New Report: Nebraska Continues to Rank Low Nationally in School Breakfast
February 13, 2019 5:15PM CST
Despite a slight increase in participation, Nebraska still ranks near the bottom of the country in providing students in need with a nutritious breakfast at school according to the School Breakfast Scorecard, released annually by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).
Each year, FRAC’s School Breakfast Scorecard analyzes each state’s participation in the free School Breakfast Program, which provides a nutritious and balanced morning meal to more than 12 million children nationwide. Research shows providing breakfast leads to substantial educational and health benefits for kids from families that may be struggling with food security.
According to the School Breakfast Scorecard (Tables 1 and 2):
- Nebraska ranks 47th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price school breakfast who also participate in free or reduced-price lunch (44.1 percent).
- Nebraska ranks ahead of only Hawaii, Iowa, New Hampshire, and Utah in school breakfast participation.
- Nebraska has fallen from 46th to 49th in the rankings of 50 states and the District of Columbia for number of schools that participated in school breakfast.
- West Virginia continued to rank No. 1 in the U.S. with 83.7 percent of students receiving free or reduced-price school breakfast who also participate in free or reduced-price lunch.
