Improving student outcomes through school meals

By Nathan Storey, Johns Hopkins University

An increasing body of literature connects the benefits of school meals and dietary interventions to student academic outcomes and attendance. Despite this, 15 states rejected federal funds for summer food programs targeting hungry children. Those states quick to cut or devalue such programs may want to examine the results from Olarte and colleagues’ systematic review of alternative school breakfast service models.

The authors drew from 332 articles, resulting in a sample of 37 studies and reports, to examine the effect of Breakfast-After-The-Bell (BATB) programs on student diet and academic outcomes, including classroom behavior, program participation, dietary quality, body mass index, school attendance, and academic performance.

The study found strong ties between BATB programs and increased school breakfast participation, as well as improvements to student diet quality and classroom behavior. These results were found to be particularly strong for students from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds, as well as for students eligible for free or reduced-price meals.

Although there were no significant results on student achievement, there were positive results regarding attendance. Of the ten studies conducted in elementary schools, six found increased student attendance, while all four studies conducted in middle or high school settings found improved student attendance. Studies that examined the effect across elementary, middle, and high school also saw positive impacts on attendance. The authors suggest these results might point to greater impacts for older students of BATB programs.