Jasmine Hain with her mom, Vivian. Photo by David Bacon.

Meet Jasmine Hain. Like many children her age, 9-year old Jasmine likes art, writing, karate and dance. And, like an estimated 15 million low-income schoolchildren, Jasmine qualifies for a free or reduced-price meal through the federal school lunch program.

Also like many children her age, when Jasmine comes to school each morning, she’s usually hungry—and remains hungry until lunch is served. There are a lot of reasons that kids from families at all income levels aren’t eating breakfast, either at home or school: Long commutes and extended and non-traditional work hours often make it difficult for families to find enough time in the morning to eat a nutritious breakfast. Late bus arrivals, and the unwillingness of some students to arrive at school early also contribute. And many schools don’t offer breakfast.

Jasmine’s elementary school, for example, does not participate in the school breakfast program, although her school does participate in the national school lunch program. Though schools are not required to sign up for either program, participation in the lunch program is nearly universal among public and non-profit private schools, with 95 percent taking part.

In contrast, only about 75 percent of the schools that offer school lunch also offer school breakfast. And even within those schools, many eligible children don’t eat breakfast. In addition to the problems of late bus arrivals and rushed morning schedules, the breakfast program carries an extra load of stigma—while every child in school sits down to lunch, in many schools offering breakfast the meal is seen as “just for poor kids,” even though it is available at full cost to children who don’t qualify for a reduced-price or free breakfast.

The bottom line: out of every 100 low-income children who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch at school, fewer than half—about 43—also receive a free or reduced-price breakfast at school before classes begin.

Countless studies have shown that children who eat breakfast at school—closer to class and test-taking time—perform better on standardized tests than those who skip breakfast or eat breakfast at home. And morning class-time is often the most instructionally demanding part of the day.

Several schools across the nation have started offering “universal” breakfasts (when breakfast is served for free to all students), often serving the meal in classrooms at the start of the school day. Universal programs reduce administrative burdens, draw no lines between students based on income and help everyone perform better in school.

They can do this by implementing provisions in the National School Lunch Act which allow schools a period of several years in which they can provide breakfast without collecting meal applications and still receive federal funding. Offering free breakfast to every student not only reduces stigma, but makes it possible to serve breakfasts in the classroom, an innovation that is winning over parents and educators alike.

It would certainly help Jasmine, who says, “I don’t wake up early enough to eat breakfast at home. I have just enough time to wake up, get dressed and get to school.”

Jasmine’s lunch period does not start until 11:30 am. While 11:30 may seem early for lunch, it is a long time to wait if a child has not eaten since the night before. According to Jasmine, her lunch period used to begin at 12:15 pm, but was rescheduled in favor of the earlier time because “no one could pay attention.”

Jasmine, an articulate and resilient child who has lived through some hard times with her family, including a period of homelessness, has gotten used to getting by without breakfast. “Before, I used to say, ‘I’M HUNGRY!!!’ but now I am so used to it that I don’t even moan or groan or anything anymore,” Jasmine proudly proclaimed.

Nevertheless, when asked if she would like her school to serve breakfast in the classroom, Jasmine paused for a moment to think and said, “I would like it, I would like it a lot.”

Resources:

• Background and Fast Facts on School Breakfast
• See how your state's school breakfast program measures up with our Interactive Map.
• Learn more about the school breakfast program in How Will Congress Rewrite a Long-Running Success Story?
  
• Take action at the Food Research Action Center

LaFleur Stephens is an Emerson National Hunger Fellow.