On March 14, 2022, the Wallingford Public School system (WPS) launched a new free breakfast program at Parker Farms and Cook Hill Elementary Schools as part of the United States Department of Agriculture’s breakfast program. Ms. Christina Sagnella, the Principal of Parker Farms Schools, said, “We are very fortunate to have WPS introduce a breakfast program to our students. We are excited to have our students have the opportunity to fuel their brains before their day of learning!”
While this may be the first time a free breakfast program has been implemented in Wallingford, a similar program for high schools in the district has been in operation for many years. Additionally, other school districts in the state, such as West Hartford and Farmington, have also launched free breakfast programs for elementary school students. The free breakfast program for Wallingford elementary schools has been years in the making, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, its launch was postponed until this March.
WPS has chosen to start out small, running the program in only two schools so they can note their successes and learn from their mistakes before expanding to other Wallingford schools. Mr. James Bondi, the Director of Nutrition at the Wallingford Public Schools, stated, “It was felt that starting the breakfast program in these two schools first would allow the Food Service operations to work through and fine-tune the details, logistics, and service aspects of the school breakfast program before expanding to the other elementary schools and middle schools.” These two schools represent the diversity of students in elementary schools, with Cook Hill catering to younger students (pre-K to grade two) and Parker Farms to upper elementary students (grades three to five).
The first week of this program was a great success. According to Mr. Bondi, Cook Hill and Parker Farms Elementary Schools have averaged 153 and 164 breakfast meals served per day. The response from the students has been stellar as well, with many of them sharing their enjoyment of the options with the staff. Although there have been some problems, the staff are eager and ready to solve them. Regarding these issues, Mr. Bondi said, “As expected, the first week of breakfast service has exposed some issues, which our operations are working through, and we will continue to fine-tune the operations as we move forward. In the next week or so, we will use our experiences so far to start planning for expansion to the next two schools.”
Regarding the importance of why elementary school students should be provided with breakfast, Mr. Bondi said, “studies have shown that when students have access to a nutritious breakfast, they become better learners, can concentrate better on school work, and the level of student disruptions decreases”. This breakfast program is projected to last until late May or early June 2022, after which it will be formally merged to become a permanent part of the school day.
