If you work in an Oklahoma school or district and you are struggling with school breakfast participation, the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom have great news! We are currently offering breakfast-in-the-classroom grants in ten states, including Oklahoma.
In FRAC’s most recent School Breakfast Scorecard Oklahoma is 18th in the country, reaching 58.7 free/reduced-priced students at breakfast for every 100 served at lunch. That’s a good number, but it leaves plenty of room for growth—and that’s where we come in.
Why Implement Breakfast in the Classroom?
Schools and districts implement breakfast in the classroom for a variety of reasons. Some of the most common reasons cited include:
- Long lines in the cafeteria can’t accommodate all students at breakfast
- Disciplinary issues in the cafeteria and/or common areas in the morning
- Low breakfast participation
- Stigma
- Late drop-offs and bussing schedules prevent all students from accessing breakfast
These are just a few areas in which breakfast-in-the-classroom can become a handy tool to help address food insecurity and hunger, as well as reduce tardies/absences, trips to the nurse, and disciplinary issues. And let’s not forget about the improved academic outcomes for students who eat breakfast!
Across the United States, fewer than half of students who eat free- and reduced-price lunches also participate in the School Breakfast Program. A universal (free) breakfast program can help you increase access to the morning meal, improving participation and creating a calmer, more structured start to the day for everyone—teachers, administrators, and custodians, as well as your students.
Partners for BIC: Grant Criteria
The Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom grant is designed to help high-need schools and districts implement universal breakfast-in-the-classroom in one or more schools. Our grant is easily tailored to fit your needs, and that unique flexibility means we can help you implement BIC in just one school or district-wide, and anything in-between. Visit our website to review our grant eligibility criteria.
Ending Hunger in Oklahoma: A report from Hunger-Free Oklahoma
In case you missed it, Hunger-Free Oklahoma released a new report last month: “Ending Hunger in Oklahoma: An assessment of food insecurity and resources”. The report estimates that the number of food-insecure individuals in OK is 652,090; additional findings include:
- Nearly 24 percent of Oklahoma children live in food-insecure households
- 62 percent of Oklahoma students are enrolled in F/R meal program
- Increased illness & decreased academic achievement in terms of hunger costs Oklahoma $1.5 billion/year
- Feeding America estimates Oklahoma needs an additional combined $320.6 million to meet food needs
- According to USDA’s 2015 data, 15.5 percent of households in Oklahoma experienced food insecurity
- Oklahoma (and 11 other states) has food insecurity rates statistically significantly higher than the national three-year average of 13.7 percent, and is among the top 10 most food-insecure states in the nation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a8TsN6_Z9k&feature=youtu.be
About the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom
Funding for the Partners for BIC grant was made possible through a generous, $7.5 million grant from the Walmart Foundation. Our consortium is made up of the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), the NEA Foundation, the School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) Foundation. You can learn more about us, and our grant, by visiting our website (https://live-breakfastintheclassroom.pantheonsite.io) and following us on Facebook and Twitter.
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