Initiative Description: The School Breakfast Program (SBP) is a critical part of the food assistance safety net, providing free or low-cost meals to >12 million children/d. Children with family incomes <130% of the federal poverty line are eligible for free meals, as are those participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or certain other programs.

Study Results: Reduction in the percentage of students with low attendance and an increase of 0.08 SD in normalized reading scores among likely-participant boys.

Reference: Bartfeld, J.S., Berger, L., Men, F., Chen, Y. (2019) Access to the School Breakfast Program Is Associated with Higher Attendance and Test Scores among Elementary School Students, The Journal of Nutrition, 149, 2, Pages 336–343, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxy267

Level of Evidence: Good