Dear County Superintendents, District Superintendents, Chief Business Officials, and Food Service Directors:

National Nutrition Month March 2025 And National School Breakfast Week March 3–7, 2025

On behalf of the California Department of Education Nutrition Services Division (NSD), I would like to take this opportunity to commend school food service professionals, school leaders, and staff across the state for embracing the many opportunities to advance student-informed, freshly prepared, nutritious school meals that feature locally grown, whole or minimally processed ingredients. With more than 914 million school meals and snacks served in school year 2023–24, these programs have tremendous impact. I encourage you to celebrate and communicate your achievements, big and small, during National Nutrition Month^® (NNM) and National School Breakfast Week (NSBW).

March is NNM, and this year’s theme is Food Connects Us. Food plays a powerful role in connecting us to our health, families, friends, schools, culture, the environment, and more. School meals provide an opportunity for our students to connect with each other, and your menus and cafeteria environments offer a valuable chance for children to learn so much about the foods they are enjoying. Through school meals, it is possible for our students to be curious about where and how food is grown, learn about different cultures, better understand how school meals impact the environment, and make connections to the nutrition professionals who cook and prepare school meals.

Additionally, March 3–7, 2025, is National School Breakfast Week (NSBW). NSBW highlights the importance of a nutritious school breakfast in preparing students for a successful school day. The 2025 theme, Clue In to School Breakfast, emphasizes how a healthy breakfast supports academic performance and overall well-being. Help your students follow the clues to a rewarding nutritious and delicious school breakfast!

Below are a few ideas to help you celebrate your commitment to quality school meals:

• Decorate the cafeteria using the NNM and the NSBW theme. Note: cafeteria funds can be used for decorations, but not for promotional giveaway items. Learn about these requirements in Management Bulletin SNP-05-2020 at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/sn/mbsnp052020.asp.
• Create a March Gratitude Board and spotlight one food service professional and their favorite school menu item each day during the month of March.
• Share the NNM Food Connects Us theme with teachers and staff, encouraging them to weave this concept into lessons, activities, and meal service, showing how food connects us to our health, culture, and communities.
• Host a Clue In to School Breakfast daily trivia game each morning during announcements or in the cafeteria, with questions and ‘clues’ related to healthy breakfast choices, fun food facts, and nutrition.
• Recognize food service leaders who are supporting student interests and modeling inclusion by offering culturally inspired, plant-forward, and other special diet meals.
• Give students a Clue In to Breakfast journal to record what they eat for breakfast during the week. Each day, students can write down clues about how their meal helps them get ready to learn.

For NNM celebration ideas, visit the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics NNM web page at https://www.eatright.org/national-nutrition-month. For more information about NSBW, visit the School Nutrition Association NSBW web page at https://schoolnutrition.org/about-school-meals/national-school-breakfast-week/.

For questions about NNM and NSBW, contact Desiree Rojo, Nutrition Education Assistant, by email at drojo@cde.ca.gov. For cafeteria fund questions, email SNPCafeFundQuestions@cde.ca.gov.

Thank you for your commitment to the health and wellbeing of our children through quality school meals!

Sincerely,

Kim Frinzell, R.D., Director
Nutrition Services Division
California Department of Education