New Report Shows the importance of Healthy School Meals

A new report from our national partner- The Food Research and Action Center (www.frac.org)

Shows School Meals Improve Food Security, Dietary Intake, and Weight Outcomes, says Food Research & Action Center

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2016—Mounting evidence shows that healthy school meals play a key role in supporting the well-being of children, including alleviating food insecurity, improving dietary intake, and mitigating obesity, says

In its soon-to-be-released September issue of FRAC Focus: Obesity and Poverty, FRAC points to several recent studies published in prestigious journals and reports that find:

• Free or reduced-price school lunches reduce food insecurity by at least 3.8 percent, as reported in the Journal of Econometrics;
• Access to school breakfast decreases the risk of food insecurity and breakfast-skipping, especially among low-income children, according to research that appears in the Journal of Nutrition, Social Service Review, and a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report;
• The new nutrition standards, which took effect in the 2012-2013 school year, improve nutrition-related outcomes among students, including improvements in fruit and vegetable selection and consumption, according to research compiled by FRAC(pdf) earlier this year;
• Low-income students who eat both school breakfast and lunch have significantly better overall diet quality than low-income students who do not eat school meals, according to research published in  the Journal of Nutrition;
• Participation in federally funded child care nutrition or school meals provided in child care, preschool, school, or summer settings is associated with a significantly lower body mass  index among young, low-income children, as reported in Health Affairs; and
• Economists estimate that free or reduced-price school lunch reduces obesity rates by at least 17 percent, according to research presented in the Journal of Econometrics.

To receive a copy of FRAC Focus: Obesity and Poverty, subscribe here. For more information on school meals and other federal nutrition programs, visit FRAC.org

Empower Missouri Annual Conference- October 6-7 in Kansas City, Missouri

To learn more about how hunger affects children Register for the Empower Missouri Annual Conference:  Changing the Story: From Trauma to Hope where we will be having a workshop called: The Lifelong Trauma of Childhood Hunger