[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 98 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 98

   To express the sense of the Senate regarding the school breakfast 
                                program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 10, 2011

   Mr. Kohl (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Harkin, Mrs. 
Gillibrand, and Mr. Brown of Ohio) submitted the following resolution; 
  which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
                                Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   To express the sense of the Senate regarding the school breakfast 
                                program.

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 rural, 
        suburban, and urban schools;
Whereas in each of the school years beginning July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009, 
        86.3 percent of schools that participated in the school lunch program 
        established under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
        U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) also participated in the school breakfast program;
Whereas in each of the school years beginning July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009, 
        approximately 10,800,000 students in more than 86,000 schools 
        participated in the school breakfast program on a typical day;
Whereas in fiscal year 2009, approximately 9,100,000 low-income children in the 
        United States consumed free or reduced price school breakfasts on an 
        average school day;
Whereas for every 100 children receiving free and reduced price lunches, 
        approximately 47 children receive free and reduced price breakfasts;
Whereas in each of the school years beginning July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009, 
        less than half of eligible low-income children received breakfasts at 
        school each day;
Whereas in fiscal year 2009, 62 percent of school lunches served, and 81 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 in families 
        living below the poverty line) is causing more families to struggle to 
        feed their children and to turn to schools for assistance;
Whereas implementing or improving classroom breakfast programs has been shown to 
        increase the participation of eligible students in breakfast consumption 
        dramatically, doubling, and in some cases tripling, numbers, as 
        evidenced by research conducted in the States of Minnesota, New York, 
        and Wisconsin;
Whereas making breakfast widely available through different venues or 
        combinations, such as in the classroom, obtained as students exit a 
        school bus, or outside the classroom, has been shown to lessen the 
        stigma of receiving free or reduced price breakfasts, which often deters 
        eligible students from obtaining traditional breakfasts in the 
        cafeteria;
Whereas providing free universal breakfasts, especially in the classroom, has 
        been shown to significantly increase school breakfast participation 
        rates and decrease absences and tardiness;
Whereas studies have shown that access to nutritious meals under the school 
        lunch program and the school breakfast program helps to create a strong 
        learning environment for children and helps to improve the concentration 
        of children in the classroom;
Whereas providing breakfast in the classroom has been shown in several instances 
        to improve attentiveness and academic performance, while reducing 
        tardiness and disciplinary referrals;
Whereas students who eat a complete breakfast have been shown to make fewer 
        mistakes and work faster in math exercises than students who eat a 
        partial breakfast;
Whereas studies suggest that eating breakfast closer to classroom and test-
        taking time improves student performance on standardized tests relative 
        to students who skip breakfasts;
Whereas studies show that students who skip breakfasts 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 have been shown to 
        be more likely to have lower math scores, face an increased likelihood 
        of repeating a grade, and receive more special education services;
Whereas studies suggest that children who eat breakfasts have more adequate 
        nutrition and intake of 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 
        children who do not eat breakfast;
Whereas children who fail to eat breakfasts, whether in school or at home, are 
        more likely to be overweight than children who eat a healthy breakfast 
        on a daily basis; and
Whereas March 7 through March 11, 2011, is National School Breakfast Week: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the importance of the school breakfast 
        program established by section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 
        1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) and the overall positive impact of the 
        program on the lives of low-income children and families, as 
        well as the effect of the program on helping to improve the 
        overall classroom performance of a child;
            (2) expresses support for States that have successfully 
        implemented school breakfast programs in order to improve the 
        test scores and grades of participating students;
            (3) encourages States--
                    (A) to strengthen school breakfast programs by 
                improving access for students;
                    (B) to promote improvements in the nutritional 
                quality of breakfasts served; and
                    (C) to inform students and parents of healthy 
                nutritional and lifestyle choices;
            (4) recognizes that the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 
        2010 (Public Law 111-296) and amendments made by that Act 
        provide low-income children with greater access to a nutritious 
        breakfast nationwide;
            (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 
        celebrated from March 7 through March 11, 2011, helps draw 
        attention to the need for, and success of, the school breakfast 
        program.
                                 <all>