PITTSBURGH—If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, imagine what a free breakfast and lunch will do.
Starting with the 2014-15 school year, all students in Pittsburgh Public Schools will receive free breakfasts and lunches regardless of family income, courtesy of the Community Eligibility Provision.
Though the program is new to Pennsylvania, it has been in a pilot stage in 10 states and Washington, D.C., since the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act passed in 2010. The act aimed to provide nutritious food to the 32 million students who eat lunch and 12 million students nationwide who eat breakfast at school each day, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
This is the first year the program will be available nationwide to eligible schools. Prior to the change, only low-income students or students from families receiving federal assistance received free breakfasts in the Pittsburgh district, which includes 25,548 students in 56 schools from pre-k through 12th grade.