Innovative Breakfast In The Classroom Program To Expand In 2015 Providing Thousands Of More Students Across The Nation With A Healthy Morning Meal

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- For the third year in a row, Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom is expanding efforts to help combat the continual fight against childhood hunger and improve participation in the federally-funded School Breakfast Program.  Selected school districts in seven states will receive a grant to implement the program from Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom – a consortium of national education and nutrition organizations. The seven states include: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The Breakfast in the Classroom program reworks how school breakfast is delivered, by offering it at no charge to all students and moving it from the cafeteria to the classroom to improve participation in the federally-funded program. While most U.S. schools participate in the federally-funded School Breakfast Program, only half of low-income children who are eligible for a free or reduced-price breakfast through the federal School Breakfast Program are eating it, according to a 2013 Food Research and Action Center analysis.  School bus schedules, late arrivals to school, pressure to go directly to class, and reluctance to be labeled "low-income" are among the reasons that many students do not participate in cafeteria-based school breakfast.

"As the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom continue efforts for the third year, the history of success is encouraging and underscores the role food plays in helping our children grow into healthy and well-educated young adults," said Princess Moss, Secretary-Treasurer at the National Education Association, speaking on behalf of the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom. "The benefits of children eating breakfast at school are well-documented and expansive, with better performance on standardized tests, better attendance records and are less disruptive in the classroom.  It's reassuring to know that thousands of more students will reap the benefits of a nutritious morning meal."

Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom includes the following four organizations: the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), the National Association of Elementary School Principals Foundation (NAESPF), the National Education Association Health Information Network (NEA HIN), and the School Nutrition Foundation (SNF).  Through a $5 million grant from Walmart Foundation, the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom will work closely with state partners to provide technical assistance and support to school districts in developing and implementing the breakfast program.

School districts in six of the seven states are currently eligible to apply for grant funds. School districts in Virginia have until December 31, 2014 and Arizona districts have until February 27, 2015 to complete and submit their applications.  Pennsylvania school district applications are currently under review and grantees will be announced in the coming weeks. 

Since 2010, 15 school districts have been awarded a grant by the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom to implement the Breakfast in the Classroom programs resulting in more than 37,000 students starting their day off with a healthy breakfast.  The Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom anticipate serving breakfast to more than 25,000 additional students over the next two years.

For more information, or to find out more about the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom grants, visit www.BreakfastintheClassroom.org.

Contact: Allison Kassel 
703-739-8362 
[email protected] 

SOURCE Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom

Related Links

http://www.BreakfastintheClassroom.org