O3 Breakfast After the Bell: Does the Program Exceed Student Need?

Abstract

Background Breakfast After the Bell (BATB) has become the unofficial standard in school breakfast, particularly in larger, urban districts. However, there is sometimes concern that students eat at home or buy food before school, therefore eating breakfast twice. Additionally, student perceptions of BATB, its benefits and challenges, remain largely unstudied. Objective To understand if students are eating multiple breakfasts when BATB is served, and to measure students’ opinions of BATB. Study Design, Setting, Participants Middle school (MS) students from a low-income urban school district that operates under the Community Eligibility Provision took a paper-and-pencil survey during homeroom. This MS had switched from BATB back to breakfast before the bell midway through the schoolyear (n = 1149). District breakfast participation data were also collected and analyzed. Measurable Outcome/Analysis Participants answered questions regarding their perceptions of school breakfast. Participants were also asked their opinions of the traditional model of serving breakfast before the bell compared to BATB. District breakfast participation data and descriptive statistics are presented. Results The majority of students reported a positive impression of BATB, specifically that they feel better when they eat breakfast (69%); eating school breakfast saves time at home in the morning (56%); and school breakfast saves their family money (53%). In addition, they stated they were more likely to eat breakfast when it was served in the classroom (55%). Importantly, the vast majority of students said that they never, or only sometimes, buy breakfast on the way to school (92%), and only 18% reported that they always eat at home. District breakfast participation data show a significant decrease in breakfast participation after the switch to breakfast before the bell. Conclusion Overall, students reported many benefits of the BATB model. For most students, BATB was the only breakfast they report eating, which should remove the double-breakfast concern for school administrators. Returning to BATB would likely increase breakfast participation in the MS. Funding Rutgers University Community-University Research Partnership Grant.