National School Breakfast Program

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself time to close.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1013, which expresses the sense of Congress that providing breakfast in school has a positive impact on classroom performance.

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Indeed, good nutrition is a vital factor in a child's ability to grow and thrive. According to the Center on Hunger, Poverty and Nutrition, hungry children have less energy for cognitive and social activities, thereby hampering their ability to learn.

The National School Breakfast Program was established as a pilot program by the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and made permanent in 1975. The program was created to ensure that all students start the school day with a nutritious breakfast and enter the classroom ready to learn. Over the last five decades, the National School Breakfast Program has continued to grow. It now operates in nearly 84,000 public and nonprofit schools and residential care institutions nationwide. In 2006, 9.7 million children participated in the National School Breakfast Program each day; 7.9 million of those students received free or reduced-price breakfasts.

Again, I want to commend my colleague from Wisconsin, Representative Gwendolyn Moore, for introducing this resolution, join with all of those who have expressed its merit, and urge passage.

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