MPR: Study Links Breakfast to Improved Student Performance

Study Links Breakfast to Improved Student Performance
By Tim Pugmire
March 3, 1999

State education officials and University of Minnesota researchers say they can now show a clear connection between breakfast and learning.

They say results of a three-year study will add weight to Governor Ventura's proposal to boost funding for school-breakfast programs by $6 million.

THE STUDENTS AT OAK GROVE ELEMENTARY in Bloomington start each school day in the cafeteria eating breakfast. Wednesday's menu included cereal, fruit, muffins, yogurt, toast and milk. The school serves about 300 breakfasts each morning to nearly 90 percent of the students. And the students say they're glad they're eating.

Ashley: I like it because I think all the food tastes great.
Cynthia: It's fun eating breakfast, because it's healthy and it's good for you.
Logan: Because, like, if you don't eat breakfast, when you go into a certain class it takes your mind off things because your stomach keeps growling because you're hungry.

And now two major studies have confirmed what these children already know: starting the day on a full stomach improves classroom performance.

State officials say 77 percent of Minnesota schools offer breakfast programs, but only 14 percent of students in those schools participate. Most of the schools target students from low income families. Oak Grove Elementary was one of six schools participating in a state study on the connection between nutrition and learning. At these schools, every student could eat breakfast free, regardless of family income. Oak Grove Principal Sherre Walstad says the program has had a big impact on her students.

Walstad: They have a good time going to breakfast and connecting with their friends, just like adults do in the morning. We've noticed a huge decrease in visits to the nurse. We know it makes their attention span longer to get them through the day because they've had the proper nutrients that last all morning. So we know it's helped achievement and it's also made a difference in discipline problems.

The study, funded by the Legislature, found the same story at the other pilot sites. Kyla Wahlstrom, an education researcher at the University of Minnesota, says she compared the sites to similar schools over a three-year period. She says students at the breakfast program schools were healthier, better behaved and scored higher on reading and math tests...

When kids are hungry, they act that out in a variety of ways. And we get manifestation of hunger in acting out behaviors and lack of attentiveness in the classroom. And the kids, when they are fed and feeling good about themselves and their bodies, are more able to learn, I believe.

A recent Harvard University study of school children in Pennsylvania and Maryland produced results similar to the U of M study. Wahlstrom says the research will help state lawmakers as they make funding decisions about school breakfast programs.

Governor Ventura included school breakfasts among his education priorities in this year's budget. He wants to spend an additional $6 million to expand the programs statewide. It's a surprisingly generous boost from a Governor who preaches self-reliance, parental responsibility and an end to what he calls the "free ride. " But Ventura's Education Commissioner, Christine Jax, says school breakfast fits with the Governor's philosophy.

Jax: In some ways it looks like it wouldn't jive with the governor's goal of getting schools out of parenting and having parents being self-sufficient and doing what their kids need; but he's a governor who wants to do what works. and he wants to improve achievement and has said he wants to provide an environment where children are able to achieve, and school breakfast is an area we know works.

Many legislators agree. Bills introduced in the House and Senate would increase breakfast funding far more than the governor's plan. Republican Representative Alice Seagren, Chair of the House K-12 Finance Committee, says she expects an increase in breakfast funding this session, but doubts it will surpass $6 million.

Seagren: Well I think it's all going to come down to how much we have in our budget to spend. Every little program that we use to boost that program will take it away from the general-education formula. So, we've got to, at some point, say "well we have to make some priorities and choices. " But we'll continue to look at each of these programs and consider them in light of the rest of the stuff we have to do

. Members of the House and Senate will consider proposed funding increases for school breakfast in the coming weeks as they work on the Omnibus K-12 Education Bill.

Tim Pugmire covers education issues for Minnesota Public Radio. You can reach him at tpugmire@mpr.org.

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