It’s time Oregon Commits to School Meals for All

It’s National School Breakfast Week, and we are taking this opportunity to celebrate the vast benefits that we see when schools offer no-cost breakfast to all. Starting the day off with nourishing energy is vital to student success. School breakfast has direct returns on enhancing academic performance, improving attendance, boosting energy levels, and promoting overall well-being among students.

Along with the health and wellness outcomes tied to addressing food insecurity, we also see academic and cognitive improvements. In fact, kids who eat breakfast at school perform better on tests than those who did not eat breakfast, and even better than those that ate breakfast at home!

Here in Oregon, we are so close to ensuring that every student in the state has access to no-cost breakfast and lunch at school. Kids cannot learn on an empty stomach and we must pass HB 3435: School Meals for All campaign to ensure that every Oregon student has the food they need to learn and grow.

Providing free school meals to all students eliminates the stigma and bias associated with a tiered, paid meal system, ensuring all students can partake without hesitation. In Oregon, this approach has garnered widespread support – over 80% of Oregon voters support no-cost school meals for all.

This National School Breakfast Week, take action:

Ensuring every child starts their day with a nutritious breakfast fuels their bodies and their minds, and paves the way for a brighter, healthier future.