FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 19, 2014
National Education Association Health Information Network ensures more students are learning-ready with Breakfast in the Classroom
Seven states will benefit from grant funding from the Walmart Foundation to implement an innovative approach to the School Breakfast Program.
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Education Association Health Information Network (NEA HIN), along with three other leading hunger, nutrition and education groups are continuing to expand their efforts to serve Breakfast in the Classroom and increase participation in the federally-funded School Breakfast Program.
Through a $5 million grant from the Walmart Foundation, NEA HIN, the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESPF), and the School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) – collectively known as Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom– aim to serve breakfast to more than 25,000 additional students in seven states over the next two years and continue the fight against childhood hunger. The seven states include: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Breakfast in the Classroom reworks how school breakfast is delivered, by offering it at no charge to all students and moving it from the cafeteria to the classroom to improve participation. The goal is to improve students’ health and speak the academic gains associated with the morning meal. While most U.S. schools participate in the federally-funded School Breakfast Program, only half of low-income children who are eligible for a free or reduced-price breakfast through the federal School Breakfast Program are eating it, according to a 2013 Food Research and Action Center analysis.
“As the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom continue their efforts for the third year, the history of success is encouraging and underscores the role food plays in helping our children grow into healthy and well-educated young adults,” said Princess Moss, Secretary-Treasurer at the National Education Association (NEA) and national spokesperson for the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom. “The benefits of children eating breakfast at school are well-documented and expansive, with better performance on standardized tests, better attendance records and are less disruptive in the classroom. It’s reassuring to know that thousands of more students will reap the benefits of a nutritious morning meal.”
The seven selected states all demonstrated exceptional need –and potential for success– to participate in Breakfast in the Classroom. NEA HIN is partnering various NEA State Affiliates in the seven states to ensure that school staff is engaged in the awarded districts and to provide support as the program is implemented.
Since 2010, 15 school districts have been awarded a grant from the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom to implement Breakfast in the Classroom, resulting in more than 37,000 students starting their day off with a healthy breakfast.
Breakfast in the Classroom is part of the Walmart Foundation’s $2 billion commitment to help fight hunger in American through 2015.
For more information, visit: www.breakfastintheclassroom.org.
For more information on NEA HIN, visit: www.neahin.org
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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing
3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.
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