USDA Celebrates 50 Years of School Breakfasts
USDA marks 50 years of providing funding for school breakfasts today, noting that more than 14 million children participated in the program last year, consuming more than 2.3 billion breakfasts. More than 90,000 school and child care sites participated.
Research shows students who participate in breakfast programs tend to have a better overall diet and lower body mass index than students who don’t. In addition, breakfast-eating students tend to do better on standardized tests, behave better in class are less tardy, absent or sick.
As part of the 50-year celebration, USDA has announced a new competitive grant program that will award up to $6.8 million in Team Nutrition Training Grants to sustain healthier meals under the Health Hunger-free Kinds Act of 2010. "The $6.8 million in grant funds USDA is offering to support school breakfast and other child nutrition programs demonstrates our commitment to providing schools and child care sites the resources and support they need to help kids start their day off right and continue strong all day long," says Keith Concannon, a USDA undersecretary.
The grants will provide technical assistance, training and nutrition education resources for school and child care centers which participate in USDA child nutrition programs. For more information on the grants, visit http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/team-nutrition-training-grants.
