School Breakfast: Making it Work in Large School Districts
February 2020
The evidence of the positive impact that school breakfast can have on students is clear. Participation does not just reduce student hunger, it also has been linked with improved academic achievement and better diets; lower rates of student overweight and obesity; fewer visits to the school nurse; and lower incidences of tardiness, absenteeism, and disciplinary problems.
School Breakfast: Making it Work in Large School Districts
February 2020
The evidence of the positive impact that school breakfast can have on students is clear. Participation does not just reduce student hunger, it also has been linked with improved academic achievement and better diets; lower rates of student overweight and obesity; fewer visits to the school nurse; and lower incidences of tardiness, absenteeism, and disciplinary problems.
This report published by the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) examines School Breakfast Program participation rates and trends in 73 of America’s largest school districts. These districts saw a net increase of 101,548 students eating school breakfast in school year 2015-2016, compared to the prior school year. Two-thirds of the districts expanded their school breakfast participation from the previous school year. Twenty-six school districts met FRAC’s ambitious, but achievable, goal of serving at least 70 low-income students school breakfast for every 100 that participated in school lunch, making them top-performing districts.