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A project of Klickitat County Health Department breakfast barriers Eating breakfast helps kids do better in school. How can we make sure every student is eating breakfast and succeeding? REPORT 1 – Preliminary Data Analysis – January 2011 by Alysa Haas, Community Health Promoter ---PAGE BREAK--- A 2009 review of research looking at school-based health interventions by Julia Dilley, Ph.D., has concluded that providing students with healthier choices, resources, and environments at school not only keeps kids healthier but also increases academic achievement. Dilley’s report identifies 13 key health risk factors that significantly affect students’ academic success, including substance abuse, chronic health problems, poor nutrition, and several other issues. One surprising factor included in this group is breakfast skipping. Dilley explains that research shows school breakfast programs often improve grades and test scores (Dilley 2009). Considering that nearly all schools in Klickitat County already support school breakfast programs, certain questions arise—How well are these programs doing? How many students are eating breakfast? And if they are not eating breakfast, why not? How can we make sure every student in Klickitat County is getting the most out of breakfast, and consequently, the most out of their learning time at school? Working with the Klickitat County Health Department, Goldendale High School, and Klickitat School, in the fall of 2010, as Community Health Promoter for the County, I conducted preliminary research in an attempt to answer these questions. Through class focus groups, school-wide surveys, and school staff interviews, I portrayed the current reality of school breakfast programs in an academic paper for the University of Washington. Subsequently, I am creating the present report in order to share the significant data I collected and the overall conclusions that can be drawn from my research in order to help the community answer rising questions about child nutrition. While my research has focused specifically on breakfast, it is my hope that this analysis can be a doorway into a discussion about school food at large within Klickitat County. As a 10-month AmeriCorps volunteer, my time here is brief, but I hope that by shedding some light on the issues local citizens are concerned about, my research might provide a launch pad for community action toward providing healthier, happier lives for children. ---PAGE BREAK--- My research began with four focus groups conducted with the Nutrition classes at Goldendale High School. Students engaged with each other in dialogue about their own breakfast-eating habits, why they thought students might skip breakfast, and what changes might be made to remove the barriers keeping them from eating it. Many of the ideas shared in these sessions helped to form questions for the subsequent survey I would conduct in the school. In answering the question, “Why don’t you eat breakfast?” a common response was “I’m not hungry.” While this response surprised me, it seemed expected by the students, and is an important factor to consider. I also interviewed several school staff in Goldendale, including the school principal, Clay Henry, the family and consumer science teacher, Sara Detloff, and the district nutrition director, Lori Hackbarth. All agreed that they would like to see more students eating and enjoying school breakfast, but that the primary barrier to change is lack of funds coupled with stringent regulations tied to USDA commodities. Student surveys regarding breakfast eating habits were conducted at Goldendale High School and with 8th- through 12th-graders at Klickitat School, with 281 and 57 participants, respectively. Survey questions related to breakfast eating habits, family eating habits, and food preferences, as well as possible correlative factors, including grades, sleep habits, and those indicating socio-economic status. It is important to note that the environments at Goldendale High School and Klickitat School differ in two significant ways— Klickitat School offers breakfast (and lunch) to all students for free, regardless of free/reduced lunch status, while Goldendale High School follows the more typical model of screening students for free/reduced lunch eligibility. Klickitat also has made a change to serving breakfast to its older students later in the morning, during second period, while Goldendale serves breakfast before school, from 8:00am to 8:20am. The remainder of this report reviews data and preliminary conclusions that are drawn from the student survey as a means to understand the basic barriers preventing students from eating breakfast regularly. Additional analysis of correlative factors in the survey will be reported in a subsequent report. Recommended future steps are shared in the conclusion of this report. ---PAGE BREAK--- SURVEY ANALYSIS It is promising to note that a large percentage of students in both schools (54% in both) are eating breakfast most mornings. Surely, we can thank the school breakfast programs active in these schools for this success. However, we are also left with about 30% of students in each school that rarely eat breakfast. While at this time I cannot make any direct correlations with student academic achievement, it is interesting to note the similarity of this figure with the Goldendale School District’s most recent failure to graduate rate, 27.3% (Goldendale 2010). How often do you eat breakfast? Goldendale HS Klickitat HS Every morning 39.43 % 33.33 % 4 – 6 times a week 15.05 % 21.05 % 1 – 3 times a week 13.98 % 15.79 % Once in awhile 23.66 % 19.30 % Never 7.89 % 10.53 % Significant Combined Percentages Goldendale HS Klickitat HS Most mornings (combined: “Every morning” and “4 – 6 times a week”) 54.48 % 54.38 % Rarely (combined: “Once in awhile” and “Never”) 31.55 % 29.83 % When you DO NOT eat breakfast, is it because you (check all that apply): Goldendale HS Klickitat HS are too tired to wake up in time 21.23 % 12.99 % have to work or do chores 7.16 % 2.60 % don’t feel hungry 33.76 % 29.87 % can’t find any food to eat 9.46 % 3.90 % don’t like what is offered for breakfast at home 6.39 % 1.30 % don’t like what is offered for breakfast at school 12.28 % 35.06 % don’t think it’s important 4.35 % 5.19 % Other 5.37 % 9.09 % ---PAGE BREAK--- In both schools, “don’t feel hungry” was a very common reason for skipping breakfast. This factor was revealed in focus groups with Goldendale High School students, as well. Several students explained that eating breakfast in the morning makes them feel sick. A direct approach to solving this problem may be to provide breakfast food later in the morning, after students have begun school and may feel hungrier. Klickitat School high school students already enjoy this benefit through a second period breakfast break. However, the percent of students citing “don’t feel hungry” at Klickitat is still almost as high as Goldendale’s rate, both around 30%. At Klickitat School, the percent of students who skip breakfast because they “don’t like what is offered for breakfast at school” is the most prevalent reason, at 35%. Compared to only 12% at Goldendale High School, this is a notable problem for Klickitat School. However, it is important to note that these figures may be inappropriately compared here, since Klickitat School offers free lunch to all students and thus has a higher rate of school breakfast consumption. With more students eating school breakfast, there will inevitably be more students who do not like it compared to Goldendale High School. This is further illustrated by the data below. Do you like the breakfast served at school? Goldendale HS Klickitat HS Yes 23.66 % 32.69 % No 26.88 % 40.38 % Not sure 16.49 % 25.00 % I haven’t ever tried it. 32.97 % 1.92 % As stated above, the high percent of students at Klickitat School claiming they do not like school breakfast may have more to do with the higher number of students participating in school breakfast. However, the significance of 40% of students who do not like school breakfast is not something we can ignore, especially when considering that 35% of students cited not liking school breakfast as a reason for skipping breakfast. The percentages of students who “haven’t ever tried [school breakfast]” differ significantly between Goldendale and Klickitat schools (33% and respectively). Clearly, this is a testament to the power of a school-wide free breakfast program, which Goldendale High School does not yet provide. If the school DID serve something you liked for breakfast, would you eat breakfast at school? Goldendale HS Klickitat HS Yes 28.57 % 68.42 % No 23.21 % 5.26 % Maybe 39.64 % 21.05 % I already eat school breakfast. 8.57 % 5.26 % Provided with an opportunity to eat food they liked at school, many were open to the idea of eating it. However, at Goldendale High School, there seemed to be more of an aversion to trying school breakfast—even if it was food they liked. This, at first, appears to point to a social stigma against school breakfast amongst Goldendale students. However, when compared with the data from Klickitat students, it seems the ---PAGE BREAK--- discrepancy between the schools may have more to do with cost. While Klickitat students are all eligible for free breakfast, at Goldendale High School, only about 55% of students are eligible for free or reduced breakfast (Goldendale 2010). Having to pay for breakfast may very likely pose a significant barrier for students at Goldendale High School. CONCLUSIONS From this preliminary data analysis, three major barriers are clear. A large percentage of students do not feel hungry enough early in the morning to find breakfast appetizing. Second, a large group of students dislikes the breakfast offered by their schools, a factor that sometimes keeps them from eating any breakfast at all. Third, there is likely a cost factor keeping some students from eating breakfast, since nearly 40% of students at Goldendale High School were not sure if they would eat school breakfast even if it was something they liked. These findings create a multi-faceted problem for our community to solve which may take many steps, but will ultimately create not only a healthier, happier environment for our students, but a more academically successful one. With better achievement, we can plan to see higher college entry rates, higher employment rates, and thus, a decrease in poverty in our community. Solutions to these barriers may include: ∙ Serving breakfast later in the morning ∙ Serving different kinds of foods for school breakfast ∙ Petitioning for school-wide free breakfast Some promising news comes from the recent Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act signed by President Obama that will take the paperwork out of free/reduced lunch eligibility which in the past has prevented many parents from applying. The bill also provides an additional six cents for every school meal. However, there is still much more to be done, and as a community, we can work together to make changes that work for our students. Further statistical analysis of this project’s surveys will be conducted by Klickitat County Health Department, looking at more complex factors, such as possible correlations between eating habits and sleep, grades, family habits, or socio-economic status. of these findings and further recommendations for action will be shared in a subsequent report. The next step I recommend for the community is to hold a community meeting to discuss the current situation of school food and student eating habits. Beginning this community conversation will make clear the next questions that the community wants answered. From there, new research can be conducted and new school programs can be implemented. By continuing to come together as a group to assess any improvements or continuing problems, we can create truly long-lasting change for the wellness and success of our children. REFERENCES Dilley, Julia. 2009. Research Review: School-based Health Interventions and Academic Achievement. Healthy Students, Successful Students Partnership Committee. Washington State Board of Health, Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Washington State Department of Health. N.d. Goldendale School District Summary, Washington State Report Card. Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/summary.aspx?year=2009-10, accessed December 9, 2010.