Undernutrition along with environmental factors associated with poverty can permanently retard physical growth, brain development and cognitive functioning.
Hunger harms a child's ability to learn.
And children who attend school hungry perform significantly below non-hungry students on standardized tests. Sadly, the longer a child's nutritional, emotional, and educational needs go unmet, the greater the likelihood of cognitive impairment. There is no shortage of research showing that providing schoolchildren with a nutritious breakfast improves academic performance, behavior in class, and nutritional health. Average intakes of food energy, protein, vitamins A and B6, calcium, and iron were from 26 to 166 percent higher among breakfast participants than non-participants. Average tardiness rates decreased for breakfast participants and increased for non-participants.