“School breakfast is one of the most effective tools we have in the fight against childhood hunger. This budget would roll back progress over a penny wise, pound foolish proposal." - Rachel Sabella
Contacts and Context: Christy Felling, cfelling@strength.org
New York, NY – Mayor de Blasio’s FY 2020 executive budget contains proposed cuts to funding for school breakfast in New York, which would reverse progress the city has made in reaching thousands of students with the morning nutrition they need. The following is a statement from Rachel Sabella, Director of the No Kid Hungry New York campaign.
“I am deeply concerned over Mayor de Blasio’s proposed cuts to funding and weakened program requirements for Breakfast in the Classroom in his FY20 Executive Budget proposal.
Under Mayor de Blasio’s leadership, New York City has been a national leader in connecting students to school breakfast. In 2015, the Mayor, the New York City Council, and the New York City Department of Education took the strong, proactive step of requiring breakfast be served in the classroom in all stand-alone elementary schools. This led to a surge in breakfast participation; since school year 2014-2015 (the year before the Breakfast in the Classroom policy was announced), an additional 79,771 students from across the five boroughs are eating school breakfast.
Now, that progress is at risk of being rolled back over a penny wise, pound foolish proposal. These cuts will make it harder for schools to ensure students are getting the fuel their growing brains and bodies need to succeed.
School breakfast is one of the most effective tools we have in the fight against childhood hunger. One in 5 children in New York City faces hunger, and kids can’t be hungry to learn when they are just plain hungry. Research shows that when students consistently eat a healthy school breakfast, it can have a dramatic impact on their learning. Principals and teachers report stronger test scores, fewer discipline problems, higher attendance rates, and calmer classrooms.
School breakfast is also an essential tool in building greater equity among students. Serving Breakfast in the Classroom is the most inclusive way to ensure that all students are starting the day ready to learn, regardless of family income. When all students get breakfast, it helps to level the playing field, making everyone starts the day with the nutrition they need to focus and learn.
Too often, however, this breakfast isn’t reaching the students who need it. In schools where breakfast is still served in the cafeteria, before the school day begins, the program is severely underutilized. Transportation challenges, complicated morning schedules and social stigma, among other factors, prevent kids from participating.
This is a solvable problem: when schools serve Breakfast in the Classroom, offered after the official start of the school day, every child can get a healthy start to their day. This funding leads to stronger schools, improving infrastructure by purchasing new equipment for cafeterias. The additional meals served each day through Breakfast in the Classroom also represent new jobs and/or additional hours for staff in the school system, jobs that could be threatened if fewer meals are served each day.
These cuts will make it harder for students to get the nutrition they need to thrive. On behalf of children across New York City, I strongly urge the Mayor and the New York City Council to both restore this funding and continue to successfully implement breakfast in the classroom in all city schools."
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About No Kid Hungry
No child should go hungry in America. But 1 in 6 kids will face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger through effective programs that provide kids with the food they need. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization working to end hunger and poverty. Join us at NoKidHungry.org