Student Well-Being

Cutting Out School Breakfasts?

By Mary-Ellen Phelps Deily — May 19, 2010 1 min read
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There’s been a lot of news coverage lately about possible cuts to the education budget in New Jersey. What got me about this story is its potential impact on the poorest kids in the Garden State. According to the Associated Press, Gov. Chris Christie is proposing cutting $5.5 million in state aid to nutrition programs. Advocates say the cut would mean fewer poor children would get free breakfasts at school or that the quality of school meals would suffer.

Now, I recognize that breakfast programs aren’t traditional “expanded learning” offerings, but I see them as part of a larger vision of schools as more than just traditional classrooms. And, without breakfast, that learning—before school, during school hours, and after school—will suffer. Obviously, this is not just a New Jersey story. I’d like to hear from people about cuts to other nutrition budgets to get a sense of whether this is a growing issue for many.

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A version of this news article first appeared in the Beyond School blog.