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Release No. FNS 0001.09

Contact: Susan Acker (703) 305-2281
susan.acker@fns.usda.gov

USDA Celebrates School Breakfast Week

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2009 — Acting USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, Tim O’Connor marked National School Breakfast Week by emphasizing the role of USDA’s School Breakfast Program in tough economic times. This year’s event is being held March 2-6.

“USDA’s School Breakfast Program is a vital part of the nation’s nutrition safety net,” O’Connor said. “The program is there to provide hungry kids with a healthy start each day to help them do their best in school.”

USDA, in partnership with the School Nutrition Association (SNA), observes School Breakfast Week each year to highlight the School Breakfast Program and how important it is for children to begin the day with a nutritious meal.

Each day, the program provides more than 10 million nutritious breakfasts to hungry children in 85,000 public and private schools, along with residential child care institutions, across the country.

Any child at a participating school may purchase a meal through the School Breakfast Program, but children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the Federal poverty level are eligible for free breakfast (for the period July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009, 130 percent of the poverty level is $27,560 for a family of four; 185 percent is $39,220).Those with higher incomes may be eligible for reduced-price meals.

Working with SNA and the Food Research Action Center (FRAC), USDA is currently striving to increase the number of children participating in the School Breakfast Program, and recently updated and revised the School Breakfast Toolkit as an online resource to assist schools interested in offering the program.

USDA’s School Breakfast Program is one of 15 nutrition-assistance programs that together comprise the nation’s food safety net, which also includes the National School Lunch Program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called the Food Stamp Program.

For more information on USDA nutrition assistance programs, please visit our website at http://www.fns.usda.gov.
 


Last modified: 05/01/2009