Benefits of School Breakfast and Snack Programs

School breakfast and snack programs are critical to student health and well-being and help ensure students have the nutrition they need throughout the day to learn.

Offering healthy foods at school have a positive impact on student food selection and consumption, especially for fruits and vegetables. Research suggests student nutrition programs in schools provide many benefits to student well-being, academic performance and growth and development. Specifically, breakfast and snack programs in school:

  • Provide enough time for children to eat nutritious breakfast and snacks

  • Create the opportunity to try a variety of nutritious and culturally diverse breakfasts and snacks

  • Lead to better dietary habits by increasing the frequency of eating breakfast

  • Improve children’s school performance readiness to learn

  • Enhance students’ physical, emotional, social and intellectual development

  • Increase attendance rates, particularly for nutritionally at risk children

  • Promote a sense of community by bringing people together to ensure all children are well-nourished

A Toronto Foundation for Student Success study found:

  • Students who don’t eat breakfast are twice as likely to be suspended and are more likely to miss school.

  • 78% of secondary school students who eat breakfast on most days are on track for graduation.

  • Principals and teachers perceive that students’ attitudes, behaviours, and rates of tardiness have improved when they eat a healthy meal.

Why are students not eating before coming to school?

Hungry children are not necessarily poor children. The problem of coming to school hungry crosses all socio-economic groups. Our goal is to ensure that all children attend school well-nourished and ready to learn. There are many reasons why children participate in nutrition programs at school, including: they take the school bus and don't have time to eat breakfast; fresh fruit and veggies aren't available at home on a regular basis; they like the social aspects of eating with their friends; family finances are tight; both parents are working outside the home and don't always have time to prepare a nutritious snack or lunch, students have eaten at home but after a long bus ride are hungry again by the time they arrive at school and so many other causes. By offering universally accessible student nutrition programs each day we can ensure that, regardless of the cause, every student has the nourishment they need to focus and succeed at school. (Source: Student Nutrition Program Central East)

DID YOU KNOW:

Across Canada an estimated 1/3 of elementary students and 2/3 of high school students come to school without breakfast each day?

References:

  • Ontario Society of Nutrition Professionals in Public Health. Call to Action: Creating a Healthy School Nutrition Environment. 2004

  • Toronto District School Board, Feeding Our Future, The First and Second-Year Evaluation, 2012.

How does hunger affect learning?

Think about the last time you were hungry. How does that affect your mood, concentration and ability to focus? For most people hunger is an irritant that distracts us from our ability to fully focus on the task at hand, and makes us less likely to be able to learn a new skill or complete tasks accurately. For many students this kind of hunger is a daily reality which negatively impacts their academic performance.

While food insecurity and difficulty accessing adequate nutrition is a world wide issue, the United Nations, World Health Organization and UNICEF have all recognized that children are the most vulnerable. This hunger can in turn create persistent barriers to equal educational opportunity. Deficiencies in vitamins and minerals may reduce their mental concentration and cognition, may experience weakened long-term brain development or may simply fail to fully participate in the learning process because they are distracted by hunger. When we consider long term effects, we know that children without consistent access to nutritious meals are more likely to have a future filled with uncertainty; they are more likely to experience precarious employment, health issues, insecure housing and other personal challenges. If you think about the many ways in which academic performance can affect your future as an adult, it makes sense - hunger doesn’t just make learning difficult; it can also influence a child’s future. 

Nutritionally, childhood hunger can take a toll on children’s cognitive development – equally harmful is the constant stress and anxiety associated with hunger. Together, these factors affect children in many ways. A recent UNICEF report estimates that hunger may lead to an up to 20% reduction in academic grades for subjects relating to languages and science, and that students who experience persistent hunger are up to 50% more likely to drop out of school before graduation.

Longitudinal data suggest that children’s learning outcomes suffer when they regularly experience hunger and that nearly every aspect of physical and mental function is hurt as well. Food insecurity affects concentration, memory, mood, and motor skills, all of which a child needs to be able to be successful in school.

References:

  • Canbolet et al, 2023. Global pattern in hunger and educational opportunity: a multilevel analysis of child hunger and TIMSS mathematics achievement. Springer Nature: National Library of Medicine.

  • No Kid Hungry. How Does Hunger Affect Learning?, April 24, 2023

  • Thrive Global. How Hunger Impacts Learning, September 10, 2024