On August 11th Governor Josh Shapiro signed a bill to provide universal free breakfast will be available for 1.7 million students across Pennsylvania. This includes all students of the Perkiomen Valley School District, who can get a breakfast, consisting of one drink, a fruit and a side, for free. This first started when funds were allocated through Covid-19, and has continued after subsistent bills were signed for 2022 and 2023 by Governor Wolf and Shapiro respectively.
“I think free breakfast is a good idea,” senior Daniel Hong said. “It allows me to get breakfast in the mornings when I might not have time if it wasn’t provided.”
Other students echo this sentiment as well and are motivated to come to school on time to get the best pick of the options.
“I love free breakfast,” senior Jack Santasusos said. “It’s an encouragement to get breakfast when I might not at home, and it energizes me throughout the day.”
Additionally, a full stomach also provides educational benefits. “Students always perform better when they’re not hungry,” said Mr. Clellend, an 11th grade English teacher.
Clellend’s sentiments are also by the Cleveland Clinic which states that “regularly eating breakfast is associated with better academic performance.” There are additional benefits as well, as according to healthyeatingchildren.org students who do not eat breakfast in the morning are more likely to be overweight and kids who eat breakfast on average have better brain function, memory and attention in the classroom. As for students wondering which breakfast is the best, there are plenty of choices.
For students Hong and senior Aaron Mineraly, “the bacon, egg and cheese bagel is the best”, while senior Andrew Reyes prefers “the mini pancakes.” No matter which breakfast is favored, it is clear that a number of students benefit from the program.