Eat your Wheaties
I got a call this morning from a reader who was upset about the Guilford County Schools' universal free breakfast program (which could be not-so-universal next year). He remarked that students shouldn't be getting free breakfast at all, since the students who qualify for free lunch likely also get food stamps. So why pay for their breakfast at school when the taxpayers already are paying for them to eat at home?
It's probably a remark school officials have heard before. There is no doubt Guilford County has children who are in need (just take a peek at the numbers of students in those free or reduced meal programs.) School officials said principals, who have worked hard to promote the breakfast programs, don't want to give them up.
The research that suggests a good breakfast is key to starting the school day out right is pretty convincing. And school leaders say some children only eat at school.
I wonder if teachers, parents or principals can provide some examples or how the free breakfast program is working at their schools. Are kids participating? And do you see a change in their behavoir or academic performance?
Comments (3)
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Amanda:
Your caller should take the issue up first with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (and more generally with the Congress and President) who fund the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. These are nationally-funded programs. Guilford County is right to use the funds that are available. The only discretion that Guilford County should apply is whether to make the breakfast programs universal or not.
Your caller is only about half right regarding the overlaps in these programs. Children can qualify for free lunches, even if their families do not qualify for food stamps. To be eligible for free school lunches, a household has to have an income that is less than 130 percent of the poverty line. There are additional qualifications for food stamps, including an asset test and a "net income" test. Beyond these extra tests, food stamp benefits fall (as they should) with income, so that a family with children that just qualifies for free lunches might only be receiving a few dollars worth of food stamp benefits.
There is another group of children that may be eligible for school meals at reduced prices. These children generally would not qualify for food stamps because their families have incomes that are beyond the food stamp "gross income" eligibility threshold.
Congress set up and renewed these programs recognizing the overlaps.
There is ample research evidence (see http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fanrr19-4/fanrr19-4b.pdf for a review) that indicates that school lunch and breakfast programs lead to higher nutrional intakes for children. However, there is no evidence that universal breakfast programs lead to better educational outcomes (though there are some notable methodological weaknesses in the few studies that have examined this issue).
Posted on January 16, 2008 12:35 PM
I am sure the man that complained has something to eat at each meal. Unfortunately, there are many children in this County who eat lunch at school, and then eat NOTHING for the rest of the day. The reason we offer breakfast and lunch to poor children is because they cannot learn if they are hungry and malnourished. And education is the best shot at getting out of the cycle of poverty. There is not much chance that a 7, 10, or even 14 year old can earn their own living and buy their own food, and when they do not have a parent that can provide food, we, as a community, have said we want to feed that child so they have a shot at learning how to read and write. There are children who eat lunch on Friday, and then eat nothing until breakfast on Monday morning at school.
Shame on your reader for being so selfish. We are talking about hungry children who live right in our neighborhood. Remember, we are our brother's keeper.
Posted on January 18, 2008 9:46 AM
As an adult, even I can't focus on learning, work, or anything else if I am hungry.
The person who complained to you has obviously never missed a meal for lack of funds.
I've seen college students hungry and unable to focus in class for lack of money to purchase food.
Posted on March 22, 2009 7:31 AM