Press Releases

Washington, DC – Today, the House Committee on Education and Labor passed child nutrition reauthorization legislation that includes key provisions of a bill introduced by Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) to help hungry children get nutritious breakfast.

Congresswoman Moore said, “The facts are clear – hungry kids have trouble learning.  A good breakfast helps students focus during the school day.  I thank Chairman Miller and the committee for including this grant program.”

The following are provisions championed by Moore included in the committee-passed bill:

• A grant program to help schools expand or start school breakfast programs.
• Grants are targeted to schools where the most students qualify for free or reduced priced meals.

In July of last year, Moore along with Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold (both D-Wis.) introduced the Student Breakfast and Education Improvement Act of 2009.  Specifically, their legislation would set up a competitive grant program to help schools expand or start school breakfast programs, and priority would be given to schools where more than 75 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced-priced meals. 

Recent data shows that nearly 5.2 billion lunches are served through the free and reduced price school meal program, but less than 1.9 billion breakfasts were served over the same period.

The legislation now goes before the full House for consideration.