Closing the School Breakfast Gap

The School Breakfast Program helps children, regardless of household income, can start their school day with a meal. Research shows that students who have breakfast have greater focus, perform better on tests, and miss fewer school days. However, many eligible students are unable to take advantage of this program due to transportation barriers, limited time, or not being eligible for a free or reduced-price meal.

To better understand these barriers and how to overcome them, Washington University researchers partnered with Operation Food Search with support from the Food Research & Action Center and SLU PRiME to evaluate Missouri school meal data that culminated in meaningful findings around policy and program innovation for school meals. Specifically, the project found which types of innovative programs increase breakfast participation across regions and types of schools. The multi-year research project allowed the team to explore trends in school breakfast across the state with the goal of increasing overall program participation.

CSD researchers additionally have examined COVID-19 pandemic impacts and the policy flexibilities established to support household food security.

Learn more about this research:

• Missouri School Breakfast reports
• Increased School Breakfast Participation from Policy and Program Innovation: The Community Eligibility Provision and Breakfast after the Bell
• Serving Students: Increased Free and Reduced-Price School Meal Access in Missouri

Funding Partners: Operation Food Search

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