The Department of Food and Nutrition is striving to provide school children with nutritious meals that they enjoy which will contribute to good health, growth and maintenance. Healthy eating habits is an integral part of your child's growth and development. A child uses their imagination to embark on adventurous journeys and in order for their brains to do this, they need healthy morning "fuel". Breakfast, the most important meal, needs to be part of the education day. Studies have proven that higher academic and social achievement occurs when breakfast is consumed. Students will be more alert and attentive and more likely to participate in activities.

The National School Breakfast Program was enacted to ensure that school children are being served a nutritious breakfast daily. The meal consists of one-fourth the Recommended Daily Allowances over a week period. A selective menu is offered which ranges from eggs, toast, cereal, muffins, breakfast pizza, oatmeal, fresh fruit and milk. Students may choose from three or four of the choices being given that day. The students can choose between skim or 1% white milk or skim chocolate milk and assorted fresh fruits as the National School Breakfast Program complies with the Dietary guidelines for Americans. The menu choices are available due to student responses to surveys and taste-testing.

Miami-Dade County Elementary Schools offer breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m., Middle Schools from 8:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. and High Schools from 6:30 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. All schools in M-DCPS offer a breakfast at no charge to all M-DCPS Students. The breakfast at no charge is not dependent on the student receiving free/reduced meals at lunch. If good breakfast eating habits are encouraged early in life, then it will ensure good eating habits for a lifetime. Remember that your body is like a car, it needs "fuel" to keep on moving, so starting your day without breakfast is like starting your car without gas.