Commissioner Driscoll Announces Expanded School Breakfast Plan for Massachusetts School Children

Malden - Commissioner of Education David P. Driscoll announced today that the Department of Education is offering two new school breakfast grants that will assist Massachusetts school districts in providing an increased number of children with the breakfasts they need to start each day.

The two new programs, School Breakfast Demonstration Project and Universal School Breakfast, will expand upon the federally-funded School Breakfast Program which last year provided over 15.2 million free and reduced-price breakfasts to an average of approximately 83,700 children per day in Massachusetts.

"It is our goal to serve 100% of all children who need to be fed," said Commissioner David P. Driscoll. "With these new grants, school districts can find new and creative ways to provide nutritious breakfasts to all students without regard to eligibility status."

The School Breakfast Demonstration Project grant encourages school districts, over a two-year period, to initiate new approaches for increasing overall student participation in the School Breakfast Program by at least 10%. Priority will be given to districts with high levels of students who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals.

The focus of the Universal School Breakfast program is on increasing student participation in the school breakfast program by 15% over a two-year period through pilot programs that promote a universal approach to providing school breakfasts to students. The program is available only to those districts that have at least one elementary school required to offer breakfast during the 1998-99 school year.

Later this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will recognize the Springfield Public Schools with a Best Practice Award for School Breakfast Program Expansion, and the Boston Public Schools with a Best Practice Award for Education in Nutrition and Dietary Guidelines.

Applications for both programs must be completed before September 25. For information, please call the Massachusetts Department of Education at 781-338-3000 or visit the Department's web site at http://www.doe.mass.edu/cnp/.