San Benito High School
Hollister, California

When San Benito High School in Hollister, CA received a school breakfast grant from Action for Healthy Kids, the school’s kitchen staff were overcome with a sense of opportunity that would change the way students would be served breakfast for many years to come.

20190118 104855Before the grant, which was sponsored by Walmart Foundation, the school’s culinary team would lay out an array of healthy goodies in the cafeteria, and students would whiz by, grabbing all the food to go. They thought it was pretty wonderful to be able to produce a wholesome morning meal for their students that they enjoy, but they felt there was something missing. In order to give the students an interactive experience that offered them more customization, the culinary team decided that adding a fruit and yogurt bar could meet this need.

With their awarded breakfast grant, San Benito now has everything they need for students to create their tasty yogurt bowls with a variety of fruit and other healthy toppings. Students provided positive feedback, calling it a “great option” and saying how much they “love that this is available to us.” Other students were happy to have “a great meatless choice.” Tess Smith, the school nurse, said about the yogurt offering, “Various teachers have stopped to thank me and compliment the department for providing such a great choice in the morning.”

More and more students come daily to enjoy the new breakfast offering, and creativity has grown with what students are choosing to do with their dish. It’s a perfect platform for sampling new and unique fruits and toppings. The students are eating better, and parents are thrilled that their children have such healthy food at school. Also loving the new options are San Benito’s teachers and staff, who are not only grateful to have something good to eat in the mornings but for the positive affects it’s having on their students.