(1) approximately 60 percent of students in the United States are eligible to receive free or reduced-price school lunches under the school lunch program established under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.);
(2) in fiscal year 2008, 8,520,000 students in the United States consumed free or reduced-price school breakfasts provided under the school breakfast program established by section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773);
(3) as of the date of enactment of this Act, approximately 83 percent of all public schools in the United States provide 9,500,000 school breakfasts each year under the program established by section 4 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1773) to at least 130,000 students;
(4) less than 1/2 of the low-income students who participate in the school lunch program also participate in the school breakfast program;
(5) many students who are eligible for reduced-price breakfasts and lunches can afford only 1 of those meals per day;
(6) almost 17,000 schools that participate in the school lunch program do not participate in the school breakfast program;
(7) as of August 2008, over 13,000,000 children, or 18 percent of all children, in the United States were living in poverty, and, in 2007, and 11 percent of households in the United States were food insecure;
(8) missing breakfast and the resulting hunger has been shown to lower the ability of children to learn and hinder academic performance;
(9) Provision 2 as established under subsections (b) through (k) of section 245.9 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), reduces application and administrative burdens for schools that provide universal free meals;
(10) schools electing to implement school breakfast programs face significant hurdles, such as start-up costs and lack of participation, that require various additional resources for the best solution;
(11) school districts that are participating in the Provision 2 option described in paragraph (9) have found that the school districts can often provide universal free breakfast in schools with as little as 60 to 75 percent of students who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals due to the savings realized from reduced administrative costs and improved economies of scale;
(12) studies suggest that eating breakfast closer to class and test-taking time improves student performance on standardized tests relative to students who skip breakfast or have breakfast at home;
(13) studies show that children experiencing hunger are more likely to be hyperactive, absent, tardy, or have behavioral or attention problems;
(14) students who eat a complete breakfast have been shown to make fewer mistakes and work faster in math exercises than those who eat a partial breakfast;
(15) eating school breakfast has been shown to improve math grades, attendance, and punctuality;
(16) providing breakfast in the classroom has been shown in several instances to improve attentiveness and academic performance, while reducing tardiness and disciplinary referrals;
(17) providing universal free breakfast, especially in the classroom, has been shown to significantly increase school breakfast participation rates and decrease absences and tardiness;
(18) studies suggest that children who eat breakfast have more adequate nutrition and intake of nutrients, such as calcium, fiber, protein, and vitamins A, E, D, and B6;
(19) studies suggest that some students who participate in the school breakfast program or other nutrition programs have a lower body mass index and risk of being overweight; and
(20) use of local produce--
(A) reduces dependence on foreign oil by reducing fuel consumption rates associated with the production or transportation of fruits and vegetables; and
(B) can help to improve the ability of individuals using the procurement system to provide education on nutrition, farming, sustainability, energy efficiency, and the importance of local purchases to the local economy.
(b) Purpose- The purpose of this Act is to improve student learning and the classroom environment through expanded and improved school breakfast programs, particularly universal programs provided during the school day.