School Breakfast Programs

The School Breakfast Program is a federally funded program that reimburses schools that serve breakfast. It is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by the Massachusetts Department of Education (DOE).

Participating schools have to follow federal nutrition standards and provide free and reduced-price breakfasts to eligible children. Project Bread helps schools serve even healthier food through its Better Breakfast Initiative.

» Learn more about school breakfast and get free materials.

Why Serve Breakfast at School?

Many kids in grades K-12 skip breakfast. Often children find that they and their parents are too rushed in the morning to prepare something to eat. Some students simply do not have enough food at home for a morning meal. No matter what the reason, students who do not eat breakfast are often hungry by the time their first class begins.

For the children who don't have the time, appetite, or household income necessary to eat before school, the School Breakfast Program is a chance to start the day with a healthy morning meal that gives them the energy they need to succeed in school. Many studies show that children who eat a good breakfast every day learn better, behave better, and perform better than children who do not eat breakfast. Learn more from our MCAS/School Breakfast Study, which showed an increase in MCAS scores by students who eat breakfast.

Serving Healthy Meals: The Better Breakfast Initiative

Beyond sugary cereals and fruit juice, the Better Breakfast Initiative aims to improve the nutritional content of school breakfast by offering students an all-new breakfast menu, based on guidelines developed in consultation with the Nutrition Department at the Harvard School of Public Health.

A healthy breakfast at school is particularly important for hungry children who often rely on inexpensive high-calorie foods at home. For these children, every nutritious calorie counts.

Learn more about the Better Breakfast Initiative, including the Guidelines developed with the Harvard School of Public Health. For more information, read the Harvard Public Health Review article about the Better Breakfast Initiative and how schools in Massachusetts are feeding more children and boosting nutritional standards. 

  

Boy adding grapes to his school meals tray

A student adds grapes to his school breakfast plate in Orange, MA.