WEST HARTFORD, CT — 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.