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> A school meal (whether it is a breakfast, lunch, or evening meal) is a meal provided to students and sometimes teachers at a school, typically in the middle or beginning of the school day. Countries around the world offer various kinds of school meal programs, and altogether, these are among the world's largest social safety nets.
> Providing students with breakfast in the classroom is associated with lower rates of tardiness, fewer disciplinary office referrals, improved attendance rates, and improved math and reading achievement test scores.
> A considerable body of evidence shows that the school meals programs are profoundly important for students, especially low-income students, with well- documented benefits.
> School meals support good nutrition throughout the school day. Program participants are less likely to have nutrient inadequacies and are more likely to consume fruits, vegetables, and milk at breakfast and lunch.
“The exposure to healthier meals at school increases the healthfulness of foods acquired by children throughout the day”.
> 'There are few policies and programs undertaken to provide meals at school. For example, a breakfast is provided at school, this includes providing breakfast at no cost to all students (possibly through community eligibility), and using breakfast in the classroom, “grab and go” breakfast, and second chance breakfast models. Such approaches can address common barriers to program participation, such as stigma, cost, and, for breakfast, arriving to school too late'.
(For more information and resources on these policies and models, visit www.frac.org.).
Click for detailed reading:
https://frac.org/wp-content/uploads/School-Meals-are-Essential-Health-and-Learning.pdf
Source: refer above link