The annual national School Breakfast Scorecard released today by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) finds that, on an average school day in 2014-2015, over 260,000 low-income children in Arizona participated in school breakfast, an increase of 3% from the previous year.  While this increase shows the state’s improved efforts to provide a healthy breakfast to students, Arizona only ranks 28 in comparison to other states.

The School Breakfast Scorecard measures the School Breakfast Program’s success at the national and state levels.  In Arizona, the FRAC report found that in school year 2014-2015, out of every 100 children that received free or reduced price lunches, only 52 also ate breakfast. This compares to a national rate of 54 children for every 100.  Low participation means missed meals for hungry children and missed federal nutrition dollars.

“While we are glad to see improvement, there are still too many kids missing out on school breakfast which impacts their ability to learn,” said Angie Rodgers, President and CEO of Association of Arizona Food Banks (AAFB).  “We know kids eat in one of two places – home and school.  If we can ensure as many kids as possible are eating breakfast and lunch at school, we are setting them up not only to learn but also succeed well into the future.”

AAFB has targeted its child hunger outreach efforts to support passage of Child Nutrition Reauthorization, the expansion of School Breakfast the Community Eligibility Provision in Arizona’s schools, and the expansion of Summer Feeding Programs among schools and nonprofit agencies. Enacted by Congress in 2010, the Community Eligibility Provision-allows high-poverty schools to offer universal breakfast and lunch to an entire student body.

The full report, School Breakfast Scorecard, is available at http://www.frac.org To me.asure the reach of the School Breakfast Program nationally and in the states, FRAC compares the number of schools and low-income children that participate in breakfast to those that participate in the National School Lunch Program. FRAC also sets a participation goal of reaching 70 low-income children with breakfast for every 100 receiving lunch as a way to gauge state progress and the costs of under-participation in the program.