School Breakfast Program

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to highlight two important new
reports released today by the Food Research and Action Center, or FRAC,
on the School Breakfast Program. FRAC's reports--the School Breakfast
Scorecard, and School Breakfast: Making it Work in Large School
Districts--show that we have made progress in expanding access to
school breakfast but that work remains to be done.

During the 2013-2014 school year, 11.2 million students received a
healthy school breakfast on the average schoolday. That is an average
of 320,000 more students per day who received school breakfasts than
the year before. The reports show that more students than ever are
participating in the School Breakfast Program and are receiving healthy
breakfasts on schooldays. We have made real progress in making sure
that students who are eligible receive breakfast. The School Breakfast
Program, along with the National School Lunch Program, are critically
important antihunger programs that ensure that our most vulnerable
children don't go hungry.

Mr. Speaker, there is truth to the old adage that breakfast is the
most important meal of the day. Research shows that students who eat
healthy breakfasts have improved test scores, miss fewer days of
school, and make fewer trips to the nurse's office; but for many
students, they begin their schooldays on an empty stomach, with the
last meal eaten having been yesterday's school lunch. Monday mornings
are especially difficult for students from families who are struggling
to put food on their tables at home. They may have gone the entire
weekend without eating a full or a balanced meal. Recent data from the
Census Bureau show that one in five children received SNAP, or food
stamp benefits, last year. Too many of our children don't know where
their next meals will come from, making the meals they count on in
school all the more important.

Our economy is still recovering from the Great Recession, and
economic gains are uneven, especially among low-income families. Too
many families are still operating with tight family budgets and are
struggling to pay the bills and to put enough nutritious food on the
table. I am sure that all of us can relate to the hectic morning rush
to get kids and parents out the door on time in the mornings,
especially when both parents are working to try to make ends meet.

Mr. Speaker, one of the best attributes of the School Breakfast
Program is the flexibility the schools have to design programs that
work for their own students and their own schools. The FRAC reports
highlight a number of ways that school districts have successfully made
the School Breakfast Program work for them:

Some schools have breakfast in the classroom, where the students can
eat healthy breakfasts at their desks while getting ready for the day.
School districts with a high proportion of low-income students can
qualify for a community eligibility provision, by which all students in
the school can receive free breakfasts and lunches. Still other schools
serve a traditional breakfast in the cafeteria at the start of the day.

Regardless of the model used, the School Breakfast Program ensures
that students, especially low-income students, are ready to learn and
aren't distracted by hunger.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 provided many important
updates to the School Breakfast Program, including improving nutrition
standards. Last year was the first year that the new nutrition
standards were in place. Despite some of the buzz about students not
liking the new meals, more students are participating in the School
Breakfast Program than ever before. Not only are more students eating
breakfast, but they are eating a healthier breakfast.

Mr. Speaker, investing in our children by making sure they don't go
hungry and by providing them with a world-class education is the best
downpayment we can make for our future economic success. As this
Congress begins the process of reauthorizing the school nutrition
programs, we must continue to build upon the gains and participation
and improvements in nutrition standards that we have made in the School
Breakfast Program. It would be foolish to roll back nutrition standards
just because special interests or some students don't like them.

Today's FRAC reports show that we are doing a better job in making
sure that kids start their day with a healthy breakfast but that there
is more work to be done. For every 100 kids who receive free school
lunches, only 53 receive school breakfasts. We must do more to expand
the School Breakfast Program and increase participation so that all
students who qualify for free and reduced priced lunches have the
opportunity to receive healthy school breakfasts.

Mr. Speaker, we can and should do more to end hunger now, and
expanding and strengthening the School Breakfast Program is an
important step in that direction.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source