Gone are the days of fresh pancakes and eggs eaten around the kitchen table with the family before school.

For some students, even a piece of toast on the way out the door is impossible.

Now, Breakfast to Go is coming to the rescue at Burnsville High School.

This year, with a grant and participation in a study through the University of Minnesota, breakfast is being brought to students and served in the BHS commons area.

"The idea is to bring breakfast to where they are," said Roxanne Williams, director of food services. "The whole purpose is to increase school breakfast participation."

Students pay for breakfast using their school district meal accounts. A whole meal- consisting of either two cold entrees or one hot entree, juice or fruit and milk -- is $1.40. Cold entrees includes cereal, a cereal bar, string cheese and yogurt. Hot entrees vary from day-to-day and can include breakfast pizza, cheese omelet, oatmeal rounds, egg tortilla, egg muffin, bagels, waffles, French toast or pancakes. Items can be purchased individually, but full meals are encouraged.

Heidi Lindstrom, a cook helper at BHS, said muffins and cereal bars are two of the most popular items. Students can take a plastic bag and put all the food into it so they can carry it on their way to class.

"We want to get it in their hands and they can go from there around school with it," Williams said.

Breakfast has been served for many years at the high school, but it was in the cafeteria - just down the hall from the commons area. There wasn't much participation, Williams said, so many students were not eating a morning meal.

Now with Breakfast to Go, Williams said the breakfast participation rate went up 64 percent compared to last September. This year 2,375 breakfast meals were sold compared to 928 last year.

"That's a great thing to see," Williams said. "We hope to continue to increase participation."

Williams said studies show students do well in school when they eat breakfast.

"We know kids who eat breakfast perform better at school," she said. "Breakfast eaters weigh less and they have better diets ... overall better health is always the goal."

"Having breakfast at school is nice because if you miss breakfast because you woke up late you can get it here and not try to be in school on an empty stomach," said sophomore Nahom Assefa, from Savage.

Lindstrom said she serves about 150 students a day in the 25 minutes the breakfast bar is open before school starts.

"We're kind of in their face and they can see us out here so it makes it easier for them to grab something," she said.

Assefa grabbed some cereal and milk for breakfast. He said having the food offered right inside the main doors makes getting the first meal of the day easier.

"I like it being out here. It's a lot more convenient than going down to the cafeteria," he said.

Other students could be seen veering toward their lockers and classrooms but their routes changed when they saw the food. Some remarked to their friends about how hungry they were and glad they saw the tables.

The $10,000 grant is part of a study, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health and administered by the university. It covers equipment and personnel costs. BHS is one of four schools across the state to participate; along with Rochester Mayo High School, Northfield High School and John Marshall High School in Rochester.

Data is being collected and 25 students from each class at the high school are being tracked this year, Williams said. The height, weight and habits of the teens are being collected throughout the year for research on breakfast, overall health and student performance.

Williams said if participation numbers stay high the program will be able to continue next year without the grant.