THE IMPACT OF A TWO-YEAR SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM FOR PRESCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN ON TOEIR NUTRIENT INTAKE AND PRE-ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

The objectives of this Investigation were to measure nutritional differences between home breakfasts and breakfasts prepared and served in a preschool setting following the guidelines of the School Breakfast Program (SBP), and to evaluate the nutritional Impact of school breakfast participation on pre-academic performance. Baseline data on childrenʹs breakfasts was obtained from families of 4-year-olds attending our preschool. with the concomitant measuring of their performance on a battery of pre-academic and cognitive tasks. Two weeks later, we began providing breakfasts for the 4-year-olds at preschool, before they began their school day. Breakfast menus varied dally but were always In compliance with the SBP Guidelines. Six weeks after initiating the SBP, we recorded breakfasts eaten at school and re-administered the battery of performance tasks. During the next year the SBP was re-implemented, with breakfast provided at school to a subgroup of 4-year-olds, and monitored at home for their classmates who served as a control group. As In the previous year, performance data was collected during both the baseline and school breakfast phases. Results indicated that breakfast Intake was altered under school breakfast conditions, and in turn, the performance on a number of tasks was improved.