It’s been said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and a 2025 study indicates that some Franklin County schools are leading the way in making sure students get nutrition in the morning.
Earlier this month, the Eos Foundation released “Ending Hunger in Our Schools with Breakfast in the Classroom,” a study on the state of school breakfast in Massachusetts’ high-poverty schools. The study found a major opportunity to reach an additional 303,000 students with a morning meal in the classroom to boost learning and reduce hunger.
If schools shift from cafeteria breakfast to the Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) model, participation could reach 80% or higher. Using this model, students would have the option to have breakfast in the classroom, as opposed to just the cafeteria. Meals can be delivered to the classroom, or students can bring the meals to the classroom themselves.
Dr. Elizabeth Zielinski, superintendent of the Ralph C. Mahar Regional and Union 73 school districts, said 381 Orange Elementary School students — or 78% of enrollment — participate in breakfast in the classroom, a 9% increase from the previous school year.
“More students partake when all classrooms have breakfast at the same time,” she said. “When it’s in the cafe, not all students choose to eat.”
Zielinski added that 118 Ralph C. Mahar Regional School students participate in breakfast in the cafeteria, 21% of the enrollment and a 2% increase over the previous school year.
“It’s not a big increase,” she said, adding that it is about average compared to other school districts.
Greenfield ranks seventh statewide among high-poverty districts, serving breakfast to 61% of students. Raising participation to 80% would allow the district to reach 379 more students each day and draw an additional $193,145 in USDA reimbursement revenue — federal dollars currently being forfeited that could be reinvested directly into student support.
Superintendent Roland Joyal Jr. explained that the school district’s offering of both free lunch and breakfast has served as a tremendous benefit to student health and focus.
“As seen by the numbers that we’re giving out, the meals have been received very well. We know our kids are happy to get it,” Joyal said. “We saw what happened with the SNAP benefits in November being put on hold and this is just a great opportunity for families to save a few extra dollars. It also helps is with our students — when they come to school, they have the opportunity to eat and it gets them ready for the day.”
Joyal noted that for years, when students went to the nurse’s office, complaining of a headache or stomach ache, one of the first questions the nurses would ask was whether the student had eaten breakfast. He said the majority of the time, the answer was “no.”
“Now they can put a little something in their stomachs and they’re ready to go learn and pay attention in class,” he said. “It had great impacts on not only providing students with food, but also academically.”
Gill-Montague, ranked 19th, currently reaches 54.1% of students. By moving to BIC, the district has the opportunity to serve 227 more students and secure an estimated $116,042 in USDA reimbursements.
Turners Falls High School and Great Falls Middle School Principal Loren Messina explained that the district has two breakfast times available for students, one before school, then after the day begins around 9 a.m.
While she said she hasn’t looked over the Eos report, Messina said breakfast access has been discussed before. To help make sure students are getting food, Messina said the students can eat their meals inside the classroom when appropriate, and before the day starts, they can eat inside the cafeteria. Last year, they piloted a program where breakfast was delivered to classrooms, but waste disposal issues inside the classrooms limited the program from going further.
According to Darius Modestow, superintendent of the Frontier Regional School District, every school in the district provides breakfast to students in the cafeteria and adjusts access to these meals based on students’ ages and “[levels] of independence.” With these cafeteria meals in place, Modestow said the district is not planning to bring breakfast into its classrooms.
“While I certainly recognize the benefits of a breakfast-in-the-classroom model, we are fortunate that it is not necessary in our district,” Modestow wrote in an email. “As a district, we remain focused on ensuring there are no barriers to students accessing breakfast, and we have also built in additional support during mid-morning elementary snack times to make sure food is available for all students.”
Staff Writer Erin-Leigh Hoffman contributed to this report.