Food and Nutrition Programs

Breakfast Requirements — Universal Free School Meals & Breakfast After the Bell Mandate

This memorandum serves as a synthesis of recent Massachusetts state laws regarding school breakfast. In 2023, the Commonwealth passed universal school breakfast and lunch for all participating National School Lunch Program (NSLP) schools. As part of this new law, all schools participating in NSLP must also provide breakfast for their students. This new language replaces the requirement of schools in Massachusetts with greater than 40% free and reduced price eligibility be mandated to serve breakfast.

Left in place by the legislature is the law "An Act Regarding Breakfast After the Bell" enacted in 2020. This law requires all schools with 60% or more free and reduced price eligibility to offer breakfast "after the instructional day has begun and the tardy bell rings". The Breakfast After the Bell language was also included in the State Fiscal Year 2024 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Budget (General Law - Part I, Title XII, Chapter 69, Section 1C (malegislature.gov), line item 7053-1925). Specifically, the language states that "All public schools required to serve breakfast under subsection (b) and where not less than 60 per cent of the students at the school are eligible for free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program, as determined by the department, shall offer all students a school breakfast after the beginning of the instructional day."

Please see the two lists below to find the school or schools within your district affected by these requirements. Residential Child Care Institutions (RCCIs) serving day students must provide breakfast for their nonresidential students. If you believe the school breakfast or model at the school listed within your district are reported incorrectly, please update the current NSLP school application(s) to reflect the correct school breakfast model and timing.

Requiring breakfast at no cost aligns with school lunch operations and helps to support all students by ensuring they are nourished and ready to learn. Implementing alternative school breakfast service models further supports expanding access and opportunities for all students to participate. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (DESE) Office for Food and Nutrition Programs (FNP) will be reviewing school compliance and providing technical assistance during Administrative Reviews and Targeted Administrative Review Follow Ups. We will also be monitoring school breakfast program participation throughout the year and following up with districts to ensure all schools are able to comply with these requirements.

School Breakfast Resources
With the understanding that implementing a new type of school breakfast model has its challenges, FNP and the Child Nutrition Outreach Program (CNOP) at Project Bread have developed the following resources to assist schools in any phase of expansion. Whether you are just getting started with school breakfast or looking to provide additional service models, the FNP and Project Bread are here to help with:

School Breakfast Basics
Districts new to school breakfast can access School Breakfast Program (panopto.com) training available through the John C. Stalker Institute of Food and Nutrition. This training provides an introduction to school breakfast program requirements and provides resources for schools looking to start or expand a school breakfast program.

Breakfast After-the-Bell Toolkit Series
These school breakfast model quick guides and integrity guidebook are designed to help with the launch and implementation of the most common types of alternative breakfast models to assist you in deciding which type of alternative breakfast model best suits your school or schools. The free resources, which were previously mailed to all school districts, can be found online at School Breakfast: Breakfast After the Bell Resources (projectbread.org). The link also includes a list of private funding opportunities and operational resources.

Massachusetts School Breakfast Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program
FNP and CNOP have resumed the Massachusetts School Breakfast Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program. This program provides school breakfast stakeholders with peer mentorship and wrap-around resources to ensure successful and sustainable improvements to school breakfast programs across Massachusetts.

Project Bread Individualized Support
The Child Nutrition team at Project Bread is available to support any district with expanding and improving School Breakfast Programs. Project Bread Child Nutrition staff can meet with you one-on-one to discuss strategies and suggest best practices to implement a new School Breakfast Program, explore and implement Breakfast After the Bell models, troubleshoot barriers, expand promotion and awareness of your breakfast program, and much more. Email cnop@projectbread.org to connect. Many School Breakfast resources are also available on Project Bread's website.

FNP and CNOP are available to strategize solutions to ensure your school can implement a breakfast model that best meets the needs of your students. If you have questions, concerns, or need assistance, please contact us at:

Office for Food and Nutrition Programs, nutrition@doe.mass.edu , 781-338-6480
Child Nutrition Outreach Program at Project Bread, cnop@projectbread.org , 617-723-5000

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.