“Studies have shown that eating breakfast may help children do better in school by improving memory, test grades, school attendance and more,” said Kris Charles, vice-president of global communications and philanthropy at Kellogg. “But for children living in food-insecure homes, breakfast can be hard to come by. As a leader in breakfast, we’re committed to partnering with organizations like Action for Healthy Kids to support breakfast initiatives for children in need.”
Action for Healthy Kids is a U.S. nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting childhood obesity, undernourishment and physical inactivity by helping schools become healthier places.
“Fewer than half of the 19.4 million children eligible for free or reduced-price breakfast in our country actually take part in these programs,” said Rob Bisceglie, chief executive officer, Action for Healthy Kids. “Support from companies like Kellogg is critical in countering this trend by providing funds that help train and empower volunteers to encourage students to take advantage of school breakfast programs.”
The $300,000 grant was awarded by Kellogg’s Corporate Citizenship Fund. As a result of the grant, Kellogg said participation in school breakfast programs increased by 41% across nine school districts, allowing 12,000 more students access to a healthy breakfast each school day in Fresno, Calif.; Orange County, Fla.; Chicago; Toledo, Ohio; and five other districts across rural Kentucky during the 2011-2012 academic year.