Harrisburg, PA – The 2023-24 budget signed by Governor Josh Shapiro delivers a $46.5 million increase to provide universal free breakfast to Pennsylvania’s 1.7 million public school students, delivering on a promise the Governor made during his budget address to ensure free breakfast for every child in public school districts.
Pennsylvania students are excited about this new investment – take it directly from them. Whether they want to be our next president, a pediatrician, or a skin care influencer, Pennsylvania’s kids cannot expect to learn and succeed on an empty stomach.
Watch Pennsylvania students talk about free breakfast here.
Thanks to this increase in funding, every public school student regardless of income will be eligible to receive free breakfast. The funding also provides free lunch to all 22,000 Pennsylvania students who are eligible for reduced-price lunches through the National School Lunch Program.
See what Pennsylvania kids are saying about the historic investment in universal free breakfast:
Ryan: “I think free breakfast is awesome.”
Indie: “I think it’s nice because I know some kids, it’s hard for them to get breakfast in the morning or some kids don’t have food in the fridge to eat sometimes. So it’s nice that you can go to school and eat food in the morning.”
Kennedy: “If some kids don’t have breakfast in the morning, then they can have it here for free. So like when you’re learning, you can pay attention more… it means a lot that the Governor is taking care of us.”
Sincere: “Some kids don’t get to eat at home, so then they get to eat at school.”
Luca: “They can get their mind off of eating and their stomach isn’t growling.”
Connor: “The Governor is doing the right thing.”
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