Brookville, PA – Officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) today visited Brookville Area Jr./Sr. High School to greet students at the school’s new grab-and-go breakfast cart and highlight the importance of a free nutritious school breakfast.
Deputy Secretary Marcus Delgado and Director of the Bureau of Food and Nutrition Vonda Ramp interacted with students and staff at the school as students took advantage of free food items from the district’s new grab-and-go cart. In just the first few months of the 2024-25 school year, the Brookville Area Jr./Sr. High School served 20 percent more breakfast meals compared to the same time period om 2023-24.
“Students should never have to worry about where their next meal is coming from, but unfortunately, food insecurity does not discriminate,” said Deputy Secretary Delgado. “The universal free breakfast program ensures that all learners, no matter where they live or what their circumstances, can access a healthy start to their day easily and at no cost.”
For the third year in a row, Governor Josh Shapiro is requesting funding for universal free breakfast in schools across the Commonwealth. The proposed 2025-26 budget will ensure Pennsylvania’s 1.7 million learners continue to receive free breakfast at school, regardless of their income. As a result of universal free breakfast, more students are eating breakfast in the morning and starting the day ready to learn. Last school year, more than 90 million breakfast meals were served in schools – that’s nearly 10 million more meals than were served the previous school year.
“Feeding students breakfast is just one of the many ways that we're caring for kids,” said Brookville Area School District Superintendent Dr. Erich May. “On top of the great teaching and learning, public schools like ours are providing for the physical and mental health of students. There’s no better way to invest in the future.”
Along with the new grab-and-go cart, Brookville Area School District extended breakfast service to include second chance breakfast for the first 10 minutes of the first three periods of the day. The district created new recipes including overnight oats, yogurt crumbles, parfaits, and yogurt bowls to keep students interested in various healthy items. Additionally, the district is reducing food waste by utilizing lunch leftovers for some breakfast meals.
“Providing school meals at no cost to all students while focusing on quality, variety, and service has proven to be a winning combination for our district and its students, proven by our high level of student participation at all grade levels,” said Brookville Area School District Food Service Director Becky Kammerdeiner.
In December, PDE announced the second annual Governor’s School Breakfast Challenge, a three-month program to encourage increased participation in the Universal Free Breakfast Program and recognize schools for increasing breakfast participation while implementing sustainable changes that incorporate more nutritious and local foods in their meal offerings. Schools are encouraged to join the challenge.
Challenge criteria are listed on the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s (PDE) website, and later this year, schools with the greatest success in participation will be recognized by the Shapiro Administration.