At Smith STEM School in West Hartford on Thursday, Gov. Ned Lamont, state and local officials, and advocates highlighted a provision in the FY2027 budget that will completely fund breakfast for all K-12 public school students and eliminate fees for those who currently qualify for reduced lunch.

By Ronni Newton

Gov. Ned Lamont was at one of West Hartford’s elementary schools on Thursday morning, announcing a line item in his proposed budget that would ensure all of Connecticut’s roughly 500,000 public students have access to a nutritious meal before the start of the school day, at no cost to to families.

The FY2027 budget proposal that Lamont presented to the Connecticut General Assembly at the opening of the legislative session on Wednesday includes $12 million in funding to provide free breakfast to all of the state’s K-12 public school students, and also includes $500,000 to eliminate all fees for those who qualify for reduced-price lunches.

Behind the governor, Smith STEM School second graders were eating their lunches. “Who had pasta, raise your hand?” Lamont asked them, before inviting all of the students to join him around the podium, in front of the TV cameras filming the press conference.

“What we’re trying to do is make sure there’s a little breakfast available, no questions to ask, to the 500,000 kids all across the state. Make sure they start the day right, with a full stomach, and ready to learn,” Lamont said, adding that reduced price lunch would become free for anyone eligible.

People across the state are nervous about food, about SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, Lamont said. “I want you to know that all across the state, at every single one of our schools, you’re gonna have access to breakfast, and no questions asked about lunch as well.”

According to Connecticut Education Commissioner Charlene M. Russell-Tucker, the proposal would ensure that another 164,000 students could receive free breakfast, and eliminate all lunch charges for 13,000 students in 118 school districts throughout the state. This is the second time that the governor has proposed funding free breakfast for all public school students.

“The evidence shows many positive benefits of starting the day with a well-balanced, nutritious breakfast, including improved school attendance … better concentration, alertness, and comprehension,” as well as improved results on cognitive tests, she said. No curriculum can “compensate for a hungry stomach or distracted mind,” Russell-Tucker said, and “providing healthy meals is a strategic investment in supporting student growth and improving educational outcomes.”

“School readiness is grounded in fundamental things that we try to provide for as families,” West Hartford Superintendent Paul Vicinus said. That includes providing healthy meals, but those who are struggling financially can’t always do that, and students who are hungry can become distracted from learning.

“Folks think of us as a district with incredible infrastructure, incredible restaurants, incredible culture, but we also have incredible diversity and that includes socioeconomic diversity,” Vicinus said. “And so this will have a very genuine, a very real impact for this community,” he said.

“We know that healthy and reliable meals are the foundation of a productive school day,” added Smith STEM Principal Ashley Callan. “When students have access to proper nutrition,it removes the major barriers to learning and allows us to focus entirely on our academic and social growth. This funding ensures that every student, regardless of their circumstances, has the fuel that they need to achieve their whole potential.”

District-wide, 29% of West Hartford Public Schools students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and at Smith STEM, which is one of West Hartford’s magnet schools, 65% of the students qualify, Mayor Shari Cantor said. “These students will be impacted directly by this. investment in the nutrition and really the fuel for success in our schools.”

West Hartford Food Services Director Tim Prosinski said the Nutrition Services Department would appreciate the additional benefits. “Empty bellies, they won’t be able to learn very well, so we’re very excited about it.”

Others echoed the comments about hunger being a distraction from learning.

“Food security is a basic need, yet one in six Connecticut children are food insecure, and that is unacceptable,” said Janée Woods-Weber, executive director of advocacy group She Leads Justice. “School meals should not be considered nice to have, but rather a necessity, a key component to ensuring that we are addressing food insecurity in our communities and also ensuring equitable educational outcomes across our schools,” she said.

“Focusing on learning is much harder when your 7-year-old stomach is growling because you haven’t eaten for several hours, or perhaps even since yesterday,” Woods-Weber said. She said school meals are an investment in schools and communities.

“Connecticut is focusing and nourishing hope for all. We are nourishing our future, and we are nourishing our children,” said Julieth Callejas of End Hunger Connecticut. She said the conversation about expanding meal benefits to students is about more than just food, it’s about dignity and respect, “and allowing children to come first, and to focus on what’s important – their health and their education.

“When we have kids that are fed, we have kids that are healthy, and when we have kids that are healthy, we have kids who can fully learn and thrive,” said state Rep. Kate Farrar, a Democrat who represents the 20th District (West Hartford and Newington). She pledged her support for the governor’s proposal, for its role in ensuring that no kid in the state goes hungry.

Forty percent of families across the state are struggling to make ends meet, Farrar said, including 26% in West Hartford. “And that’s why an initiative like free breakfast, like our effort to bring free lunch to all our students, can be so pivotal, because we know the need extends far beyond those families that are just getting their kids access to free and reduced lunch. So I hope this is just a continuance of our work together to make sure that no kid is hungry in the state of Connecticut,” she added.

“This is an incredibly important step in the right direction in terms of ensuring that we are equitably funding our school systems,” ensuring that all children can thrive, West Hartford Board of Education Chair Shannon Marimón said.

The governor’s proposed budget is currently being considered by the legislature’s Appropriations Committee.

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