School Breakfast Facts

Click here for state- and district-wide statistics on school breakfast.

The School Breakfast Program

The School Breakfast Program (SBP) is a federal child nutrition program administered at the national level by the United States Department of Agriculture. In California, the California Department of Education is responsible for state-level SBP administration. All schools in California are allowed to participate in SBP, but participation is not required of any school. Schools that offer breakfast through SBP receive a federal reimbursement for each meal served. The amount of federal reimbursement varies depending on participating students’ family incomes. Schools receive an additional per-meal reimbursement from the state for breakfasts served to low-income students.

Why School Breakfast?

The School Breakfast Program can be a cost-effective strategy to help all students learn, grow, and achieve. School breakfast can bolster academic achievement, decrease absenteeism, reduce tardiness, improve classroom behavior, and help students establish healthy eating habits. Studies show that children who eat breakfast have healthier overall diets and are less likely to be obese compared to children who skip breakfast. Unfortunately, many children do not eat a healthy breakfast at home. In fact, during these difficult economic times, many families are struggling to provide their children with sufficient, nutritious meals and the other necessities required to lead healthy, productive lives.

School Breakfast Participation in California

  • The School Breakfast Program does not serve 2.3 million of California's low-income students who are eligible to receive free or reduced-price school meals.
  • Fifty-six percent of the state’s low-income students who benefit from school lunches miss out on the benefits of school breakfast.
  • California’s public schools would have received an additional $350 million in federal meal reimbursements if school breakfast participation equaled school lunch participation among low-income students during 2009-10.

The majority of schools that offer breakfast only do so at one time and place – in the cafeteria before the school day begins. But school breakfast works best if served when and where students are able and willing to eat. Effective, fiscally-sound service models, such as Classroom Breakfast, Second Chance Breakfast, and Grab n’ Go Breakfast are known to dramatically increase school breakfast participation.