Kentucky was one of the original pilot states in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) when it began in 1966. Today, over 1,300 public, private, and parochial schools and residential child care institutions provide a daily breakfast to almost 190,000 students in Kentucky.
The School Breakfast Scorecard 2007, produced by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), shows that Kentucky ranks in the top 10 among states in the percentage of schools that offer breakfast to students. The 2007 scorecard shows that Kentucky ranks eighth in the percentage of schools that offer breakfast and fifth in the percentage of low-income students participating in School Lunch Program who also eat breakfast.
Without incentives or mandates, Kentucky’s public school districts have recognized the connection of good nutrition to student learning. Only five public schools in the state don’t offer the School Breakfast Program.
More than 190,000 children in Kentucky’s schools participate in the School Breakfast Program. Nationally, comparing free and reduced-price school breakfast participation to free and reduced-price lunch participation, 45.3 children ate breakfast for every 100 children who ate lunch in school year 2006-07. Kentucky’s figure was 56.3 percent.