Ending Student Hunger with Second Chance Breakfast

/
school-meals.png

A successful day at school starts with nutrition. Unfortunately, the one in four children who arrive to school without having eaten breakfast are missing out on the fuel they need to concentrate and learn. There’s good news in San Diego: local schools that have implemented Breakfast After the Bell have seen a more than 200 percent increase in the number of students who participate in breakfast programs. 

How collaboration helped more students start the day with nutrition

Over the past year, San Diego Hunger Coalition has been a designated mentor to the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) to help implement alternate school breakfast programs. We provide technical assistance including site visits and remote consulting for the school district.  

Data on breakfast participation and interviews with students revealed that traditional breakfast models (served before school starts) had only increased student participation by two percent. The SDUSD team and Robin McNulty, our Director of School Meals Programs, recommended a Breakfast After the Bell model called Second Chance Breakfast, or “Grab n’ Go,” for middle schools. As the name implies, students eat breakfast during a break in the morning, usually between first and second periods. The food items are offered from mobile carts located in high traffic areas where there are many students.

From June 2015 to September 2016, the San Diego Unified School District targeted 20 middle schools to implement food carts as an alternative to the school breakfast served in the cafeteria. They have seen significant increases in breakfast participation at three middle schools and two high schools. One middle school, Wilson Middle, had an incredible increase of 260 percent in breakfast participation – going from only 60 breakfasts served in September 2015 to 495 breakfasts served in June 2016.

We are proud of the progress San Diego Unified School District has made in serving more children breakfast, and excited to show how Breakfast After the Bell can have a tremendous impact on students’ ability to succeed in school.

What We Did on Our Summer Vacation: Understanding summer hunger among children in Southeastern San Diego

/
What We Did on Our Summer Vacation: Understanding summer hunger among children in Southeastern San Diego

Summer can be a hungry time of the year for children in households that struggle with food insecurity. The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), also known as the summer meals program, was created in the 1970s to connect children from low-income families to the critical nutrition they need during the summer and intersession breaks.  Unfortunately, only 2 out of 5 kids who benefit from Free and Reduced Priced Meals during the school year are participating in the summer meals program.  An estimated 97,500 are missing out. This summer, the Hunger Coalition set out to test the assumption that lack of program awareness is the major cause of low participation.

Read More

Hunger Coalition selected to partner with San Diego Unified School District on Grab n’ Go breakfast implementation

/
Hunger Coalition selected to partner with San Diego Unified School District on Grab n’ Go breakfast implementation

Hunger Coalition has been recruited by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) to work in partnership with San Diego Unified School District on an AASA-funded national project to implement the “grab n’ go” breakfast at low-income middle schools.

Read More

Stop Child Summer Hunger Act Would Help 90,000 Children in San Diego County Eat During Summer Months

/
Stop Child Summer Hunger Act Would Help 90,000 Children in San Diego County Eat During Summer Months

Representative Susan Davis (D-CA) and Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash) recently introduced a federal bill called the Stop Child Summer Hunger Act that would expand the successfully piloted Summer EBT for Children program, providing families an extra stipend on an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card to help cover the cost of feeding their children at home over critical summer months.

Read More

Support Breakfast in the Classroom for Kids in California: AB 1240

/
Support Breakfast in the Classroom for Kids in California: AB 1240

Take DIRECT ACTION today by sending in your letter of support! AB 1240 would increase access to school breakfast by requiring schools to implement practical changes that integrate breakfast into the school day and make the most efficient use of existing state and federal funds.

Read More