Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - As students returned to classes this week, New York's public school students received free breakfast for the first time. It's something that's been done in Buffalo for a decade now.
Chief Operating Officer Lou Petrucci says the district is trying to be compliant with both USDA and New York State Education requirements. "Basically it comes down to you want a grain, a fruit and milk, the three components that you see in your balanced breakfast every morning," says Petrucci.
Petrucci says a challenge is trying to reduce processed sugar in breakfast as well, but also having food children want to eat and not produce any type of food waste. "We're always trying to work with our advisory boards and our parents groups and other things to come up with foods that are both nutritious but children will eat as well," says Petrucci. "When it comes to lunch, there are vegetarians and salads and other options as well. But breakfast, they're more limited, and they do tend to have things like French toast sticks that the kids love, but they tend to skew more the other side of the nutritional chart."
Petrucci says while sometimes muffins and cereals are on the menu, breakfast offerings are fortified with vitamins and minerals and meet the requirements provided, "but are we always trying to provide more and healthier options? Yes, we are, but we also want to make sure that we have things that children will eat as well, always trying to source as much of our fruits, vegetables and proteins locally." He says many of the produce the district uses comes from WNY.
The district has provided free breakfasts for about a decade.