PA Education Secretary Emphasizes Importance of Breakfast for Student Performance

PA Education Secretary Emphasizes Importance of Breakfast for Student
Performance

Department Announces Steps to Increase Participation in the School Breakfast
Program

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Education Secretary
Gerald L. Zahorchak today ate breakfast with 3rd graders from Harrisburg City
School District to highlight school breakfast programs and announce steps the
department is taking to increase participation in these vital programs.

"Children who start the day with a healthy breakfast are more likely to be
alert and ready to learn," Zahorchak said. "Especially during difficult
economic times, we encourage all schools to participate in the school
breakfast program and give their students a healthy start to the school day."

In Pennsylvania, about one in three school-aged children - more than 668,000
of 1.8 million - are eligible to receive free or reduced-cost breakfasts, but
only about 29 percent of those eligible participate in the program. The
department is increasing its promotion of school breakfast programs in order
to help boost participation levels.

The department has revised a policy directive for schools to allow school
breakfasts to be included as part of instructional time during regularly
scheduled homeroom periods and classroom instruction. Additionally, the
"Breakfast Brigade," which includes 8 members from school districts around the
state, will work with schools to implement or expand participation in the
School Breakfast Program by identifying barriers, analyzing costs, and
developing implementation plans.

The department continues to work closely with Pennsylvania State University,
the Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center and the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association
to raise awareness of breakfast programs.

David Lloyd, Food Service Director at Harrisburg City School District and a
Breakfast Brigader, works with other schools interested in implementing
Breakfast in the Classroom because he sees, first hand, the benefits that have
occurred within his school district.

"At Ben Franklin Elementary, serving breakfast in the classroom seems to have
a calming effect on the students," Lloyd said. "Teachers are finding the
students to be more attentive, better behaved and ready to learn after they
have had breakfast. Tardiness has decreased as well as absenteeism. The nurse
reports that there are fewer visits before lunch due to hunger related
headaches and stomach aches."

"Especially in these troubled economic times, more and more families are
experiencing difficulties in keeping their children adequately nourished,"
said Joseph A. Quattrocchi, executive director of the Pennsylvania Hunger
Action Center. "The School Breakfast Program is a local resource - responding
to the needs of children who otherwise might not get the most important meal
of the day - ensuring that a well-fed student is one who is better prepared to
learn."

CONTACT: Leah Harris
(717) 783-9802

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Education

Leah Harris of Pennsylvania Department of Education, +1-717-783-9802