(The Center Square) — Connecticut is tapping into federal funding to provide hundreds of thousands of public school students with free breakfast and lunch.
The state Department of Education announced that $16 million of funding the state received from the American Rescue Plan Act will be diverted to Connecticut’s free school meals program for the 2023-2024 school year, allowing students to get free meals regardless of their family’s income.
“This investment ensures that each student begins their day with a nourishing meal, fostering learning and growth,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a statement. “By ensuring access to nutritious meals, we empower our students to excel academically and in all facets of life.”
He said removing the family portion of the cost of lunch for students eligible for reduced-price meals “means more money in their pockets for other essential needs.”
Under the expanded program, an estimated 177,243 students whose schools participate in the federal School Breakfast Program will be able to receive breakfast meals at no cost for the next school year. That includes day students within residential childcare institutions.
Another 13,179 students who are eligible for reduced-price meals at schools participating in the federal National School Lunch Program will be eligible to receive lunch at no cost, according to the Lamont administration. Eligible child care facilities will also receive funding.
In February, Lamont signed emergency legislation that pumped $60 million into the program through the end of the 2022-2023 school year.
About one in nine households in Connecticut is food insecure, meaning they don’t have consistent, reliable access to nutritious and affordable food, according to the group Feeding America.
Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows the state is among two dozen with the nation’s highest rates of food insecurity.
Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker said changes will help alleviate food insecurity and provide much-needed economic relief for families paying more for groceries and other necessities amid the pinch of inflation and other financial pressures. She said it will also improve academic outcomes.
“The research clearly shows that eating a nutritious and well-balanced breakfast improves concentration, alertness, and comprehension; results in fewer mistakes; assists with faster completion of math problems; results in better performance on standardized tests; and improves speed and memory on cognitive tests,” she said.
Connecticut has offered free discounted lunches for low-income public school students for years, relying on federal programs to pay a portion of the cost.
But the COVID-19 pandemic opened up a wellspring of federal funding for districts to provide free lunches regardless of a family’s income. But much of that money dried up last June, and Congress hasn’t provided more funding.
Besides Connecticut, four other states decided to extend the federal universal free lunch program through the 2022-23 school year after it ended last June. Several of those states have made universal free meals a permanent policy.
