Only 34 percent of the school breakfasts that low-income children qualified for were actually consumed in the 2010 school year, the advocacy group Hunger-Free Minnesota stated Wednesday. The low takeup of school breakfasts occurred despite the fact the federal government subsidizes the cost of each qualified student's meal.

Why aren't kids receiving school breakfasts for which they are eligible? Hunger-Free Minnesota listed several reasons, including that a variety of districts (from small ones such as Watertown to large ones such as Minnetonka) don't have breakfast programs despite significant poverty rates among students. In other cases, parents don't know they qualify for their schools' breakfast programs, or they or their kids feel shame in asking for this support.

Nearly three in 10 school students qualify for free or reduced meals at Minnesota schools. (Students in families of four are eligible for free lunches if their household income is below $28,665, or for subsidized meals if their household income is below $40,793.)

Hunger-Free argued that poor utilization of these breakfast options has academic consequences. Some schools offer "grab and go" options, allowing students to take milk, bananas and breakfast bars to their first classes. While this might present some classroom disruption, Hunger-Free argued it is more disruptive to have students arrive to class hungry and unfocused.

"Today, one in 10 Minnesota families runs out of food by month-end, and the data shows that hunger is experienced in every county in the state," said Hunger-Free Minnesota's chief campaign officer Ellie Lucas. "If the school-aged kids in these families are already missing other meals during the week, missing a breakfast before school can significantly compromise their ability to learn."

Only 17.1 million free or reduced cost school breakfasts were consumed by low-income students in Minnesota out of an estimated 49.6 million breakfasts that could have been consumed in the 2010 school year, the organization estimated. (The figure was based on average school attendance rates and the number of children who qualify for free or reduced cost meals based on income eligibility.)

Hunger-Free, which is a coalition of Minnesota charities and businesses, hopes to increase the number of school breakfasts consumed each school year by low-income students by 4 million.