Kernsville Elementary School Head Cook Amy Serensits is trying to bring home the bacon by winning the statewide School Breakfast Challenge.

Gov. Tom Corbett, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, local businesses and anti-hunger organizations across the commonwealth have created the challenge to increase breakfast participation by students by at least 30 percent.

The winner will be determined by comparing numbers from January, February and March 2014 breakfast counts against October 2013 figures.

Schools achieving the largest gains can receive cash awards ranging from $1,000 to $3,000.

An awards presentation will be at schools with the largest increases in breakfast participation and they will receive cash prizes and other awards, including appearances at their schools by NFL football players.

Since starting breakfast promotions Feb. 11, Kernsville has seen an increase in breakfast counts from 30 per day (on average since last October) to 90 breakfasts per day.

Serensits discovered many parents are not aware breakfast is offered to all students, not just to students in the free and reduced cost program.

The promotion took off when Serensits started asking local businesses to support her goal of raising awareness.

On Feb. 11, she launched a school breakfast promotion by inviting the Parkland High School cheerleaders and Trojan mascot, Kernsville coyote mascot and Ferrous, the IronPigs mascot, to join students for breakfast in the cafeteria.

Her breakfast sales totaled 242 for that day.

Almost every day since, she has offered prizes to students who purchase breakfast and has raffled off a TV, pizza party and many gift certificates as well as lunch with Principal Michael Gehringer.

On March 20, the first day of spring, she hosted a goodbye winter, hello spring promotion with many prizes given away.

Gehringer announced on the school's morning news the class with the most participation would win an extra recess period.