Local Success Stories
Loyalsock Township School District Creates Camelot Café for Grab ‘n Go Breakfast
Beth Hufnagel, Food Service Director
One of the Wellness Nutrition Guidelines goals in Loyalsock Township School District is to offer students foods that promote good health. Providing students with a healthy breakfast was seen as key to meeting these guidelines.
Participation in the high school breakfast program has historically been limited due factors including the cafeteria location, limited time available for breakfast and the negative “stigma” attached to eating school breakfast in the cafeteria. Goals for improving the district’s breakfast program included creating a breakfast option that would appeal to students while meeting nutritional guidelines, promoting the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast and, ultimately, increasing student breakfast participation.
In an effort to achieve these goals, the district created Camelot Café, a breakfast “grab ‘n go” kiosk offered daily to all high school students. The name Camelot Café is a spin on the school mascot, the Loyalsock Lancers. With the help of the maintenance department, a mobile salad bar was converted into a breakfast cart.
Each day, the cart is loaded with a variety of whole grain breakfast items, fresh fruit and dairy foods including lowfat yogurt and milk. Bottled water, 100 percent fruit juices and hot chocolate made with 1 percent milk are also offered. The cart is transported each morning to the high school lobby along with a terminal from the Foodservice POS system.
Students and faculty are able to purchase breakfast items using cash or their cafeteria account. Students gather around stand-up café tables that were purchased just for this concept, and faculty members are allowing students to finish their breakfast in first period rooms if necessary.
Not only has the Camelot Café promoted breakfast consumption among students who previously did not eat breakfast, but it also has generated a “community spirit” among students, faculty and administration. The Camelot Café has become a positive meeting and gathering place for the entire school community.
Due to the success of the high school “grab ‘n go” breakfast program, administration and students would like to start a similar program in the middle school.
Advice: Communication was key to successful implementation of this program. Meetings, signage, e-mails announcements and articles in high school and district newsletters led to excitement and support from students, faculty and administration.