Support School Breakfast for All
Senator Roem's SB 1003, which would provide school breakfast for all students in Virginia, will be heard tomorrow afternoon (1/16) in the Senate Education and Health- Public Education Subcommittee.
School breakfast participation rebounded post-pandemic, with a historic high of 381,000 students eating breakfast daily during the 2023- 2024 school year. However, many barriers, including administrative burdens, social stigma, and school meal debt, prevent over half of low income children from eating breakfast.
In addition to combating food insecurity and supporting academic success for students, key benefits of School Breakfast for all, that would help reduce these barriers, include:
-Improving focus and behavior by ensuring students are nourished and ready to learn, while reducing stigma and school meal debts- school breakfast reduces stress, meal debt, and stigma for families while offering critical support to those with limited resources
-Eliminating reduced-price breakfast categories and strengthening school food service budgets- increased breakfast participation strengthens school nutrition budgets, reduces meal debt, and allows professionals to focus on meal quality.
-Increasing attendance and boosting classroom outcomes- programs such as Breakfast After the Bell reduce absenteeism by 6 percentage points and improve student health, behavior, and academic performance!
Here's how you can help!
Use this Action Alert to contact members of the Public Education Subcommitee, urging them to support SB 1003 for free school breakfast. A sample script is provided, but feel free to personalize your message
Share this alert widely with your networks, to build support for this bill. While the subcommittee is not offering virtual testimony, you can provide written comment or attend the subcommittee meeting tomorrow afternoon, which will occur 1/2 hour after the Senate of Virginia adjourns.
All of Virginia's students deserve a healthy start to their day, and your voice can help make this a reality. Together, we can ensure that all students have access to the nutrition they need!