Breakfast program impacts student health, participation in school, leaders say

Gov. Josh Shapiro spent his lunch hour Tuesday at Penn Hills Elementary School talking about breakfast.

The recently approved state budget includes a $46.5 million increase for the Universal Free Breakfast Program, resulting in morning meals for the state’s 1.7 million public school students.

Funding will level the playing field for all children by eliminating the hunger barrier, which affects behavioral issues and boosts students’ ability to focus, Highlands School District Superintendent Monique Mawhinney said.

“If kids come to school hungry, they are not going to be able to learn,” she said.

Freeport Area School District Superintendent Ian Magness called it a “no-brainer.”

“I wish it was done years ago,” he said. “I am very happy for our kids and families.”

Shapiro was joined in Penn Hills by Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and Department of Education Secretary Khalid Mumin.

The trio highlighted the state’s investments in public schools, including the $567 million increase in basic education funding for Pennsylvania school districts — the largest increase in state history.

The additional boost in finances for the free breakfast program ensures all children have access to the most important meal of the day.

In Allegheny County, about 147,000 students qualify to receive the free breakfast, while about 46,000 Westmoreland County students are eligible.

“By reassuring them there will be a healthy breakfast and lunch each day, they will be able to focus on learning rather than how and what they are going to eat each day,” Mawhinney said.

The district long has offered free food to its 2,200 students, thanks to the federal Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act passed in 2010.

Across Allegheny County, there are more than 43,000 children who face food insecurity, according to action group Just Harvest.

The impact of child hunger can impair focus and lifelong health, with hungry children three times more likely to be suspended from school and twice as likely to need special education, according to the group’s website.

State Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-38th, said the food funding is a huge relief. She said school meals are as essential to learning as textbooks and pencils.

“Students can’t learn when they’re hungry,” she said.

Students with access to free breakfast have improved attendance rates, improved participation rates and fewer behavioral incidents, she said.

Williams has an office in Harrison and serves districts that include Highlands, Deer Lakes, Allegheny Valley and Fox Chapel Area, among others.

The Universal School Breakfast program was first instituted by former Gov. Tom Wolf during the 2022-23 school year after pandemic-era federal waivers expired that that had given all students access to free school breakfast and lunch.

Wolf established the program to provide free breakfast for all Pennsylvania students enrolled in schools that participate in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.

The plan was an instant success, with some districts doubling the pre-pandemic number of students who took the opportunity to eat a healthy breakfast at school.

In the Fox Chapel Area School District, there was a nearly 122% spike in breakfasts served since the program began.

The district serves a population with a wide disparity in income, where median household incomes range from $40,000 to $247,000.

During the 2018-19 school year, when school breakfasts were not free, the district served about 40,300 breakfasts.

In the 2022-23 school year, when free breakfasts were implemented, more than 89,600 breakfasts were dished out.

“Eating breakfast is essential for our students to get a good start each morning,” Superintendent Mary Catherine Reljac said.

“A healthy and nutritious meal positively affects performance, improving concentration and comprehension, and supplying energy the students need for their school day.”

In the Greenburg Salem School District, all students are eligible for a free breakfast and lunch, although not all participate, said Superintendent Kenneth Bissell. He said roughly 75% of elementary students take advantage of the breakfast, just below 50% of middle-schoolers do and less than 20% of high school students participate.

All students in the Norwin School District are offered a free breakfast.

Norwin Superintendent Jeff Taylor said that he had reviewed numerous research studies and believes that “students benefit greatly from having access to a healthy breakfast. It provides essential nutrients and energy to kickstart their day. Research has shown that it improves concentration, cognitive function and memory — helping them perform better in school.”

Earlier this summer, Kiski Area School District announced that more than 1,000 students in three of its six schools will receive free breakfast and lunch during the coming school year.

The meals will be served at Kiski Area Intermediate School in Allegheny Township, Kiski Area Upper Elementary School in Washington Township and Kiski Area East Primary School in Vandergrift.

Intermediate School Principal Michael Cardamone said the cereal bars and scrambled eggs give the kids time to socialize and start the school day on a positive note.

The meals will be paid for through the Community Eligibility Provision program, administered by the state Department of Education’s Division of Food and Nutrition.

Moving forward, Williams said she is co-sponsoring a bill to expand access to free meals.

The No Student Should Go Hungry Universal School Meals bill would provide free school lunch and breakfast to all students who are not already covered through the federal free and reduced-price meal and Community Eligibility Provision programs.

“I’m incredibly glad to see this (free breakfast) program funded for the 2023-24 school year as we work to make this cornerstone of food security for students permanent,” Williams said.