[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>