Schools to offer free breakfast

By Rachel Wachman Record-Journal staff

REGIONAL Gov. Ned Lamont and state Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker announced last week that Connecticut will offer free breakfast to all schoolchildren in Connecticut and make lunch free for students who previously qualified for reducedprice lunches.

With this announcement, Connecticut became the seventh state to institute free school meals, with Massachusetts joining the ranks as number eight on Aug. 10.

To make the program possible, Connecticut allocated $16 million from funding the state received under the America Rescue Plan Act. During the pandemic, both breakfast and lunch were free for students in Connecticut thanks to federal funding, but this ended when the pandemic program expired.

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“There is no curriculum brilliant enough to compensate for a hungry stomach or a distracted mind,” Russell-Tucker said at a press conference. “Our students’ physical, mental, social and emotional health and

See Schools, A2 wellness are foundational to learning. Therefore, providing healthy meals without financial stigmas is a strategic investment in fueling students’ growth and educational outcomes.”

This expansion means the participation of approximately 114 districts and the eligibility of an estimated 177,243 students for free breakfast.

For lunches, the state estimates that 128 districts are eligible for funding to serve 13,197 qualifying students who will now receive free rather than reduced-fee meals.

“We have to make sure kids are ready to learn, and that starts first thing in the day, a good meal, a good breakfast, no stigma,” Lamont said at the press conference.

In Connecticut, nearly 400,000 people are food insecure. This number includes 90,000 children, according to Connecticut Foodshare, a food bank which works to feed individuals and families across the state.

“People often think there’s no problem with hunger in Connecticut,” President and CEO of Connecticut Foodshare Jason Jakubowski said.

“That’s 100% not true. We serve the whole state, all 169 towns. There is at least one food insecure family in each one, no matter whether it’s an urban city, the wealthy suburbs, or a rural town.”

Making free meals accessible for all students helps level the playing field, and Southington’s School Nutrition Director Nya Welinsky has seen firsthand the impact this can have on students.

“There’s a feeling of equity that the students have mentioned to me,” Welinsky said.

“It’s more equitable, and it’s a wonderful way to start the day well-nourished.”

For families experiencing financial strain, Welinsky emphasized the importance of the free and reduced-price meal application.

“It’s more than a meal application in many ways,” Welinsky said. “We really encourage families to fill it out. With the information they provide, families can end up receiving fee waivers for different things in schools.”

None of this would be possible without the support of the legislature to help get kids the food they need, Jason Jakubowski explained.

“We’re lucky here in Connecticut that our delegate to the legislature is very supportive of programs that help kids get the food they need,” Jakubowski said. “It’s a big leap in the right direction. We’re hopeful that in the next year or two we will see universal free lunches in Connecticut.”

Jakubowski added that he hopes future federal action will help other states make this goal possible as well.

“The U.S. Congress absolutely should have free school breakfasts and free school breakfasts for every child no matter where in the country they live,” Jakubowski said.

To access the free and reduced-price meal application for your town, visit your school district’s food services website.

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