meals,” said Shawn L. Wellman, R.D., administrator of the Nutrition Services and WIC program for the Marion County Public Health Department.
“Children who eat breakfast at school eat more fruit, drink more milk and consume a wider variety of foods,” said Wellman.
Research has indicated that children, who eat breakfast at school, closer to class and test-taking time, often perform better on tests than those who skip breakfast or eat at home.
Health Department Offers Online Restaurant Inspection Web Link
The Marion County Public Health Department offers a convenient, web-based means for anyone to quickly access local restaurant and food service inspection reports.
The link is available through the health department’s website at www.mchd.com.
The online site features the most recent food inspection reports, identifies the establishment as smoking or non-smoking, provides multiple ways to locate the inspection reports and includes mapping capabilities to accurately locate all 4,478 licensed food service providers in Marion County, including all 2,552 licensed restaurants.
“This site was established to increase consumer knowledge and to do so in an easy-to-use manner,” said Dr. Virginia A. Caine, director, Marion County Public Health Department. “This is another tool to educate and make the community healthier.”
Those wanting to search a particular establishment can access information through a geographical section of the county, an address, street name, and a partial spelling of the restaurant name or by type of establishment.
