The School Breakfast Program
We believe the USDA should implement a program to offer Universal Breakfast for the next two years, with funding tied to quality job standards. Currently, only one in five children eligible for free school breakfasts actually receive them, due in part to logistical hurdles and the stigma attached to participation in a program targeted to poor families. As pointed out by the Child Nutrition Forum, offering free breakfast in public schools to all children would ensure that every hungry child is fed without discrimination. In addition, pilot universal breakfast programs have shown a decrease in absenteeism and greater student attentiveness in class.

Funding for this program also would have a ripple effect through the economy, helping everyone from farmers to cafeteria workers to low- and middle-income families whose income will be freed up for other necessities, all while ensuring adequate nutrition for children at risk of going hungry.

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)
The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is currently serving roughly only one out of every ten children who qualify for free and reduced price lunches during the school year. As the Food Research and Action Center says, hunger doesn't take a vacation. And there is recent research from the Ohio State University that points out that overweight, as determined by body mass index, increases more when school is out. While there are many causes for this, we know that when nutritious meals are available to children, we do a better job of helping them lead healthy lives. We recommend investing in expansion and promotion of SFSP to increase the number of sponsors, the number of sites, and the number of children participating. A grant program could help achieve this.