The One Healthy Breakfast Program (OHBP) is a direct education, social marketing, and PSE change intervention designed to improve home, community, and school food environments to ensure that every student starts their day with a healthy breakfast. Direct education is delivered by classroom teachers utilizing the Breakfast Learning Activities for Students and Teachers (BLAST) curriculum, an interactive lesson series that encourages students in grades 4-8 to learn behavior-changing skills through analyzing and evaluating foods and their food choices. Social marketing campaigns take place through branded promotional materials for use in schools and the community, monthly newsletters to families, and corner store social marketing to encourage students to choose healthy breakfast items. PSE change occurs through promotion of breakfast after the bell options in schools. These components are combined with community engagement to provide students and their families the tools needed to choose healthier options in the morning regardless of whether they eat at home, school, or at the corner store.
Intervention Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Food Insecurity/Food Assistance
SNAP-Ed Strategies Direct Education, Social Marketing, PSE Change
OHBP targets elementary and middle school students and their parents in the school and corner store settings. Researchers conducted a randomized control trial with 16 schools: 8 intervention and 8 control. The schools were over 50% eligible for free and reduced-price meals.
Settings: Community-wide, Retail, Schools, USDA program sites
Age/Population Group: Elementary School, Middle School, Parents/Caregivers
Race: All
Ethnicity: All
The OHBP includes providing breakfast after the bell, integrating breakfast-related nutrition education, marketing strategies, engaging families and communities, and evaluating outcomes. These intervention components engage all members of the school community-teachers, parents, staff, students, administrators and community resources-to come together with the shared goal of encouraging every student to eat One Healthy Breakfast every day, thereby improving their long-term health and academic outcomes. Breakfast after the bell can take many forms including grab-and-go breakfast, breakfast in the classroom, and second-chance breakfast. Districts can decide on their preferred form. The number of lessons taught can vary by grade and teacher involvement. Family and community engagement methods can also vary. Engaging corner store owners is important in urban areas where students are buying food or drinks on the way to school. While all components are important, communities can choose which best fit their needs.
The One Healthy Breakfast Program was designed to increase the consumption of a healthy breakfast through a comprehensive approach. Materials to support adoption and implementation of the Program include:
- OHBP toolkit
- Program logic model
- Student workbook and lesson plans for BLAST nutrition curriculum
- Corner store marketing materials
- Promotional materials for schools
Materials are available to order by emailing: contact@thefoodtrust.org
Researchers conducted a randomized control trial with 16 schools (8 intervention; 8 control). Schools were over 50% eligible for free and reduced-price meals. All students and their families in these schools were encouraged to participate in the program. Two to three corner stores within a few blocks of each school also participated. Participants were 4th-6th graders at baseline, followed until they were in grades 6th-8th. Among the 1,362 students in the randomized control trial, after 2.5 years, students in intervention schools had participated in the School Breakfast Program 53.8% of days, compared with 24.9% of days among students in control schools. There was no difference between intervention and control in the combined incidence of overweight and obesity. The incidence and prevalence of obesity was higher in intervention schools than in controls. Further research is needed to identify approaches to increase participation in the School Breakfast Program that do not increase obesity among students.
- Effect of a Breakfast in the Classroom Initiative on Obesity in Urban School-aged Children: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial
- Offering Breakfast in the Classroom Children's Weight Outcomes
Evidence Base: Research-tested
Based on the SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework, the following outcome indicators can be used to evaluate intervention progress and success.
| Readiness and Capacity - Short Term (ST) | Changes - Medium Term (MT) | Effectiveness and Maintenance - Long Term (LT) | Population Results (R) | |
| Individual | MT1 | |||
| Environmental Settings | ST7 | MT5 | ||
| Sectors of Influence |
- ST7a: Schools, parent groups, corner stores, and academic partners partnered with the One Healthy Breakfast Program to work together to promote healthy breakfasts at home, the corner store, and at school.
- MT5a: All intervention corner stores and schools posted youth-oriented marketing materials near healthy breakfast food and drinks.
Currently, no evaluation tools or materials are available.
Website: The One Healthy Breakfast Program website (www.thefoodtrust.org) includes information on food access and The Food Trust's mission and programs.
Contact Person:
Sandra Sherman - Nutrition Advisor
215-575-0444
*Updated as of August 8, 2023