Lake Worth Independent School District (ISD) in Lake Worth, Texas has run a successful breakfast program for more than 15 years.  Every morning, kitchen staff prepares bagged breakfasts for students, including juice, milk, crackers, and yogurt or donuts.  The bags are then put inside large plastic totes and placed on carts outside each classroom five to ten minutes before school starts.  After calling roll, the teacher collects the cart from the hallway and distributes the bags.

When children have finished eating, all trash is placed back in the tote and left on a trash cart outside the classroom door.  Custodians collect trash from the hallways, usually no more than an hour or two after breakfast, and take it outside to the dumpster.  According to Jeff Thomas, director of operations and IPM coordinator for Lake Worth ISD, “If the food was left in the classroom trash, it would be an open invitation to any roaches and rodents in the area.”  Ideally, no food or food scraps will be left in the classroom after breakfast.  Any teachers who keep leftover food are required to use airtight containers.  Any beverages are kept in a small refrigerator in each classroom.  Read More