PHOENIX — One in five Americans, or about 60 million people, do not eat or drink anything in the morning before 11 a.m., according to a new analysis by The NPD Group[i]; and millions more opt for nutrient-poor choices on the run. This is despite the fact that studies repeatedly show that skipping breakfast makes it nearly impossible to achieve adequate daily intakes of key nutrients.
The National Milk Mustache "got milk?" Campaign launched The Breakfast Project to tackle this problem and change the way Americans view their morning meal. Locally, Shamrock Farms is extending campaign efforts with sponsored breakfasts at elementary schools and a public call to action benefitting the Arizona Partnership to End Childhood Hunger.
"While we want to raise awareness of the importance of breakfast for all people, we've developed some specific outreach to help children – the population most affected by missing the critical nutrients breakfast and milk in particular can provide," said Sandy Kelly, director of marketing for Shamrock Farms.
In one of the largest ongoing reviews of children's eating habits[ii], researchers found that 10-year-old children who did not eat breakfast failed to meet two-thirds of the recommendations for multiple nutrients, including calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A and phosphorus, among others. All of these nutrients and more are in every glass of milk. If milk is missed in the morning, it is rare for people to compensate for this shortage at other meals.
Shamrock Farms, in partnership with Kellogg's, will visit Arizona elementary schools during National Breakfast Week, March 5 – 9, providing breakfast and teaching kids about the importance of starting their day with a nutrient-rich breakfast. National studies consistently confirm that breakfast helps kids concentrate, think, behave and learn, improving classroom performance. A lesson plan will also be available online for all schools to utilize.
Also beginning March 5 through April 30, 2012, Shamrock Farms is hosting a Facebook "Like" drive to earn servings of milk for children in need. For every new Facebook user to "Like" Shamrock Farms during this time, one 8-oz serving of nutrient-rich milk, up to 10,000 servings, will be donated to the Arizona Partnership to End Childhood Hunger, which in turn will distribute the milk to affiliated summer breakfast programs throughout the state.
While most vulnerable children have access to free or reduced cost breakfast at school through the national School Breakfast Program, options are limited during the summer months to the National Summer Food Service Program sponsored by community and faith based organizations. Unfortunately this program is not available in all communities in Arizona where hunger exists. And the need is great.
"Our summer programs would not be possible without corporate and community support. So we are very excited to have the opportunity to partner with Shamrock Farms to not only raise awareness of this important issue in Arizona, but also do something about it with milk donations," said Linda Hamman, hunger relief program manager for the Arizona Partnership to End Childhood Hunger.
In Arizona, one in four children (24.4%) under the age of 18 live at or below the Federal Poverty Level ($22,350 for a family of four) in 2010. And according to the Feeding America 2010 Hunger in America study, over 888,100 individuals received emergency food assistance, 46 percent of which were children under the age of 18. Further, an unsettling 29 percent of Arizona households with children experienced a food hardship in 2010.
"When every meal and food item counts, milk is one of the most important items we can provide. It is one of the most nutrient-rich foods available, with as much protein as an egg and a total of nine essential nutrients, including three of the four nutrients of critical concern in the American diet – calcium, potassium and vitamin D," said Tina Shepard, MS, RD, Arizona State University School of Nutrition and Health Promotion.
Shamrock Farms continually strives to nourish Arizona families through a strong commitment to the community, which includes donating more than 80,000 pounds of food to local food banks every month. The potential 10,000 servings of Shamrock Farms' milk donated to the Arizona Partnership to End Childhood Hunger will be in addition to this existing commitment.
People interested in learning more are encouraged to visit shamrockfarms.net, where they'll discover important facts about milk's role in a healthy diet and more about the national "got milk?" Breakfast Project, including how to get their own FREE gallon of milk.
About Shamrock Farms
Shamrock Farms, one of the largest family-owned and -operated dairies in the U.S., produces and distributes traditional and organic farm-fresh milk, as well as whipping cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, ice cream and frozen novelties. Shamrock Farms, which has its own farm hosting both a traditional and organic herd totaling more than 10,000 cows, is a division of Shamrock Foods Company, a family-owned and -operated business founded in 1922 in Tucson, Ariz. For more information, visit www.shamrockfarms.net.
[i] The NPD Group. Morning MealScape 2011.
[ii] Nicklas TA, O'Neil CE, Berenson GS. Nutrient contribution of breakfast, secular trends, and the role of ready-to-eat cereals: A review of data from the Bogalusa Heart Study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.1998;67:757S-763S.
Source: Shamrock Farms