Center on Society and Health Blog

A Study Funded by the USDA Finds That the School Breakfast Program is Utilized by the Most Vulnerable Children (USDA, July 2009)

Children utilizing the School Breakfast Program tend to be among the most vulnerable, yet some 38% of food insecure children do not participate. The program appears to enhance food security among families at the margin and increases the probability that low-income children will eat breakfast.

Children utilizing the School Breakfast Program tend to be among the most vulnerable, yet some 38% of food insecure children do not participate. The program appears to enhance food security among families at the margin and increases the probability that low-income children will eat breakfast.  The program serves over 10 million children per day, but is less widely available and less consistently used than the National School Lunch Program.  Children with family incomes below 130% of the federal poverty line receive free meals, while those with family incomes between 130 and 185% of the poverty line receive reduced-cost meals.  About 85% of schools that offer school lunch also offer breakfast.  Most children (80.6%) receiving breakfast from the school lunch program in 2008 were eligible for free or reduced-price meals.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/CCR54/CCR54.pdf