97% of Pennsylvania schools offer free breakfast and the 10 top-performing schools participating in the Governor’s Breakfast Challenge joined the Administration in recognition of their accomplishment
Harrisburg, PA – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin celebrated 10 schools named as the first-ever Governor’s Breakfast Champions during at event at the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg. The Breakfast Champions represent the top ten schools with the greatest success in participation in the inaugural Governor’s School Breakfast Challenge.
“As I’ve traveled across Pennsylvania, one message has come through loud and clear: too many kids are coming to school hungry. We all know that students can’t focus or learn when their stomachs are empty. It’s impossible to expect them to grasp math, science, or English if they haven’t had a meal,” said Governor Shapiro. “That’s why I made universal free breakfast a priority in my budget — to ensure every child starts the day on equal footing. This budget fulfills that promise by providing free breakfast to 1.7 million students in Pennsylvania — because no child should have to learn on an empty stomach. Every student deserves the opportunity to succeed, and this budget helps make that possible.”
The Governor’s School Breakfast Challenge is a three-month program to encourage increased participation in the Universal Free Breakfast Program and recognize schools for increasing breakfast participation while implementing sustainable changes that incorporate more nutritious and local foods in their meal offerings.
“The Shapiro Administration is committed to ensuring that no child starts their day off on an empty stomach, and this is something that Governor Josh Shapiro took personally, leading him to create the first-ever Governor’s School Breakfast Challenge,” said Secretary Dr. Mumin. “We applaud the 2024 Breakfast Champions and all of the schools across the Commonwealth that took the Challenge, increasing access to healthy breakfasts at no cost to students and eliminating the stigma that comes with food insecurity.”
This year, 37 schools successfully completed the Challenge. The top 10 2024 Governor’s Breakfast Champions recognized today were:
- Bethlehem-Center Elementary School, Bethlehem-Center School District
- Colonial Elementary School, Colonial School District
- Gettysburg Montessori Charter School
- Joanna Connell Elementary School, Erie City School District
- Oak Park Elementary School, North Penn School District
- Oakview Elementary School, Lakeview School District
- Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship
- Pleasant Valley Elementary School, Pleasant Valley School District
- South Elementary School, Wallenpaupack Area School District
- Wallenpaupack High School, Wallenpaupack Area School District
The goal of the Challenge was to raise awareness about the free breakfast program, boost participation by improving access within school buildings, offer more low-sugar options, and include more locally sourced foods. The top 10 schools with the greatest increase in participation received a banner to hang in their school, a certificate, a breakfast recipe book including recipes submitted by schools that completed the Challenge, and a breakfast sampling prepared by the Residence chef.
The Shapiro Administration is committed to ensuring that all children and students have access to healthy meals all year long. That’s why Governor Shapiro delivered free breakfast for Pennsylvania’s 1.7 million students last year. The 2024-25 budget builds on that progress with a $16.7 million increase to continue the universal free breakfast program, making sure students have access to healthy meals to start their day on the right foot, and making sure no kid goes hungry during the summer by funding the summer food service program.
Over the past school year, 91.4 million breakfast meals were served in schools, an increase of nearly 10 million since the 2022-23 school year. More than 7 million of those breakfasts were served to students at-risk for hunger or from low-income families.
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