Major Factors Inhibit Expansion of the School Breakfast Program

The school breakfast program has not grown as quickly as Congress anticipated. Expansion has been hampered by: local attitudes toward the program and perceptions of local needs and responsibilities; program costs that exceed maximum federal reimbursement; low participation, especially among teenagers; operating problems; and insufficient and/or misdirected promotion efforts. Legislation which was proposed requiring schools to provide breakfast programs if 50 percent of their students were eligible for free or reduced-price meals was rejected. Instead, Congress reaffirmed its position that programs should be made available in all schools where needed to provide adequate nutrition to students. Expansion of the program has been impeded by local opinions such as: the contention that a good breakfast is a family, not a school, responsibility; belief that the school's primary function, education, is weakened by the burden of the administration of such auxilliary functions; and the view held by many people that the program is primarily for children of low-income families and is not needed when a small proportion of such children are in a school. Low participation in the program raises questions about the need for the program, and may raise program costs. Present nutritional information systems are not adequate for deciding whether students are nutritionally needy. Financial losses seriously inhibit program growth as do various operational problems concerning bus and class schedules, food preparation and serving facilities, and supervision. The public information program for making the schools and public more aware of the breakfast program has been ineffective.