In a study conducted over the 2012-2013 school year, researchers from the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Missouri-Kansas City found that when kids receive the extra food to take home, they perform better at school. Those results backed up similar studies in previous years.

“Children report that it is easier for them to work on their own, to understand their teachers,” the study said, “and to understand their homework.”

Researchers for the 2012-2013 study interviewed school officials and children who receive the weekend packs of food. They found that schools in the BackSnack program saw a reduction in absences for medical reasons. Also fewer tardy students, fewer nurse visits and fewer trips to see counselors or social workers. Read more.