[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 10, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H870]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to highlight two important new 
reports released today by the Food Research and Action Center, or FRAC, 
on the School Breakfast Program. FRAC's reports--the School Breakfast 
Scorecard, and School Breakfast: Making it Work in Large School 
Districts--show that we have made progress in expanding access to 
school breakfast but that work remains to be done.
  During the 2013-2014 school year, 11.2 million students received a 
healthy school breakfast on the average schoolday. That is an average 
of 320,000 more students per day who received school breakfasts than 
the year before. The reports show that more students than ever are 
participating in the School Breakfast Program and are receiving healthy 
breakfasts on schooldays. We have made real progress in making sure 
that students who are eligible receive breakfast. The School Breakfast 
Program, along with the National School Lunch Program, are critically 
important antihunger programs that ensure that our most vulnerable 
children don't go hungry.
  Mr. Speaker, there is truth to the old adage that breakfast is the 
most important meal of the day. Research shows that students who eat 
healthy breakfasts have improved test scores, miss fewer days of 
school, and make fewer trips to the nurse's office; but for many 
students, they begin their schooldays on an empty stomach, with the 
last meal eaten having been yesterday's school lunch. Monday mornings 
are especially difficult for students from families who are struggling 
to put food on their tables at home. They may have gone the entire 
weekend without eating a full or a balanced meal. Recent data from the 
Census Bureau show that one in five children received SNAP, or food 
stamp benefits, last year. Too many of our children don't know where 
their next meals will come from, making the meals they count on in 
school all the more important.
  Our economy is still recovering from the Great Recession, and 
economic gains are uneven, especially among low-income families. Too 
many families are still operating with tight family budgets and are 
struggling to pay the bills and to put enough nutritious food on the 
table. I am sure that all of us can relate to the hectic morning rush 
to get kids and parents out the door on time in the mornings, 
especially when both parents are working to try to make ends meet.
  Mr. Speaker, one of the best attributes of the School Breakfast 
Program is the flexibility the schools have to design programs that 
work for their own students and their own schools. The FRAC reports 
highlight a number of ways that school districts have successfully made 
the School Breakfast Program work for them:
  Some schools have breakfast in the classroom, where the students can 
eat healthy breakfasts at their desks while getting ready for the day. 
School districts with a high proportion of low-income students can 
qualify for a community eligibility provision, by which all students in 
the school can receive free breakfasts and lunches. Still other schools 
serve a traditional breakfast in the cafeteria at the start of the day.
  Regardless of the model used, the School Breakfast Program ensures 
that students, especially low-income students, are ready to learn and 
aren't distracted by hunger.
  The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 provided many important 
updates to the School Breakfast Program, including improving nutrition 
standards. Last year was the first year that the new nutrition 
standards were in place. Despite some of the buzz about students not 
liking the new meals, more students are participating in the School 
Breakfast Program than ever before. Not only are more students eating 
breakfast, but they are eating a healthier breakfast.
  Mr. Speaker, investing in our children by making sure they don't go 
hungry and by providing them with a world-class education is the best 
downpayment we can make for our future economic success. As this 
Congress begins the process of reauthorizing the school nutrition 
programs, we must continue to build upon the gains and participation 
and improvements in nutrition standards that we have made in the School 
Breakfast Program. It would be foolish to roll back nutrition standards 
just because special interests or some students don't like them.
  Today's FRAC reports show that we are doing a better job in making 
sure that kids start their day with a healthy breakfast but that there 
is more work to be done. For every 100 kids who receive free school 
lunches, only 53 receive school breakfasts. We must do more to expand 
the School Breakfast Program and increase participation so that all 
students who qualify for free and reduced priced lunches have the 
opportunity to receive healthy school breakfasts.

                              {time}  1215

  Mr. Speaker, we can and should do more to end hunger now, and 
expanding and strengthening the School Breakfast Program is an 
important step in that direction.

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