Report: Pa. lags in school breakfasts

Only 45 percent of low-income children who eat lunch at school in Pennsylvania also eat a school breakfast, according to a report released Tuesday by a national food research group.

Pennsylvania's score was several percentage points below the national average - and New Jersey's - in the School Breakfast Scorecard compiled by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).

One notable exception, however, is Penn Wood Middle School in Darby Borough, the site of the news conference to discuss the findings. Penn Wood has figured out a way to get more kids to chow down in the morning - it serves breakfast in classrooms.

"They love it," said principal Devin Layton. "As long as they're happy."

This year, the percentage of breakfast-eating kids at Penn Wood jumped to 80 percent from 23 percent in 2014, "and we hope to make it 10 in 10 very soon," Layton said.

The school, which serves juice, milk, fruit, and a breakfast bar - and plans soon to offer breakfast sandwiches - is outperforming most schools in the state in the breakfast department.

Overall, Pennsylvania's 45.2 percent came in 41st among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. New Jersey was No. 24, at 50.8 percent, on the FRAC list.

The group, funded by some of the nation's largest food companies, including Kellogg's, Hillshire Brands, and General Mills, has issued the scorecard since 2003.

At the news conference, experts said children who eat breakfast perform better in the classroom.

Donna Cooper, executive director of Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY), said "Pennsylvania needs to up its game" when it comes to federally subsidized school breakfasts.

PCCY and the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger led the outreach effort for the Pennsylvania School Breakfast Challenge last year. More than 1,000 schools participated in the challenge and more than 9,000 additional students were given access to healthy breakfast as a result.

The second year of the challenge will kick off next month during National School Breakfast Week, March 2 through 6.

Officials noted that a new federal option, the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), is available in Pennsylvania for the first time this year. CEP eases the administrative burden and strengthens financial support for high-poverty school districts so they can offer free meals to all students. It has been adopted in 26 Pennsylvania school districts, as well as at dozens of public, charter, and parochial schools.

Kathy Fisher, policy manager at the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger, called CEP "a great new tool" for reaching more students. But to make a real difference, she said, "we need many more schools to follow Penn Wood Middle School by offering breakfast in the classroom."

Layton said that last year, students had to get to the cafeteria between 7:30 and 7:50 a.m. if they wanted breakfast, then go to their lockers before class started at 8.

Now students go to lockers before eating breakfast in their homerooms between 8 and 8:10. The food is delivered to classrooms by cafeteria workers. Trash and leftovers are put on trolleys outside classrooms and collected.

Not only are fewer kids late for homeroom, said Layton, but the school nurse said there are fewer complaints of stomach problems.

"She hasn't had to buy as many Tums," Layton said.

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