Guest bloggers Tori Sarris and Yan Yan Teague are AmeriCorps members currently working on our Fuel Your Future initiative.

Breakfast: we’re taught from childhood that it’s the most important meal of the day. We’re told that eating breakfast is the best way to start your day. While you might consider this an exaggeration and a cliché, it turns out there’s validity behind this statement! Eating breakfast helps get your metabolism moving for the day, gives you energy, helps you focus, and keeps you from getting hangry, which is always a plus.

Eating a healthy, well-rounded meal every morning is something you might take for granted. Many kids in our community don’t have that luxury, however. One in five kids in our community struggles with hunger, and teachers report that 81% of students come to school hungry at least once a week. For some kids, the only meals they can count on each day are the ones provided by their school. While many students participate in the school lunch program, accessing school breakfast is trickier and participation remains much lower.

With this in mind, United Way of King County, Seattle Sounders FC, and No Kid Hungry launched a county-wide breakfast challenge, which is FREE and open to all schools! The Breakfast Challenge rewards schools who see the biggest increases in their breakfast participation.

The Breakfast Challenge (aka #BreakfastChallenge) kicked off at West Seattle Elementary on February 26 with a visit from Sounder midfielder Cristian Roldan and former player/current Director of Community Outreach for the Sounders, Roger Levesque. City Councilmember Lisa Herbold and Seattle School Board/United Way Board of Directors member Dr. Stephan Blanford were in attendance also spoke to hundreds of children at a morning assembly.

United Way’s Breakfast Challenge will continue through the remainder of the school year. More than 50 schools are already participating in a number of ways; hosting taste tests of their breakfasts, offering fun incentives for students who eat breakfast, and even changing their breakfast model with United Way grant money. Any school in King County can participate and are eligible for awesome prizes, ranging from dinner with a local chef, to Sounders tickets, to cash prizes and in-school celebration events. Get your school involved here.