BATTLE CREEK, Mich. -- Promoting the “power of breakfast,” Kellogg Co. is throwing its support behind a national effort to urge more parents to make sure their children start the day nutritionally prepared, according to a report in the Battle Creek Enquirer.
About 100 local governmental and school leaders, as well as members of Kellogg’s marketing team, gathered this past week at the company’s world headquarters to cap its nationwide effort aimed at getting more breakfasts into more kids.
Kellogg’s and its partner in the effort, Chicago-based nonprofit Action for Healthy Kids, shared statistics saying that, because of food scarcity, one of every five children in the United States does not eat a healthy breakfast each day, according to the report.
Eating breakfast can help children improve academic performance by improving behavior, reducing absences and tardiness, and increasing focus and physical performance, the effort’s partners said.
“It gives them the energy they need,” Sarah McLaren, an associate brand manager who joined Kellogg just six months ago, told the newspaper. “It’s been fun planning this. It takes everyone to really change the situation.”
At the center of the “Share Your Breakfast” campaign is a month-long Facebook- and Twitter-based social-media effort, during which participants are urged to post what they’ve eaten for breakfast during March.
In response to each posting, Kellogg will donate money to pay for school breakfasts across the country, up to $200,000. That amount would pay for a million such breakfasts, the promoters are saying.
Online users can “share” what they ate for breakfast at facebook.com/kelloggs or via Twitter using the #ShareUrBreakfast hashtag.
“Every time you share, we donate a breakfast,” Doug VanDeVelde, Kellogg’s senior vice president of marketing and innovation ready-to-eat cereal, told those assembled.
By March 8, 83,000 postings had been logged, said AnneMarie Suarez-Davis, senior director of Moms and Kids Cereal Marketing for Kellogg.
About 100,000 postings were recorded in 2011, the first year for this type of campaign, said Mary Haley, senior director of operations for Action for Healthy Kids.
More information about the Share Your Breakfast campaign may be found online at kelloggs.com/shareyourbreakfast.
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