March 4, 2013

It is National School Breakfast Week!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day – and in New York City, every public school child can have free breakfast every school day! By providing children with nutritious meals to jump start their school days, the School Breakfast Program (SBP) helps combat childhood hunger and childhood obesity.

Participating in the SBP also improves children’s nutrition, school attendance, academic performance, and overall health. Given these outcomes, it’s clear why SBP deserves to be celebrated.

Today is the start of National School Breakfast Week! What a great time to remind everyone why SBP is important, and that school breakfast is free in in New York City!

Given the number of New York City children whose families struggle with poverty and food insecurity, providing a free, healthy breakfast in New York City’s schools could not be more crucial. As data from CCC’s Keeping Track 2013 show, New York City’s child poverty rate reached almost 30 percent in 2011, and about 40 percent of New York City’s children lived in households that received SNAP (or “Food Stamp”) benefits. While school breakfast is free to all public school students regardless of eligibility status, close to 75 percent of New York City public school children are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

Despite the clear need that these numbers demonstrate, New York City’s school breakfast participation rates are still very low. To increase the number of New York City children who eat school breakfast, CCC strongly supports an expansion of the Breakfast in the Classroom Program (BIC). BIC provides in-classroom breakfast to children at the start of the school day, and has been proven to improve school breakfast participation. BIC exists in some New York City school classrooms, but there is much room for growth.

Join us in celebrating National School Breakfast Week and supporting the expansion of Breakfast in the Classroom!

And, to learn more about the CCC’s advocacy around school breakfast, read our recent report and testimony about this issue.

Tags
Breakfast in the Classroom, Keeping Track, Economic Security

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