The School Breakfast Program provides federal subsidized breakfast for children in schools and childcare facilities in the United States. The program started as a 2-year pilot in 1966. This program should serve schools in poor neighborhoods and in areas where children have to travel long distances in order to attend school. In order for schools to participate, Congress allows higher payments to schools that are defined as "heavy needs". In its first year, SBP spent US $ 573,000 serving about 80,000 children. In 1971 Congress modified the program, making it available to schools that need to improve the nutrition and dietary needs of children in low-income families and with working parents. They also changed the way funding was replaced, from the replacement of categorical grants to per-meal replacement. SBPs were permanently permitted in 1975 for all schools that needed to provide better nutrition for their students and for higher school reimbursement. Federal funding is provided in the form of cash reimbursement for each breakfast served, varying in amount by the income of the families of the participating children.
All children in participating schools and housing agencies are eligible for federal subsidized meals, regardless of family income. However, free food should be offered to children of families with incomes below 130% of federal poverty rates, and reduced food prices for those with a family income of between 130% and 185% of poverty. Families above the 185% poverty rate should pay full price for their food set by the school. Although children have to pay for their own food, the school is still being replaced. The latest replacement rates for participating schools are $ 1.55 for each free breakfast, $ 1.25 for each breakfast for a reduced price, and $ 0.27 for each paid breakfast. A school can receive a higher replacement rate to serve free food or lower-priced meals to over 40% of their students in the previous year. The higher rate can reach $ 0.30 more than the standard rate. Schools in Hawaii and Alaska receive higher rates of reimbursement than adjacent US schools. The percentage of food served at this higher level is about 77%. The return is active from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2013. The program is managed by the United States Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (USDA) and is funded by an annual agricultural allocation.
USDA should formulate their diet and nutrition according to the Dietary Guidelines of Americans as directed by The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. There are plans in place for SBPs to gradually start changing their food in 2013. Some changes include more grains, the right amount of calories in accordance with the levels, and lower sodium content. The sodium content should be reduced sufficiently to meet the standards, at the latest, in the academic year 2022-2023.
In 2010, the School Breakfast Program is the second largest food aid program run by the Food and Nutrition Service, feeding 16 million children. This compares with the School Lunch program, which helps feed 32 million children per day by 2010.
School Breakfast Program and Academic Success
Researchers have extensively studied the relationship between breakfast consumption and academic performance. It has been noted that breakfast consumption has a positive impact on student achievement. There is evidence that school breakfast programs have a positive effect on students' ability to learn and function in school. Previous findings have been made that students participating in the school breakfast program have higher standardized test scores and lower absentee rates. More recent research has found a positive correlation between school breakfast program participation and academic value, particularly in mathematics subjects, along with a decrease in absence and delay. This is demonstrated by research on sixth graders in a middle school district in the Midwest who eat breakfast and have a much higher mathematical value than their peers who have low nutritional intake. According to a recent study at Tufts University and the Bogalusa (LA) Heart Study, children and adults who eat healthy breakfasts are more likely to improve their memory, concentration, energy, endurance and moods and attend school more often. Breakfast consumption is also associated with cognitive abilities such as creativity, reasoning, vocabulary, and problem solving.
Involvement in the breakfast program has also been shown to have a positive effect on psychosocial behavior. In a study of high school students, male participants reported feeling more positive after eating a nutritious breakfast. In the same study, both male and female students reported feeling more alert after breakfast. All in all, healthy eating is essential for the growth and development of children and adolescents and schools has long been recognized as an arrangement for public health interventions. The school breakfast program has benefits for students' academic, behavioral and social development.
School Breakfast Program and Important Considerations
There are various strengths to facilitate the school breakfast program. As noted, they have the ability to reach students who are hungry and have a positive overall impact on students. The people who coordinate the breakfast program suggest that they reach the students who need it most.
There are important considerations for a successful school breakfast program. Having a supportive school staff is the key. Reliable staff and/or parent volunteers are essential with all the time and work associated with program coordination. Another option is to register student volunteers, who will contribute positively to building teacher-student relationships. Having an openly accessible and inviting program for students will also help in its success. An important consideration is whether the program will offer variety in food, presenting a variety of ethnic foods to students.
The power of one program can be seen as the weakness of others. For example, while some programs offer a variety of foods, other program coordinators report food variations as weaknesses. Trying to meet cultural and religious limitations may be challenging. Time is a struggle with parents who sometimes take their children to school late and clash between bus and school bus schedules. Building partnerships with stores and community organizations for monetary or goods support is another possible hurdle. Finding and maintaining these links can be difficult for some schools.
There is a potential threat to program sustainability. The most common threat is funding. The coordinator who leads the program is worried that if they leave school, nobody replaces them and the program stops. Another threat is the potential stigma for students participating in the program. It talks about the idea of ​​a school breakfast program available to all students. Programs are primarily directed at students at risk of reporting stigma. Another threat is catering for student food allergies and restrictions on religious and cultural diets.
Video School Breakfast Program
See also
- Share Our Strength
Maps School Breakfast Program
Notes and references
- This article incorporates public domain material from Congressional Research Service documents "Reports for Congress: Agriculture: Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition" by Jasper Womach.
External links
- School Breakfast Program at United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service
- http://www.fns.usda.gov/
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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