Happy National School Breakfast Week! Sound like a no-brainer? And/or wondering why kids can't just eat breakfast at home? Read on, friends! I'm sharing great stats and resources to help us all remember why school breakfast is such a big deal.

First the facts, according to FRAC's handy School Breakfast Scorecard 2014-15:

• 11.7 low-income children participated in the program on a typical day, receiving a free or reduced-price meal. 
• 89,771 schools operated a school breakfast program.
• 91 percent of schools serving lunch also served breakfast.
• For every 100 children receiving free and reduced price lunch, 54.3 received free and reduced price breakfast. The ratio varied in states from 34.8 per 100 to 82.3 per 100. 

How it works: 
According to the USDA, "School districts and independent schools that choose to take part in the breakfast program receive cash subsidies from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for each meal they serve. In return, they must serve breakfasts that meet Federal requirements, and they must offer free or reduced price breakfasts to eligible children." The USDA pays schools between 0.28 (paid breakfasts) and $1.62 (free breakfasts) per meal. 

Who qualifies?
Although any child at a participating school may purchase a breakfast, there are discounts for children from families living below or near the poverty line. "Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the Federal poverty level are eligibe for free meals. Those with incomes between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals, for which students can be charged no more than 30 cents," explains the USDA. To break it down even further, during 2013-14 130% of the poverty level was about $30,000, and 185% was about $43,500.  

So who actually decides what kids eat?
State education agencies run the program at the state level, and district or school-level actors decide what food to serve. As with the school lunch program, there's a big role for parents to play in encouraging schools and food service directors to provide tasty meals kids want to eat. Meeting the nutrition guidance is one thing. Making the meals fun, yummy and popular is another. Check out these great tips for promoting school meals from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. 

And, why is all of this a big deal? 
So many reasons! Here are a few:

1. It makes such a difference for kids. I feel like this one doesn't need too much explaining. But just in case: a healthy school breakfast has been linked to increased attention, problem-solving and performance in school. These videos from The Breakfast Effect help make the case: 

2. All kids deserve a healthy school day. Remember, over 16 million kids in the US live in food-insecure households, meaning they don't always know where their next meal is coming from. For many of these kids, school meals may be the only healthy meal they get that day. 

3. We've made great improvements when it comes to ensuring kids who need it have access to a healthy breakfast. But we have a long way to go. The Community Eligibility Provision and innovative strategies like Breakfast in the Classroom, Breakfast after the Bell, and Grab and Go have bumped participation rates up in recent years. But all of us have a role to play in keeping the drum beat going. Here are some ways to get involved:

• Encourage your school district to enroll in the Community Eligibility Provision, which offers free breakfast and lunch to all students in high-poverty schools. This eliminates the stigma and administrative hurdles keeping more kids from participating in the breakfast program. More information on the CEP from FRAC here. 
• Encourage your district to offer school breakfast, and innovative options for making it successful, as a way to provide a healthy school day for ALL of our kids. Your voice really matters!
• The School Breakfast Program is based on the healthy meal standards and Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Tens of thousands of us have spoken out in support of both, and it's important we keep the pressure on in support of a healthy school day. 

Finally, no School Breakfast Week would be complete with our a big shout-out to the many people who work tirelessly to provide a healthy start for our kids. Thank you for all you do! Together we're building healthier schools and communities. 

via GIPHY