school lunches

The lunchroom landscape is changing in Middletown Public Schools. The district has launched a series of initiatives to bring more nutrition and education options to students, expanding menus and minds. Plant-based food is a trend sweeping fast food chains, grocery stores and now, school cafeterias. Middletown Public Schools is serving up more plant-based plates. “Most of the students actually said…

State funding to help districts transition back to charging for school meals is starting to run out.

For the first time in more than two years, some Connecticut parents will have to start paying for their children to eat in school. State funding that allowed schools to continue offering meals at no cost to students is now, as expected, beginning to run out. There are kids who are going to go hungry and there are families who…

Congressional Child Nutrition waivers, which provide students with free school lunches, are expected to end at the end of June.

During the pandemic, students were fed for free. That’s thanks to nutrition waivers from the USDA that allowed children across the country to receive breakfast and lunch at no cost.  But this pandemic-era initiative will expire on June 30. “So, everything will go back to pre-COVID regulations. Children will have to apply for free and reduced lunch,” said Erica Murphy,...

Connecticut Grown For Connecticut Kids is funding a farm-to-table concept for schools.

A new grant program is now offering creative solutions to the problem of food shortages for students. It is called Connecticut Grown For Connecticut Kids, and it’s funding the farm-to-table concept for schools. New Britain Schools have already been making strides to bring local food to students’ plates, and people involved say this new funding is important. State leaders...

Some school districts have been forced to make changes to the lunch menus for students due to food supply chain shortages.

Just as every school district has created their own learning model, each school district across Connecticut is coming up with their own plan for feeding students throughout the day.

Just as every school district has created their own learning model, each school district across Connecticut is coming up with their own plan for feeding students throughout the day.

Summer Break is officially here, capping off an unprecedented school year. But while schools have been closed, food services teams have not stopped working. According to a 2020 survey, there are more than 117,000 children in Connecticut suffering from food insecurity. With so many families out of work because of the pandemic, those numbers are likely higher now. School districts…

Standing in line outside East Hartford’s Mayberry Elementary School Friday, Omyra Wilson whispered instructions in her young daughter, Naomi’s ear. With a confident smile, Naomi walked away, toward a table lined with dozens of brown paper bags. Before grabbing one, Naomi did as her mother instructed, handed a card and gift to those who packed it. May 1 is...

May 1 is National School Lunch Hero Day and it’s taken on an added significance this year so we found some local heroes right here in Connecticut

Windsor Public Schools are using an anonymous donation to help get students the food they need at school even if their lunch account has a negative balance.