Breakfast and the Achievement Gap Among Urban Minority Youth

Skipping breakfast is highly and disproportionately prevalent among school-aged urban minority youth, has a negative impact on academic achievement by adversely affecting cognition and absenteeism, and effective practices are available for schools to address this problem. Despite wide availability, the majority of American youth do not participate in School Breakfast Programs. High-quality universal breakfast programs that allow students to eat breakfast in the classroom are especially needed for youth who are not likely to get good nutrition the rest of the day.