August 8, 2007
School Breakfast Seen Reducing Nurse Visits

Eating breakfast at school before classes begin has been found to improve children’s learning and behavior, but it may also offer health benefits, including reduced numbers of visits to the school nurse, according to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). In a report released yesterday, FRAC detailed the experiences of 23 school districts across the country where breakfast was available to students in the form of sit-down eating in the cafeteria, "grab and go" (packaged meals picked up from serving carts and eaten elsewhere on school grounds), or regularly scheduled time to eat breakfast in the classroom. In some of the surveyed districts, breakfast was a "universal" option, meaning it was free to all students, and in other districts it was offered free of charge to low-income students and at reduced price or full price to those able to pay. A new option called "Second Chance Breakfast," usually implemented in middle and high schools, allows students time after the first period of the day to eat breakfast either in the cafeteria or from carts in the hallway. The full FRAC report, which details the various ways schools are handling breakfast and the obstacles to breakfast programs, can be accessed online at www.frac.org/pdf/urbanbreakfast07.pdf.