BENEFITS
Research shows that healthy, well-nourished children learn better, are more likely to attend school and are able to take advantage of educational opportunities. Studies demonstrate:
Research shows that students that are properly nourished are able to perform at higher levels.
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Consistent attendance is an important factor when dealing with students who are hunger insecure.
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Undernourishment impacts children’s behavior, school performance, and ability to concentrate.
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Children’s brain function is diminished by short-term or periodic hunger and / or malnutrition.
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INCREASED TEST SCORES
Iron deficiency is one of the most prevalent nutritional problems of children in the United States. It can increase fatigue, shorten attention span, decrease work capacity, reduce resistance to infection and impair intellectual performance. Consequently, anemic children tend to do poorly on vocabulary, reading and other tests. Research shows that students that are properly nourished are able to perform at higher levels.
IMPROVED ATTENDANCE
Consistent attendance is an important factor when dealing with students who are hunger insecure. Studies indicate an increase in attendance on Fridays and Mondays since the implementation of the program.
REDUCED BEHAVIOR ISSUES
Undernourishment impacts the behavior of children, their school performance, and their ability to concentrate and perform complex tasks. When a risk factor, such as hunger, is involved, students lose focus. The elimination of hunger is a positive direct benefit of this program for every student. Those students who are no longer distracted by hunger can focus their energy on productive learning. This also adds to students feeling that the school truly cares about their well-being.
GREATER ATTENTION SPAN
Children’s brain function is diminished by short-term or periodic hunger and / or malnutrition caused by missing or skipping meals. The Blessing in a Backpack program ensures that students have access to sufficient meals while at home during the weekend. The benefit of this is increase brain function. This directly impacts the student’s attention span while in school.
QUALITY TEACHER TIME FOR ALL STUDENTS
Inadequate nutrition during childhood can have lasting effects and compromise cognitive development and school performance. The Blessings in a Backpack program benefits all students in school, not only the ones receiving this service. As research shows, by reducing behavior issues and increasing student’s attention span, improvement in the overall atmosphere in a classroom is attained. With less behavior issues to manage, a teacher can focus on teaching.
FURTHER ENHANCE THE ENTIRE SCHOOL DISTRICT
The benefits are seen not only in individual classrooms, but also across the entire School District. An increase in attendance, test scores, and academic achievement improves educational results for the entire district.
LONG TERM GAIN
By eliminating the risk factor of hunger, students are able to prepare for their futures. The long-term gain will be seen in these students growing up and becoming successful individuals and contributing members of their communities.