Anti-Hunger Leaders Celebrate National School Breakfast Week

BROOKLINE, Mass. – This week, Project Bread, the state’s leading anti-hunger organization, Representative Tommy Vitolo, Representative Kevin Honan, Brookline Superintendent Dr. Linus Guillory and Brookline police officers joined school nutrition staff in Brookline to celebrate National School Breakfast Week. On Monday, March 6, guests stepped in as “celebrity servers” at William H. Lincoln School to dish out new breakfast items such as smoothies, breakfast burritos and breakfast bento boxes for students from their breakfast cart. Project Bread staff handed out breakfast swag like highlighters and pencil cases for all students participating. On Tuesday, March 7, Project Bread’s Chef Educator Ryan Eckles and Representative Honan headed to Brookline High School’s Tappan campus and served samples of cornmeal porridge, a new hot breakfast recipe prepared by Brookline school nutrition staff, and students voted on the recipe. The results: cornmeal porridge was a hit and students voted to include the item on upcoming breakfast menus! One 9th grader named Elin gave the recipe a big thumbs up after her second serving.

Additional photos here.

Hunger in the classroom unfortunately is a common experience, especially when 1 in 5 Massachusetts households with children struggle without enough to eat. Hunger exists in every community across the state --even in what are considered wealthy districts like Brookline. Unsurprisingly, students who eat breakfast at school are proven more likely to succeed academically and are less likely to become overweight or obese. Project Bread works with schools to integrate breakfast into the day and to design and implement a breakfast program that works for each school. Breakfast served After the Bell (rather than before school starts), can take many forms. Schools can provide breakfast in the classroom, offer students grab & go meals on their way into class, offer a mid-morning “second chance breakfast” or provide some combination of these models as viable strategies to ensure all students can start the day nourished and ready to learn.

“Many students face transportation obstacles that make arriving early to school difficult and concern about being singled out or labeled as hungry can sometimes deter students from eating school breakfast,” says Erin McAleer, Project Bread CEO. “Making breakfast part of the school day, serving it after the bell for all students, regardless of their family income, limits stigma and eliminates common participation barriers so all students can access this vital resource. We are so grateful for districts like Brookline that work hard to ensure children don’t have to worry where their next meal is coming from and can instead focus on learning and just being kids.”

This academic year, Massachusetts is 1 of 5 states continuing to provide free school meals to all students, after the expiration of federal waivers in June. Through the FY23 state budget, $110 million has been allocated to keep children fed during the school day, and an additional $65 million has been proposed by Governor Healey and passed in the House to continue serving meals amidst increased student participation. Data from October 2022, finds over 80,000 additional students are participating in school meals in schools previously not serving free school meals to all compared to October 2019. In Brookline School District, participation in school meals has increased 32% since they began serving universal school meals during the pandemic. Eliminating the barriers of cost and stigma is working to ensure students have the nutrition they need. This is why Project Bread, alongside bill sponsors Senator Sal DiDomenico and Representative Andy Vargas, has refiled legislation this January to make free school meals for all students permanent.

Without state level legislation in place, there is risk barriers to food access will return once the annual budget ends on June 30, 2023. The Commonwealth will return to a tiered-pay system that leaves out at least 26 percent of food insecure children. Currently, over half of the Massachusetts state legislature has indicated supported School Meals for All legislation and more than 120 anti-hunger partners, health care advocates, school and municipal officials, food systems experts, faith communities, children’s advocates and more have joined the Feed Kids Coalition. Those who support this effort can go to feedkidsma.org and ask their legislators to make School Meals for All a priority.

People experiencing food insecurity should call or text Project Bread’s toll-free FoodSource Hotline (1-800-645-8333), which provides confidential assistance to connect with food resources, including SNAP benefits, in 180 languages and for the hearing impaired. For more information, visit: www.projectbread.org/get-help.

About Project Bread

Project Bread, the leading statewide anti-hunger nonprofit, connects people and communities in Massachusetts to reliable sources of food while advocating for policies that make food more accessible—so that no one goes hungry. For more information, visit: www.projectbread.org.

About the Feed Kids Campaign

Feed Kids, Solve Hunger MA is a statewide legislative campaign aimed at passing School Meals for All legislation in the Commonwealth. Our diverse coalition consists of over 120 anti-hunger partners, health care advocates, school and municipal officials, food systems experts, faith communities, children’s advocates and more.

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