The Lone Star State ranks fourth among states in participation in the breakfast program, with 97 percent of all Texas schools that offer school lunches also serving breakfast. The national average is 72 percent. The lunch program serves 1.5 million Texas children. Just under half of all low-income students in Texas are participating in the breakfast program this year, slightly higher than the national average of 40 percent. Congress started the breakfast program in 1966, providing federal funding for at least some of the cost of every breakfast.
Children pay according to their families' financial means.
Nearly 6 million low-income students nationwide are served through the breakfast program, while nearly 15 million participate in the lunch program. The Food Research and Action Center, a nonprofit working to eradicate domestic hunger and malnutrition, has estimated that some 4 million low-income children 12 and younger go hungry, while another 10 million are at risk of hunger. E.W. Scripps Publications , All Rights Reserved. Site users are subject to our User Agreement . We also have a Privacy Policy .