Breakfast in the Classroom Initiative
Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) Initiative seeks to increase school breakfast participation in high-poverty school districts across Massachusetts by (1) providing one-time launch grants and technical assistance, (2) publishing an annual School Breakfast Report Card, and (3) hosting an annual Healthy Start Awards event celebration.
In our Commonwealth’s high-poverty communities, school breakfast participation dropped to 48% in SY 23/24 from the high of 58% in SY 19/20. As a result of this low participation, over 150,000 children are missing out on school breakfast each school day, and our state is leaving over $67 million in USDA school breakfast reimbursements on the table each year.
BIC is proven to increase access to and participation in school breakfast. Benefits of the program include: lower absentee and tardy rates, fewer morning nurses visits and behavioral problems, and higher academic achievement. Since 2013, when Eos began this grant program, over 70,000 more high-need students are participating in breakfast each school day. Click here for a list of schools that have received BIC launch funding to date.
Healey-Driscoll Administration Highlights Importance of School Breakfast
SPRINGFIELD — The Healey-Driscoll Administration visited Springfield Public Schools today, with President of the Eos Foundation Andrea Silbert and Sodexo, to highlight the importance of school breakfast. Participation in school meals continues to climb after Massachusetts made state-supported universal free school meals permanent. School breakfast participation increased by 78,000 students from 2019 to 2024, a 36 percent increase. However, the number of students who eat lunch each day is still about double the number who eat breakfast. In fall 2024, 292,000 students ate breakfast daily while 595,000 ate lunch.
Massachusetts officials commend Springfield Public School’s breakfast success
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Springfield Public Schools’ breakfast program, initiated in 2015, has significantly increased student participation and garnered attention from state education officials.
The program, a collaboration with the Eos Foundation, moved breakfast from the cafeteria to the classroom, boosting participation from 44% in 2015 to 84% by last May. The Culinary and Food Center prepares meals for Springfield Public Schools, ensuring students receive nutritious options.