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September 20, 2012

To members of the education community:

As  your students headed back to school this fall, more than 16 million children in  this country struggled with hunger.  A new study shows that three  out of five K-8 public school teachers say they see students regularly coming  to school hungry.  Teachers and schools  are on the front lines of the fight to end childhood hunger, and I often hear  stories of teachers who spend their own money on food for their students.  Teachers do this because they know that hungry  students have trouble learning when they are focused on their empty stomachs  rather than classroom activities.  These  students often lack concentration and struggle with poor academic performance,  behavior problems, and health issues.

Research  has demonstrated that eating breakfast helps students pay attention, improves academic  performance, and leads to better behavior in the classroom.  Additionally, students who eat breakfast  demonstrate higher quality nutrient intakes than students who do not eat  breakfast.  However, of the more than 22  million students who ate a free or reduced-price lunch in 2011, fewer than half  also ate breakfast at school.  We have an  opportunity to reduce student hunger by narrowing this gap.

Lack of participation in the School Breakfast Program is often due to barriers  including timing and stigma.  Students  often arrive to school too late to consume breakfast, and there can be a stigma  associated with receiving free and reduced-price breakfast in the cafeteria.  Fortunately, many innovative methods of  serving breakfast are being implemented across the country that help address  these barriers by making breakfast a part of the school day. When schools serve breakfast after the bell  during regular school hours, they help address the timing problem because  students no longer need to arrive early to school in order to participate in  school breakfast.  Additionally, when  breakfast is offered to all students, it helps eliminate the stigma associated  with going to the cafeteria in the morning before the school day starts.

Schools  across the country have successfully increased participation in breakfast  programs through innovative breakfast delivery programs like Breakfast in the Classroom and Grab N’ Go.  Breakfast in the Classroom allows students to  eat breakfast in their classroom after the official start of the school day.  When breakfast is served in the classroom it can  coincide with appropriate educational activities to get the school day started.   Grab N’ Go breakfasts are picked up by  students when they arrive at school or between morning classes.  The food is packaged and available on mobile  service carts in areas such as hallways or entryways.  Information and resources on expanding school  breakfast can be found on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition  Service Web site at http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/breakfast/expansion/default.htm.

Today,  I am encouraging schools, school administrators, and teachers to seek out these  and other innovative ways to increase participation in the school breakfast  program.  In doing so, we can ensure  students are starting the school day with the food they need to enable them to  be successful in the classroom.



| | Sincerely, 
| | -----------
| | /s/        
| | Arne Duncan