Farrell Area School District has done it again.

For the third year in a row, Farrell has topped the Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center's list of state school districts that have successfully incorporated a breakfast program into the school day.

"I think they are stars," said Sue Mitchem, center communications coordinator. "What is happening there is they are not only serving breakfast, but they are getting the word out to parents and administrators.

"They are doing a good job in Farrell of making kids aware that breakfast is an important part of the day, and their numbers are very high."

The center publishes its review of the state's school breakfast programs annually. During the 2002-03 school year, schools in the state served 186,000 breakfasts each day, which was up 4 percent from the previous year, according to the review.

But Pennsylvania lags behind most other states that offer breakfast; it's ranked 37th nationally.