It’s National School Breakfast Week. As 30 million children rely on school meals for a significant part of their daily nutrition, now is the time for reflection and action.

By Ann Marie Krautheim, M.A., R.D., L.D., CEO of GENYOUth

As CEO of GENYOUth, the national nonprofit dedicated to creating healthier school communities by reducing hunger, improving food access, and increasing opportunities for physical activity among youth, I believe that K-12 schools are the epicenter of youth wellness. Schools play a crucial role in ensuring proper nutrition and providing safe places to play and learn for 55 million students, including 30 million who rely on school meals¹. That is why GENYOUth is committed to championing school-based initiatives aimed at improving the well-being of our nation’s youth.

This week is National School Breakfast Week, an annual celebration of the most critical meal of the day for students. School breakfast programs are anchors for student health and academic success throughout the school year. And with tens of millions of U.S. children at an increased risk for food insecurity, it’s more important than ever to ensure that all students have greater access to — and opportunities to participate in — school breakfast.

Here are five fundamentals that reflect the value and importance of school breakfast for America’s youth:

1. Hungry children cannot learn. One in eight U.S. children live in food insecurity, and for children of color that number is closer to 1 in 5². Research shows that children receive their healthiest meals at school³, and for many children school meals, including breakfast, are often the only nutritious meal they receive on some days. School breakfast reduces student hunger and the risk of obesity, improves wellness and academic performance, decreases behavioral issues like tardiness and absenteeism⁴, and provides much-needed help to millions of families struggling to get food on the table. (Watch our End Student Hunger Video here)

2. As COVID-19 food assistance programs expire, kids are at risk! Last week’s end of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in 32 states was the latest pandemic relief program to come to a halt, along with national support for the Universal School Meals program, which ended at the start of this school year (Fall 2022). These developments put additional stress on already budget-pressed families and the school nutrition programs that are striving to help them. Feeding students remains a critical task for school nutrition programs, which are challenged by higher food costs, labor shortages, supply chain challenges, unpaid meal debt and hurdles to the financial stability of school meal programs.

3. Innovation helps reduce barriers to school breakfast. Time and stigma are hurdles that prevent many students from benefitting from school breakfast. “Grab and Go Breakfast” and “Breakfast after the Bell,” which GENYOUth helps to support, are the proven gold standard in helping to expand student access and participation. GENYOUth provides grants for Grab and Go Meal Equipment to help increase access to healthy breakfast options, such as milk (flavored or unflavored), fruits, and whole grains, as students enter school or walk through the hallway on the way to class. The Grab and Go innovation has proven to be a game-changer by increasing school breakfast participation by as much as 27%!

4. School breakfast helps deliver the critical daily nutrition kids need. School meals must meet the USDA school meal guidelines, ensuring students are offered balanced, healthy meals. Children who participate in school meals consume more dairy milk (flavored or unflavored), fruits and vegetables compared to non-participants, and they consume fewer desserts and snacks⁵ — all of which help them meet their daily nutrient requirements. In fact, school meals provide up to half of the daily nutrition needed by youth⁶.

5. Schools Need Our Help! Now is the moment for the public and private sectors — including food-system participants as well as government, business, philanthropy, and nonprofit organizations — to work alongside schools to increase school meal participation to improve student well-being and address nutrition disparities.

As a registered dietitian and leader of a national non-profit that empowers students to build healthy, high-achieving futures, these school breakfast fundamentals underscore a key truth: schools need help to feed children who depend on them for their overall health and well-being. Through public-private partnerships, GENYOUth is committed to raising funds to provide schools with innovative ways to feed hungry students — based on my firm belief that the only hunger a child should have is a hunger to learn.

Ann Marie Krautheim, M.A., R.D., L.D., is the CEO of GENYOUth, where she leads the non-profit organization’s strategic vision, partnerships, and programs to create healthier school communities and empower youth to lead change. A recognized authority on youth wellness and public private partnerships, Krautheim works closely with thought leaders in government, business, professional sports leagues, education, health, and fitness to drive collective impact. Having served as GENYOUth’s President and Chief Wellness Officer for over a decade, she has played an integral role in the organization’s growth from a start-up to a leading non-profit generating measurable results nationwide. She believes that every child, in every school, has the right to be nourished, active and supported.

¹ USDA FNS

² USDA ERS

³ Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

⁴ FRAC

⁵ USDA FNS

⁶ https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/nutrition/schoolnutrition.htm