Missouri Department of Education

Missouri Department of Education. (2012, August 9). Missouri School Breakfast Challenge

Chris Nicastro, the Missouri Commissioner of Education, explains the partnership between the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Midwest Dairy Council called the Missouri School Breakfast Challenge. She states that breakfast is “the most important meal of the day”, and the research that proves how beneficial breakfast is to a student.

Research has proven breakfast increases students’ attendance, boosts test scores, lowers behavioral issues, and provides important nutrients. In 2011, only twenty-two percent of students in Missouri participated in breakfast. The goal of the School Breakfast Challenge is to increase student breakfast participation in school districts across the state and to improve students’ quality of life. Nicastro believes that breakfast will provide a boost in the education and challenges the schools across her state to participate in the School Breakfast Challenge.