Rise and Shine Massachusetts Statement on Breakfast After the Bell
August 14, 2018
Media Contacts:
Catherine Drennan
(617) 598-5067
cdrennan@gbfb.org
Rise and Shine Massachusetts Statement on Breakfast After the Bell
Boston, MA – Rise and Shine Massachusetts, a coalition of community, educational, and hunger relief organizations, released a statement today in response to the Massachusetts Legislature’s failure to enact S.2626, an act regarding breakfast after the bell. The legislation would require high-poverty schools to serve breakfast after the start of the instructional day, improving access to school meals and reducing childhood hunger in the Commonwealth.
The bill passed the Senate unanimously (37-0) on Thursday, August 26 and received bipartisan support in both chambers. However, due to an overwhelming number of pending bills, Breakfast After the Bell did not come to the floor before the end of the formal session. Major legislation, like the health care reform bill and the education foundations budget, were similarly unpassed.
We are disappointed the House of Representatives failed to take up S.2626 during the formal legislative session. With one in eight children in Massachusetts unsure of where their next meal will come from, Breakfast After the Bell has the power to dramatically lessen childhood hunger while leveraging millions of additional federal reimbursements to school districts.
We are encouraged by the outpouring of public support behind this critical childhood hunger relief legislation. One thing we consistently heard from our lawmakers was the tsunami of public interest they received on this issue – that matters. We’ve come so far, in uniting people behind this important cause, and we’ve gotten so close to realizing our goal that one thing is certain: our fight is not over yet!
Please stay alert for updates from the coalition as we continue to push for equitable access to school breakfast.
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