Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Editorial: Students need breakfast, too

They may be the odd couple, but there is nothing odd about the message they are carrying around the country. Former Sens. Bob Dole and George McGovern are the spokesmen for the "Got breakfast?" program sponsored by the federal government, nonprofit hunger groups and private concerns such as the National Dairy Council.

Dole, a Kansas Republican, and McGovern, a South Dakota Democrat, are both former presidential candidates. Throughout their careers the two were political rivals, but they both supported hunger-relief efforts.

Today they are focusing on the School Breakfast Program, which Congress approved as a pilot program in 1966 and authorized permanently in 1975. The Food Research and Action Center, a Washington-based nonprofit organization, reports that of every 100 low-income students who eat a school lunch every day, only 44 eat a school breakfast.

Nationally, a total of $382 million in federal funds available for the school breakfast program went unused last year because school districts failed to apply for them.

Fortunately, the Clark County School District takes full advantage of the program. It has been offering breakfast in every school for decades. It also has 38 sites in low-income areas to serve breakfast and lunch during summers.

Sue Hoggan, area supervisor for the district's southeast region, says breakfast has been shown to improve test scores, as students have the energy to be more attentive. She said it also reduces absenteeism and student visits to the health office.

We hope Dole and McGovern are successful in bringing many more students to the breakfast table. Nutritionists say it is the most important meal, and that goes double for students.

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