skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report: Utah Last in Nation for School Breakfast Participation

play audio
Play

Tuesday, January 15, 2013   

SALT LAKE CITY - Compared with other states, Utah ranks last in the country for the number of lower-income children who eat both breakfast and lunch at school. A new national report says only one-third of Utah pupils who qualify for a free or reduced-price meal at lunchtime also receive school breakfast. It could be because the school doesn't offer breakfast, or that it isn't served at a time that fits the hectic hours before the school day.

Crystal FitzSimons, director of school programs for the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), which released the report, says that means fewer Utah schoolchildren are showing up ready to learn.

"School breakfast has a really positive impact on student achievement, on reducing absenteeism and tardiness. And there's a lot of positive educational outcomes, in addition to combating food insecurity and making sure that kids have healthy food."

The report says Utah schools are serving breakfast to just over 3 percent more children than they did the previous year. Nationally, it says, for the first time, more than half of all kids who qualify for free or reduced-priced lunches are also getting breakfast.

It also notes that the most successful school breakfast programs are those that serve food right in the classroom, during first period. That way no one is singled out, and some kids don't have to make it to school earlier in order to eat. But Gina Cornia, executive director of Utahns Against Hunger, says some districts have resisted that approach, saying it's more complicated to take meals out of the cafeteria.

"A lot of states do it; it is not a difficult thing to implement. And we at Utahns Against Hunger would certainly love to see more schools, more school districts, more principals ask for breakfast in the classroom."

About 60,000 children get free or reduced-price breakfasts at school in Utah, but the report says another 64,000 are eligible. See it online at FRAC.org.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021