In the Fall of 1990, a teacher in an inner-city Canadian school became concerned about some of her Grade 3 students. Tam, who showed flashes of brilliance in mathematics, seemed constantly fatigued. Susan, a normally enthusiastic student, was having trouble concentrating. Classroom quarrels were becoming more frequent.

"When I talked with the children, I found that many were coming to school without breakfast," recalls Ms. Stevenson. "Financial hardship was part of the problem. In other cases, parents had to leave early for work, making it difficult to ensure the kids ate a good breakfast."

When Stevenson realized that other teachers were noticing similar problems, she appealed to her principal, who went to the school board and the community for help. Two years later, several schools in the community had launched school breakfast programs.

School-based feeding programs are now under way in cities all across Canada. Educators, who are convinced that children behave and learn better when they are properly nourished, and parents, who are anxious to keep children from becoming hungry, are working together to offer a variety of programs.

Does your school need a program? Here are the answers to some of the questions that parents, schools and communities often ask in deciding whether or not to offer a program.

Q. What are the benefits of a school-based feeding program?
A. The first benefit is relieving children's hunger, but also important is helping them get the nutrients they need. Other goals, such as offering nutrition education and providing a positive social experience, are also important reasons why communities initiate programs. Sometimes the more intangible goals are considered the most important ones.

Q. Do programs affect behaviour and learning?
A. Hunger interferes with a child's ability to concentrate and has been shown to affect behaviour negatively. Teachers consistently report improvements in attention, behaviour and attendance when children are properly nourished.

Q. Who needs food at school?
A. Children who are undernourished for any reason require extra food. It is not always the children of low-income families who are hungry. Their parents often deprive themselves of food to feed them. If a school board and parents believe there is a need for school-based feeding in a particular area, it should be available to all students so that no child in need is missed.

Q. Should a program offer breakfast, lunch or snacks?
A. Research suggests different outcomes in different programs. Lunch programs seem to contribute most toward nutrient intake and growth; breakfast programs to lead to greatest educational improvements; and snacks to enhance children's ability to learn and encourage positive interaction among students. The needs of the children should indicate the choice. Often a combination will best meet the food and non food-related needs.

Q. What should be considered in setting up a program?
A. Most programs operate locally through the efforts of community volunteers. Collaborative programs between schools and communities seem to work best. Some important considerations in planning a program are the financial resources, the food and nutrient content, and the facilities and personnel required to prepare and serve the food. It is also important to find out how parents, teachers and students view the program and to evaluate whether it has met its goals of improving food intake, behaviour, academic performance, nutrition knowledge or quality of life.

This article was published by the National Institute of Nutrition, 1993.

Posted by: National Institute of Nutrition, September 1996.

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