SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - In a story March 25 about school breakfasts, The Associated Press reported erroneously how long Utahns Against Hunger has been in existence. It was founded in 1979, and is not new.
A corrected version of the story is below:
Nonprofit looks to grow participation in free school meals
A nonprofit wants to get more students eating breakfast at school by looking at options for serving meals
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A nonprofit is hoping to double participation rates in the free breakfast program by urging schools to offer the meal after school starts and not just before the first bell rings, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Only about four out of 10 low-income Utah students eat the free breakfasts offered at public schools, the lowest rate in the country.
Utah schools are leaving untouched more than $13 million in allocated federal funding for subsidized meals, Marti Woolford estimates. Woolford’s nonprofit, Utahns Against Hunger, hopes to raise the state’s participation rate to 70 percent, a difference of about 45,000 children.
Woolford said she feels the strategy used by most Utah schools to have qualified children arrive early to collect their meal is problematic for low-income students, who might struggle to get to school on time or feel a stigma if their friends are off playing while they eat alone.
Schools should serve breakfast after the bell has rung, either in class or all together in the cafeteria, Woolford said. States that rank highest for participation in school breakfast programs often require that meals be served during school hours.
“A restaurant doesn’t serve breakfast before they open,” Woolford said. “If you have kids eat when the school is actually open, it just works better.”
Utahns Against Hunger, in cooperation with the Utah Breakfast Expansion Team, also released a study Wednesday with three years of data on school breakfast programs, along with details on several models deemed effective for encouraging families to participate - including breakfast on the bus, after first period or in the classroom.
The challenge is finding which model works best for each school, Woolford said.
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