As finals rapidly approach and the last week of classes officially begin today, University Health Services is offering a jump start to all students Wednesday with free and healthy breakfast foods available to all on the corner of Charter and Observatory.

This event is part of UHS’ “Eat Breakfast, Pass Test” campaign targeted at students getting ready for finals week. While serving breakfast, information will also be handed out to students about nutrition and stress management.

“During finals, students often neglect the easiest way to succeed … simple things like getting some sleep and eating a healthy breakfast,” UHS stress management counselor Rob Sepich said in a recent release.

Sepich continued by noting his suggestions for being successful.

“By getting at least four to five hours of sleep and eating a piece of whole-grain toast and fruit in the morning, students can improve their concentration, their ability to stay awake and reduce their stress level,” Sepich said. “This can all lead to improved grades.”

Natural Ovens Bakery whole-grain bread, blueberry muffins, granola, bagels, Jamba Juice smoothies and fresh fruit will be some of the breakfast items served Wednesday morning from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.

These foods were all chosen to demonstrate to students a number of healthy ways to start one’s day by eating foods with immediate nutritional value.

UHS nutritionist Liz Freitick also commented on the reasons for the event and the importance of eating healthy.

“We want students to eat a healthy breakfast during finals, do well on their tests and be less stressed out,” Freitick said. “But we’re also hoping they can learn to incorporate a healthy breakfast into their everyday lives.”

Natural Ovens Bakery and Jamba Juice donated all of the food products. In case of rain, the event will move to Thursday.

Additional information regarding stress management, nutrition and additional health tips related to finals can be found at www.uhs.wisc.edu, including information about UHS’ Healthy Eating Program.

This program has a similar goal to that of Wednesday’s event but goes into much more depth and offers direct advice regarding healthy eating, stress, eating disorders, depression and other related topics.

“University Health Services’ Healthy Eating Program seeks to foster the emotional, spiritual and physical well-being of students,” reads the program’s mission.

Although UHS offers a number of ways to promote healthy eating and foster better habits, many students acknowledge their own bad habits, and even though they may wish to remedy them, many cite a lack of time as the one main reason for failing to do so.

“It sounds like a good idea to offer free breakfast to students, but a lot of students probably won’t have a lot of time to make it over there,” UW freshman Kenzie Reupert said, adding perhaps better places for the event to take place would be outside libraries or other academic buildings. “But I’m sure that students who have class over in that area will stop by and grab something while making their way to class.”