III 111th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 67 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 5, 2009 Mr. Feingold (for himself, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Casey, Mr. Burris, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Begich, Mr. Bayh, and Mr. Dodd) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Senate that providing breakfast in schools through the national school breakfast program has a positive impact on the lives and classroom performance of low-income children.

Whereas participants in the school breakfast program established by section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) include public, private, elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as schools in rural, suburban, and urban areas; Whereas access to nutrition programs such as the school lunch program, established under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and the national school breakfast program helps to create a stronger learning environment for children and improves children’s concentration in the classroom; Whereas missing breakfast and the resulting hunger has been shown to harm the ability of children to learn and to hinder academic performance; Whereas students who eat a complete breakfast have been shown to make fewer mistakes and to work faster in math exercises than those who eat a partial breakfast; Whereas implementing or improving classroom breakfast programs has been shown to increase breakfast consumption among eligible students dramatically, doubling, and in some cases, tripling numbers of participants in school breakfast programs, as evidenced by research in Minnesota, New York, and Wisconsin; Whereas providing breakfast in the classroom has been shown in several instances to improve attentiveness and academic performance, while reducing absences, tardiness, and disciplinary referrals; Whereas studies suggest that eating breakfast closer to the time students arrive in the classroom and take tests improves the students' performance on standardized tests; Whereas studies show that students who skip breakfast are more likely to have difficulty distinguishing among similar images, show increased errors, and have slower memory recall; Whereas children who live in families that experience hunger are likely to have lower math scores, receive more special education services, and face an increased likelihood of repeating a grade; Whereas making breakfast widely available in different venues or in a combination of venues, such as by providing breakfast in the classroom, in the hallways outside classrooms, or to students as they exit their school buses, has been shown to lessen the stigma of receiving free or reduced-price school breakfasts, which stigma sometimes prevents eligible students from obtaining traditional breakfast in the cafeteria; Whereas in fiscal year 2008, 8,520,000 students in the United States consumed free or reduced-price school breakfasts provided under the national school breakfast program; Whereas less than half of the low-income students who participate in the national school lunch program also participate in the national school breakfast program; Whereas at least 16,000 schools that participate in the national school lunch program do not participate in the national school breakfast program; Whereas in fiscal year 2008, 60 percent of school lunches served, and 80 percent of school breakfasts served, were served to students who qualified for free or reduced-priced meals; Whereas the current economic situation, including the increase of nearly 3 percent in the national unemployment rate in 2008, is causing more families to struggle to feed their children and to turn to schools for assistance; Whereas studies suggest that children who eat breakfast take in more nutrients, such as calcium, fiber, protein, and vitamins A, E, D, and B–6; Whereas studies show that children who participate in school breakfast programs eat more fruits, drink more milk, and consume less saturated fat than those who do not eat breakfast; Whereas children who do not eat breakfast, either in school or at home, are more likely to be overweight than children who eat a healthful breakfast on a daily basis; and Whereas March 2 through March 6, 2009, is National School Breakfast Week: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)recognizes the importance of the school breakfast program established under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) and the positive impact of the program on the lives of low-income children and families and on children’s overall classroom performance; (2)expresses strong support for States that have successfully implemented school breakfast programs in order to alleviate hunger and improve the test scores and grades of participating students; (3)encourages all States to strengthen their school breakfast programs, provide incentives for the expansion of school breakfast programs, and promote improvements in the nutritional quality of breakfasts served; (4)recognizes the need to provide States with resources to improve the availability of adequate and nutritious breakfasts; (5)recognizes the impact of nonprofit and community organizations that work to increase awareness of, and access to, breakfast programs for low-income children; and (6)recognizes that National School Breakfast Week helps draw attention to the need for, and success of, the national school breakfast program.