Hungry children can’t learn.

TOO MANY CHILDREN IN OUR ELEMENTARY & MIDDLE

SCHOOLS COME TO SCHOOL HUNGRY

The results are stunning:

• Attention spans shorten • Energy levels plummet

• Productivity wanes  • Learning suffers  • Lives suffer

The solution? 

During an annual teachers’ convention in Wisconsin

more than 500 teachers in attendance were surveyed

about their opinions of school breakfast.

Ninety four percent (94%) of teachers surveyed stated that they had

observed students coming to school hungry.

Teachers who were serving breakfast in the classroom added

that they had observed the following since they started

serving breakfast in their classroom:

• improved academic performance • improved health • better behavior

These same teachers indicated that breakfast in the classroom resulted

in little or no loss of instructional time.

Teachers who served breakfast in their

classroom reported that their workload did not change as a result of

having breakfast.

FACT: EATING BREAKFAST AT SCHOOL HELPS CHILDREN LEARN

Studies show that children who eat

breakfast at the start of their school day:

have higher math and reading scores 

have sharper memory and show faster speed

on cognitive tests

have broader vocabularies

do better on standardized tests

focus better and

behave better

“Right away I noticed an increase in my students’ attention span. There was also an immediate decrease in the

amount of discipline issues dealt with during the morning hours of school.”

EATING BREAKFAST AT SCHOOL HAS

HEALTH BENEFITS, TOO 

Children are less likely to be absent.

“Since we implemented breakfast in the Classroom, our absenteeism rate has dropped by 70%! Having students in

school on a consistent basis contributes to their academic success.”

They’re less likely to see the school nurse

“It is sad the number of children who come to school hungry, some with

hunger from the previous evening.”

less likely to be overweight

“The breakfast we provide allows students to concentrate on learning rather than concentrating on when lunch will be

served.”

They eat more fruit, drink more milk and consume a wider variety of foods

“They literally rush into their classrooms in the morning so they can get their

nourishment.”

IT’S FREE AND

IT WORKS

The Breakfast in the Classroom initiative takes

the traditional school breakfast approach and

improves it with one key ingredient: 

the classroom. 

Breakfast becomes available to everyone AT NO CHARGE – no

matter what their income level  

“When we served breakfast in the cafeteria, we found that students just couldn’t get up in time to get to the cafeteria for breakfast and then go back to the playground to

line up for class. Now when students and teachers walk into

the classroom, breakfast is there.”

It’s served after the opening bell. This makes it easier for all children

to easily participate

Photo provided by the got breakfast? foundation

EASY FORTEACHERS WITH NO

CLASSROOM TIME LOST

Some teachers even reported an improvement

in their workload since adopting breakfast in the

classroom.

Children eat together in the classroom,

usually the homeroom, at the start of the

school day.

Photo by Trent C

ampbell

“It helps begin our day with a sense of community. The students enjoy it

quite a bit and hate it if they miss it if they are late.”

They enjoy nutritionally well-balanced foods like breakfast wraps, yogurt, or fruit served directly in their classroom or

grabbed from a cart in the hallway.

 

Students then eat breakfast

while the teacher takes attendance,

collects homework or teaches a short

lesson plan.

In about 10 minutes, the meal is over and the

school day continues. 

“Our students begin their day with full stomachs, in good moods, ready to

tackle a day’s learning.”

Clean up is easy and the cost to the school is absolutely nothing!

Encourage all students to participate in Breakfast

in the Classroom.

100%

“The students nag their parents about being on time in the morning so that they won’t miss this essential time of

day for our classroom.”

This initiative was developed by the Partners for Breakfast in the

Classroom:Food Research and Action Center

National Association of Elementary School Principals Foundation

National Education Association Health Information Network

School Nutrition Foundation 

…in response to their shared passion for childhood nutrition and its potential for improving

educational outcomes and child health.  

Breakfast in the Classroom is an initiative funded by the Walmart Foundation