More Virginia students are eating school breakfast and attending classes: report
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — More Virginia students are eating breakfast at school and going to class since 2023, an analysis from No Kid Hungry Virginia found.
During the 2024-25 school year, No Kid Hungry Virginia found that 388,172 students were connected to school breakfast, up from 383,750 the prior year. With 27,000 additional students participating in the 2023-24 academic year, Virginia recorded its largest year-over-year increase in over a decade, per the report.
No Kid Hungry Virginia said the increase is in part due to the Breakfast After the Bell effort, which provides breakfast in the classroom and at convenient kiosks after the school day begins.
Breakfast After the Bell helps students overcome barriers that prevent them from participating in school breakfast, like late transportation, inconvenient meal service locations and social stigma, according to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE).
Per the VDOE, students who eat school breakfast have demonstrated better attendance, test scores and classroom behavior, among other benefits.
According to a state report, serving breakfast as part of the school day helps reduce chronic absenteeism up to 6 percentage points after schools adopt Breakfast After the Bell.
In 2023, Gov. Glenn Youngkin launched the ALL in VA initiative to invest in public education post-COVID. Part of the plan aimed to address chronic absenteeism for K-12 students missing 18 or more school days during the academic year.
Since the launch of the campaign, nearly 32,000 more students are eating breakfast at school as the chronic absenteeism rate fell to 14.8% for the 2024-25 school year, per the report. The rate has been dropping steadily over the years from its high of 20.1% in 2021-22.
The report noted that the Commonwealth's ongoing participation in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) also contributed to the boost in school breakfasts. CEP allows schools and school districts in lower-income areas to serve free breakfast and lunch to students without requiring household applications.
