A year of hard work paid off for Meriden Public School’s Nutrition Director Susan Maffe, RD and school breakfast programs throughout Meriden, CT!

After receiving over $135,000 in funding from the American Association of School Administrators, Grab ‘N’ Go mobile carts and vending machines were placed into Benjamin Franklin, Nathan Hale, Hanover, Maloney, and Thomas Hooker Elementary Schools; Washington and Lincoln Middle Schools; and O.H. Platt High School.

Rather than depending on students to visit the cafeteria for breakfast, the Grab ‘N’ Go model allows schools to offer breakfast in highly-accessible areas that students pass by while walking to class.

After introducing Grab ‘N’ Go at O.H. Platt and Hanover, student participation in school breakfast increased beyond the nutrition department’s means.

Thus, New England Dairy & Food Council and the dairy farm families of New England provided an additional $28,000 in Grab ‘N’ Go funding for O.H. Platt and Hanover—plus Thomas Edison Magnet Middle School, Casimir Pulaski Elementary School, and Thomas Hooker Elementary School—to handle the surge in participation.

In comparison to the 2014-15 school year, the nutrition department’s efforts resulted in more than 230,000 additional breakfasts being served during the 2015-16 school year. The Nutrition Department now serves an additional 125,000 pounds of dairy annually.

Updated February 24, 2017