ResearchCurrent ResearchDietary Effects of Universal-Free School Breakfast: Findings from the Evaluation of the School Breakfast Program Pilot Project
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Study Design and Sample
The School Breakfast Program Pilot Project was implemented in elementary schools in six school districts, from school year 2000-2001 to school year 2002-2003. The districts were selected to broadly represent the universe of all districts participating in the SBP (13). The experimental design employed treated schools as the experimental unit and nested students within schools. Participating schools were first paired (within district) on the basis of demographic variables, including average
Breakfast Consumption
Breakfast consisted of all food and beverages reported consumed between 5:00 am and 45 minutes after the start of school, and any items consumed before 10:30 am that the student reported as being part of breakfast. (Some schools served school breakfast mid-morning.) Breakfast consumption was defined, as it has been previously (17), in two ways: 1) any breakfast—consumption of any food or beverage (other than plain water) or 2) a nutritionally substantive breakfast—consumption of food from at
Results
A total of 4,278 students provided data on breakfast consumption, whereas 3,347 students provided data for the full day. Response rates were 98% and 77%, respectively. A second recall was completed by 12% of the full-day sample for a response rate of 90% (403 of 448 randomly selected students).
There were no statistically significant differences in demographic or household characteristics between the treatment and control students at baseline (P>0.05). The mean age of students in the treatment
Discussion
The School Breakfast Program Pilot Project evaluation showed that the availability of universal-free breakfast in elementary schools significantly increased school breakfast participation, similar to state- and school district-led initiatives (10, 11). This study, the first to examine dietary outcomes, found no effect from the availability of universal-free school breakfast on the likelihood of students skipping breakfast altogether. Control school students were more likely to eat breakfast at
Conclusions
The approach of offering free school breakfast to students from households of all incomes did not reduce breakfast skipping, nor did it change the overall quality of children’s diets after nearly 1 year of the intervention. Nonetheless, the positive nutritional and cognitive benefits of eating breakfast are well documented in the literature. Students who cannot eat breakfast at home should have the opportunity to eat it at school.
This study and others have shown that improvements in children’s
M. K. Crepinsek is a senior researcher, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc, Cambridge, MA; at the time of the study, she was an associate, Abt Associates Inc, Cambridge, MA.
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Perspectives of the key stakeholders of the KickStart for Kids school breakfast program
2020, Children and Youth Services ReviewCitation Excerpt :However, it has now evolved to a more universal program that provides breakfast to all children in participating schools. While universal programs are shown to decrease stigma amongst children (Crepinsek, Singh, Bernstein, & McLaughlin, 2006; Engels & Boys, 2008; Harvey-Golding et al., 2016; Zota et al., 2016), the widespread roll out of the program could be problematic as KS4K might be failing to provide food to those children who need it the most. This could possibly affect the delivery of the program, given that some schools are struggling with limited food availability and/or provision.
Universal Access to Free School Meals through the Community Eligibility Provision Is Associated with Better Attendance for Low-Income Elementary School Students in Wisconsin
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2019, AppetiteCitation Excerpt :Only a few studies also payed attention to breakfast quality. Three subsidized school feeding programs did not increase breakfast frequency, but improved breakfast quality (Crepinsek, Singh, Bernstein, & McLaughlin, 2006; Devaney & Stuart, 1998; Murphy et al., 2007). Although such free or reduced-price breakfast programmes have been in place for decades in some countries, participation may be problematic, partly because parents and children fear the stigmatization of poverty (Oostindjer et al., 2017).
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M. K. Crepinsek is a senior researcher, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc, Cambridge, MA; at the time of the study, she was an associate, Abt Associates Inc, Cambridge, MA.
A. Singh is a branch chief, Office of Analysis, Nutrition, and Evaluation, Food and Nutrition Service, US Department of Agriculture, Alexandria, VA.
L. S. Bernstein is senior associates, Abt Associates Inc, Cambridge, MA
J. E. McLaughlin is senior associates, Abt Associates Inc, Bethesda, MD