EAST FRANKLIN – East Franklin Junior High School has received a $1,000 grant from America’s Milk Processors (MilkPEP) for having a top Fuel Up to Play 60 Breakfast Blitz program.

MilkPEP has directed $250,000 in grants to winning schools across the country to improve access to healthy breakfast options.

More than 80,000 votes for more than 11,400 schools across the country were tallied in the contest.

Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program, founded by the National Dairy Council (NDC) and the National Football League (NFL), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Southeast United Dairy Industry Association Inc. (SUDIA).

As part of the Breakfast Blitz program, parents and students were able to vote for their school to win a Fuel Up to Play 60 grant. Parents were invited to visit www.MilkMustache.com to enter the milk UPC, vote for a school and enter to win prizes, including tickets to Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014. The schools with the most votes received Fuel Up to Play 60 grants to support school breakfast programs.

The Breakfast Blitz program supports The Breakfast Project, which was launched in 2012 to highlight the importance of a morning meal with milk. This year’s program will provide consumers with recipes, tips and tricks to help them tackle each and every day by starting with milk in the morning.

Research shows that eating a healthy breakfast is important for kids to be at their best in the classroom and on the field, but nearly one in five children in the U.S. goes without breakfast every day. The Breakfast Blitz program aims to give kids a boost in the morning by providing greater access to a healthy breakfast. Starting the day with a good breakfast helps kids tackle the day and including protein such as milk, cheese or yogurt can help.

-from staff reports