The most important meal of...your life?

As I mentioned earlier, Alex and I attended the monthly Food Assistance Program Outreach Meeting in Dayton on Tuesday. Yesterday I wrote about community gardens, but now I'd like to shift focus to another topic from that meeting: school breakfast.

Most everyone is familiar in one way or another with the USDA Child Nutrition Program a.k.a. "Free or Reduced School Lunch." But identifying this program as the latter, more popular title may be a misnomer. If a child qualifies for the USDA Child Nutrition Program, they qualify for free or reduced price school meals, not just lunch. Some schools offer breakfasts and snacks throughout the day, too. So if the child qualifies for "free lunch" then he qualifies for free breakfast and free snack, as well.

Of course, that's only if the school offers additional food options throughout the day. Many schools do not serve breakfast, and if they do, families may not be able to take advantage of it. Think about it--even if the school offers breakfast, you would have to arrive at school about twenty minutes earlier than usual so that the child could have enough time to eat breakfast. I don't know about you, but when I was growing up, it was hard enough to get moving on time in the morning, let alone any earlier. But let's say that you have a family of early-risers and that your school offers a breakfast program. Even if you can wake up and get out the door half an hour earlier, the school breakfast program can be stigmatizing for children. Not everyone participates in the breakfast program, so the children who do are often isolated in the cafeteria. And although any child can participate in the breakfast program by purchasing the meal outright (meaning, their family's income is above federal limits and does not qualify for free or reduced price breakfast), most children whose families can afford to buy breakfast don't participate in the program--they just eat the food they have at home. So what ends up happening is a small group of low-income students gathers in the cafeteria every morning for their free breakfast--and that can be embarrassing.

Given all of these factors combined, it makes sense that The Children's Hunger Alliance reported 70% of Montgomery County students don't participate in school breakfast, though a majority of those students do participate in school lunch programs. Again, this may be because the school does not offer breakfast, but it may also be because of the added inconvenience of getting to school early to get their meal. Because everyone eats lunch at the same time in the middle of the school day, these challenges do not arise with school lunch programs.

So why don't schools participate in school breakfast programs? The biggest motivator for not doing anything: cost. The USDA provides cash subsidies for schools who offer school breakfast programs. For every free breakfast served, the school receives $1.46 for the cost of the meal. For every reduced price breakfast served, the school receives $1.16 (and the school may not charge the student more than $.30 for the meal). For every full price breakfast served, the school receives $.26 from the USDA, and the school may set any price for the meal, though they must operate as a non-profit program (so no $5 school breakfasts for students paying full price!) Sounds like a good deal, but many schools don't want to mess with the costs of purchasing, shipping, preparing, and administering those breakfasts.

Now, the ironic thing about that is that many schools who find reasons not to participate in school breakfast programs throughout the year WILL offer a breakfast program during test weeks. Schools recognize that children behave better and perform better academically when they are well-fed. Go figure! It all goes back to basic psychology, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Of course, it doesn't take a psychologist to tell you that. Do I get snappy right before lunch? Yes. Am I as productive right before lunch? No. Why? Because one of my basic needs hasn't been met--I'm hungry!

So yes, when the school's academic rating is on the line, then and only then will we feed the children. Every other day we will let their poor little tummies growl and act surprised when half of the class is throwing paper airplanes instead of learning their times tables.

It seems obvious to me that the solution here is for schools to offer a breakfast program, but how to do it? As I mentioned earlier, there are challenges to requiring students who want to participate in school breakfast programs to arrive early in the school day. We discussed at our Food Assistance Program Outreach Meeting how school breakfast should be incorporated into the regular school day, as school lunch is now. Every student in their homeroom (the first class of the day) would receive the meal together. Students whose families can afford the meal can purchase it as normal, and students whose families' income is below federal standards can receive it at a reduced price or free, just like at lunch time. That kind of model eliminates extra hoops at the beginning of the day for already frenzied parents, and levels the playing field for all students, thus reducing the stigma of eating alone in the cafeteria. By incorporating school breakfast into the day as school lunch is, we'll see a more inclusive environment and more overall productivity throughout the school day.

Next, we need to get over cost. By providing the "most important meal of the day" to all children, we can save resources (time and money) in other areas throughout the day, as children will be able to focus and learn and thrive from the beginning. After all, isn't that the point of school? It may not seem like much, but providing a meal at the beginning of the day has been shown to improve students' behavior, grades, test scores, and overall academic success. So who knows? Maybe because of early academic successes, that child won't drop out after the 9th grade. Maybe she'll graduate high school, go to vocational school or college, get a job, and become a productive member of society--all because of a little cereal and fruit back in second grade.

Maybe I'm getting carried away with this, but then again, maybe I'm not. I'm thinking Maslow was on to something.