In recognition of the value of a healthy breakfast to school-age children, Mesa Mayor John Giles proclaimed March 6-10 National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) in the City of Mesa. Mayor Giles presented the proclamation today to Mesa Public Schools' Director of Food and Nutrition Sabrina Kvalve at Westwood High School.
"Access to a balanced, nutritious breakfast is critically important to set our students up for success," said Mayor John Giles. "School breakfast programs are a great tool to ensure students are heading to classrooms nourished and ready to learn."
According to the United Food Bank, 1 in 4 children in Arizona faces food insecurity. U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows that more and more students are starting their day with a nutritious breakfast in their school cafeterias. The School Breakfast Program serves more than 14 million students every day. Mesa Public Schools serves over 13,000 breakfasts each school day and 22 schools serve breakfast in the classroom.
Mayor Giles serves on the executive board of Mesa-based nonprofit organization Az Brainfood and is the Chair of the Mayor's Alliance to End Childhood Hunger, a national coalition of mayors dedicated to ending childhood hunger in cities across the United States. Through both roles, he advocates for local and national policies to help address food insecurity for people of all ages.
National School Breakfast Week is observed annually to promote the importance of a nutritious breakfast to student health and learning and to recognize the role of the federal School Breakfast Program in meeting the nutritional needs of children across the United States.