Over a quarter of New York City s residents under the age of 18 fall below the poverty line, and many of these children fail to maintain adequate nutrition. So when the city s health department began providing children in some schools with free in-classroom breakfasts, the program was warmly welcomed. Now, however, the initiative is under fire, since a recent study found that the Breakfast in the Classroom program, which began in 2008, might be contributing to obesity as some kids double dip. In other words, these children may be eating breakfast at home, in addition to having a free meal in school at the start of the day.
Initially heralded as a positive initiative, the breakfast program is now leaving New York City policymakers at an impasse as they try to tackle children s hunger while simultaneously combating the nation s obesity epidemic. And as Linda I. Gibbs, the deputy mayor for health and human services in New York City, points out, about 40 percent of New York s elementary- and middle-school students are either overweight or obese.
The breakfast program, which has been implemented in 381 of New York City s 1,750 schools, provides foods such as yogurt, bagels, or graham crackers to students while the kids are in class instead of offering the meals before school, in order to eliminate any stigma associated with receiving subsidized meals in the cafeteria. But since these foods are now provided to all students, some argue that kids might be inadvertently consuming excess calories by eating both at home and in school. Yet others argue that such programs have important benefits for low-income families: Similar programs in other states have tripled the number of students who eat breakfast while also reducing absenteeism.
Last year, however, the New York City Council requested to stall the breakfast program after the results of a study concluded that about 21 percent of students may be eating breakfast twice. In order to prevent double meal consumption, though, some schools, such as those in Newark, are increasing outreach efforts to ensure that parents are aware of the free breakfasts and what their kids are being served in school.
ACSH s Dr. Elizabeth Whelan can t help pointing out the irony of the current debate. These free meals used to be thought to be such a great thing, she says, but now, to some people, they seem to be a threat. It s a double-edged sword.
Though some argue that the breakfast program may be contributing to obesity, ACSH s Dr. Ruth Kava doesn't agree. We need more data before arriving at such conclusions, says Dr. Kava. This was only a single study, and many of the kids who are taking advantage of this program are probably not getting fed at home.
Council officials are blowing things out of proportion, adds ACSH s Cheryl Martin. If they re so concerned about obesity, perhaps they should start focusing their efforts on creating more exercise programs at school instead of taking away other initiatives that have had an overall positive impact."
