Gottheimer Urges School Districts to Improve Participation in School Breakfast Program

Districts Can Help Claw Back Federal Tax Dollars No Child Goes to School Hungry

HACKENSACK – Today, Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) joined school administrators, child health advocates, local elected officials, and students at Nellie K. Parker Elementary School to call on school districts to improve their school breakfast programs and utilize available federal dollars to ensure that no student begins their school day without the breakfast they need to succeed.

“Countless studies have shown that children who don’t start with breakfast are at a massive disadvantage for succeeding in school,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “Only 59% of eligible New Jersey students participate in the School Breakfast Program. I encourage our districts to help make sure no child starts their day without a healthy breakfast.”

“The really critical thing for people to understand — for school districts to understand —  is that it’s a win-win. You feed your kids, they need that meal, and you bring in more federal dollars into your district. It’s really a no-brainer. We are working very hard with  districts to help them to institute breakfast after the bell. We are so excited that the Congressman has chosen to highlight this issue,” said Hunger Free New Jersey Executive Director Adele LaTourette.

Lydia Maggio, a registered dietitian, said, “It’s no secret that the most important meal of the day is breakfast. Here at Parker school we actually serve more than 430 breakfasts and about 2,600 in the entire district. According to the Food Research and Action Center, Children who eat breakfast at school — closer to class and test-taking time — perform better on standardized tests than those who skip breakfast or those who eat it at home. Students’ academic achievement increases — especially in math — when school soffer the school breakfast program.”

The School Breakfast program, funded by the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA), reimburses schools for the free and reduced-cost breakfasts served to students whose parents apply for the program – at no cost to the school district or to the local taxpayer. The USDA reimburses districts for each meal served, $2.09 for each free meal, $1.79 for each reduced-price meal, and 30 cents for a paid meal.

Congressman Gottheimer has been engaged with school districts across the Fifth District to encourage school superintendents and administrators to take advantage of these available federal funds. He has written and spoken to school districts individually, and called on parents to contact their districts to push their school leaders to expand their use of the program. In April, Congressman Gottheimer also hosted a conference call with administrators from across the Fifth District with the USDA.

Congressman Gottheimer has been focused on encouraging North Jersey schools, organizations and towns to demand a better return on investment for their communities and apply for grants that would return federal tax dollars to North Jersey.

In March, the Congressman joined local elected officials and first responders to announce that the Fifth District had clawed back $290 per household from Washington – 16% higher than in previous years.

Video of today’s event can be found HERE.