Feeding Kids
School Meals & the Summer Meals Program
Overview
Childhood hunger should never be on the table
At Project Bread, we know that to end hunger for everyone, we need to start with feeding our kids. Project Bread is relentless in our fight against childhood food insecurity. Through a mix of advocacy and program work, we focus on feeding kids in schools and over summer break. Our goal: permanently break down any barrier to children receiving daily nutrition.
Free School Meals for All
103,130 more kids
eat school lunch daily (2019 vs 2024)
School Meals
Inspiring kids to stay full & eat at school
Well-fed kids have better focus, better health, and better academic outcomes. Through our work with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, we help schools with their breakfast programs, and encourage student participation in school meals.
In collaboration with schools, our work in 2024 gave 291,751 children access to school breakfast.
Summer Eats
Feeding kids over summer break
When the school year ends, the child nutrition safety net of school breakfast and lunch ends too. Summer Eats, run in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, helps fill this gap by continuing to provide free meals to all kids and teens, 18 and under, across the state.
Focusing on nutrition
Improving Meal Quality
To fuel student success through school nutrition, we are an active, year-round, and hands-on partner to school districts. Working in tandem, we improve the quality of meals provided to children through the National School Lunch & Breakfast Program and Summer Eats.
Our team conducted trainings and classes for 723 school nutrition staff across 8 districts in school year 2024-25, awarding a total of 889 professional development hours to participants.
Free School Meals: A Key Investment to Solving Childhood Hunger
Thanks to advocacy led by Project Bread through the Feed Kids Campaign, Massachusetts made school meals permanently free for all students in 2023— an essential step in ending childhood hunger. The impact is clear: more students are eating, more time is spent on learning, families save up to $1,400 per child each year, and the stigma of “free lunch” is gone.
Trend in Massachusetts School Breakfast Participation
Over the past 14 years, thanks to our donors and partners, we've made significant progress in breaking down the barriers that prevent kids from having breakfast at school. As the statewide partner to school meal providers, we've closely collaborated with school districts to expand access to and participation in the historically underused National School Breakfast Program. We've supported schools in implementing Breakfast After the Bell, tailored breakfast programs to better meet students' needs, advocated for breakfast to be included as part of the school day, and led the campaign to make school meals free for all students in Massachusetts. As a result, the number of kids eating breakfast daily in October has increased by 53% since 2010.
2020 data has been removed from the graph due to the national school breakfast program not operating under normal conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic
Free School Meals for All
86,733 additional kids
eat school breakfast daily. (2024 vs. 2019)
“Working with Project Bread has really helped elevate our food service program. After our partnership ends, they’ll leave our school with successful recipes and the pride of being able to cook wonderful food for our children.”
April Liles, Project Bread Community Nutrition Services Partner, Food Service Director, Waltham Public Schools