Turning the tables on dayparts makes meal counts rise in this school cafeteria.

Ahead of all-time kid favorites like pepperoni pizza, cheeseburgers and hot dogs, Breakfast for Lunch is number one on the lunch popularity list at The Colorado Springs School in Colorado.

Chef Allison Thompson, who runs the foodservice program at the small, private, pre-K through 12 school, serves an average of 125 lunches per day, but on her monthly Breakfast for Lunch days, participation rises by another 40 to 50 students.

“You wouldn’t think so, but the kids actually go crazy for it,” says Thompson. “It’s definitely the best day of the month for me.”

A typical Breakfast for Lunch menu has pancakes and syrup, diced breakfast potatoes, quiche Florentine, sausage patties and strawberry yogurt. Thompson changes the menu each month, rotating in such items as scrambled eggs, French toast and breakfast burritos. “They’re fast, simple and the kids really go for them,” she says.

Why is Breakfast for Lunch so popular, apart from the novelty of seeing foods associated with the morning served later in the day?

Thompson has a theory. “Unfortunately, I think it is because most kids do not wake up to breakfast in the morning anymore,” she says. “Mothers are working now and they’re busy. I find a growing number of kids are not getting that nutrition in the morning.”

To tide hungry kids over until lunch, Thompson provides snacks of a generally healthy sort, such as fresh fruit, granola bars and bagels, and occasionally freshly baked cookies or brownies. “Kids can come down anytime if they need a snack for brain power,” says Thompson.

Parents are apt to pop into the school cafeteria, too. “Almost daily, I’ll have at least one parent come in for lunch and on some days we’ll have a flood of them,” says Thompson. “It is positive reinforcement for me. Not only am I making the kids happy but the adults too.”