FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOCAL SCHOOLS FEATURED IN SCHOOL BREAKFAST REPORT CARD

Too Many PA Schools Continue to Shun Breakfast

Harrisburg (December 11, 2007). Most of the Pennsylvania schools targeted by the Rendell Administration to begin offering breakfast to their students have declined to do so. Of the 239 public schools with at least 20 percent low-income students and no breakfast, only 87 (36 percent) met the Governor’s challenge by offering breakfast this fall.

Governor Rendell launched the breakfast challenge in February when he asked the General Assembly to require low-income schools to provide breakfast and also to provide the money to pay for it. However, in the frantic last hours of the budget session, the General Assembly scuttled the breakfast requirement and adopted only the proposal for additional funding, thereby making it easier for schools to pay for school meals.

By not starting breakfast programs, the schools in question are leaving millions of federal dollars unspent. Had the 152 targeted schools that said “no” to breakfast served just 16 percent of their students, nearly $1 million in USDA funding would have flowed into these Pennsylvania schools, providing an additional 8,800 children with a morning meal.

A national report scheduled for release December 11 th by the Food Research Action Center (FRAC) shows yet again that Pennsylvania ranks near the bottom (41 st) nationally and behind five of its adjoining six states.

The Pennsylvania School Breakfast Report Card, released today by the Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center, is a comprehensive statewide rating of school districts’ participation in and implementation of the School Breakfast Program during the 2006-07 school year. The report includes five categories that feature exemplary schools as well as those schools that are not providing necessary nutritional support. Local highlights from the report follow, as well as the category definitions and tables from the Report Card. For a list of all school districts and their school breakfast performance, go to www.pahunger.org.

Additionally, for a list of targeted PA schools that started breakfast, as well as a list of those that did not, visit www.pahunger.org. There you also will find a chart showing estimated federal funds lost per school as a result of the “no breakfast” decision.

Locally four districts received the Star Performers distinction for successfully incorporating breakfast into the school day, as well as for reaching large numbers of children. The percentages indicate the ratio of students eating lunch who are also eating breakfast: Homer-Center (72 percent), Purchase Line (60 percent), Tussey Mountain (52 percent), and Conemaugh Township Area (52 percent).

Four local districts achieved the Getting the Job Done category for serving breakfast to high percentages of low-income children: Homer-Center (59 percent), Purchase Line (58 percent), Conemaugh Township Area (53 percent), and Conemaugh Valley (52 percent).

One area district attained the Moving Up category for a significant increase in its overall breakfast participation: Forest Hills (76 percent increase).

The Improvement Needed category highlights districts that have low breakfast participation among low-income students. Two local districts made the list this year: Penns Manor Area has only 2 percent of low-income students participating in the school breakfast program, leaving 8,316 low-income children without the assurance of a morning meal, while Forest Hills has a participation rate of 14 percent with 706 low-income children not taking part in the program.

Star Performers

“Star Performers” are school districts that integrate breakfast into the school day (much as they do lunch) and encourage all students to participate. Selected for recognition this year are districts in which average daily breakfast participation was at least 50 percent of average daily lunch participation. Leading the way in 2006-07 for the second time was Midland School District in Beaver County with an 85 percent breakfast participation rate. Always a strong performer, Farrell Area School District in Mercer County ranked second with 81 percent of students participating in the School Breakfast Program.

Newly recognized in this category for the 2007-07 report are the following school districts: Tussey Mountain School District ( Bedford), Southeastern Greene School District (Greene), New Castle Area School District ( Lawrence), and Reynolds School District (Mercer).

Getting the Job Done

Schools with many children from low-income families have a special responsibility to implement successful breakfast programs due to the likelihood that some of those children come from homes where there is no food available for breakfast. Recognized here are schools that do a commendable job at reaching high-risk children.

Among school districts in which at least 20 percent of the children came from low-income families, sixteen stood out for serving breakfast to at least half of those students each day. Emerging as a new leader for 2006-07 was Midland School District; 75 percent of its low-income students had breakfast at school.

Schools newly recognized in this year’s report include the following school districts: Reynolds School District (Mercer), Conemaugh Valley School District (Cambria), and Cornell School District (Allegheny).

Moving Up!

Nine school districts began offering the School Breakfast Program last year including Gettysburg Area School District (Adams), Harbor Creek School District (Erie), Conestoga Valley School District (Lancaster), and Pottsville Area School District (Schuylkill), each of which were written up as “Failing the Students” in last year’s Pennsylvania School Breakfast Report Card. By starting breakfast, these nine school districts joined others that have made the crucial link between nutrition, health, and academics.

Also meriting special recognition for making a beneficial change are eleven districts that increased their breakfast participation by more than 60 percent. Boyertown School District in Berks County topped this category with a 387 percent increase in breakfast participation, while Souderton School District ( Montgomery) ranked second demonstrating a 281 percent increase.

Improvement Needed

Twenty-five school districts with at least 20 percent low-income students reached only a small fraction of those students with breakfast. Eleven of those school districts have been on the “Improvement Needed” list for at least three consecutive years. Once again, Baldwin-Whitehall School District (Allegheny), with 1066 low-income students, leads this category; less than 1 percent of its low-income students received school breakfast on a typical school day. That leaves 1,058 low-income students in the district that are not participating in the School Breakfast Program.

The breakfast program at Penns Manor Area School District ( Indiana) also warrants major improvement, with 8,316 low-income students (98 percent) not eating at school in the morning.

Failing the Children

Eighteen districts with at least 20 percent low-income students did not offer breakfast in its schools. Johnsonburg School District (Elk), with 41 percent low-income students and no breakfast program, had the unfortunate distinction of leading this category in 2006-07.

On the positive side, seven of the districts from the list have begun breakfast in the current school year and will not be on next year’s list of failures! Those districts include: North Schuylkill School District (Schuylkill), Forbes Road School District ( Fulton), Greenwood School District (Perry), Greater Latrobe School District (Westmoreland), Wilson Area School District ( Northampton), Muhlenberg School District (Berks), and Chartiers Valley School District (Allegheny).

Numerous studies continue to show breakfast’s academic, social, and emotional benefits for children. Research has also indicated that by starting the day with a healthy breakfast, children reduce their risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and other future health problems.

For more information regarding school breakfast contact Lindsay Briggs at (717)233-6705 or email at info@pahunger.org.

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