Free Breakfast Now Available To Council Rock K-8 Students

NEWTOWN, PA — Beginning this week Council Rock students in grades K to 8 will be eligible for free breakfast under the Pennsylvania School Breakfast Program (SBP).

Because grades K-8 participate in the National School Lunch program, they are eligible for the free breakfast through Governor Tom Wolf's new Universal Free Breakfast Program.

The two Council Rock high schools do not participate in the National School Lunh program and are not eligible under the free breakfast program.

Council Rock will begin offering free breakfast to all enrolled students at the elementary and middle school level starting Monday, October 3 and continuing through the end of the 2022-23 school year.

What parents and guardians need to know:

• No sign-up is required.

• Daily breakfast menus will be available on the Council Rock menus website.

• Students enter their lunch ID number and get breakfast in the cafeteria upon arrival at school.

• Breakfasts are pre-bagged and have an optional milk and fruit selection.

• School principals will provide specific information for individual schools.

Additional information about food services at Council Rock, including menus, applications for free and reduced meals, and more can be found online at the Council Rock Food Services link. Questions should be directed to Mike Dengler at mdengler@crsd.org

Governor Tom Wolf in September announced a $21.5 million plan to provide universal free school breakfast for 1.7 million students across the commonwealth this school year. The Universal Free Breakfast Program went into effect on Oct. 1 and will run through the end of the school year.

Family income does not come into play in determining who can be offered a free breakfast through the program that was announced by Wolf. All students can receive a school breakfast regardless of whether they qualify for free or reduced-price meals eliminating the attachment of any stigma associated with the free meal.

Unlike other meal programs, kids automatically qualify for free breakfast regardless of family income. Doing so lowers the barrier to entry and helps feed more kids dealing with food insecurity, according to the governor's office.

“As a parent and grandparent myself, I know that there is nothing more important than our kids,” said Gov. Wolf. “This investment in free school breakfast for all is an investment in a better, healthier, happier life for our kids now and in the years to come.

“It is completely unacceptable for a child to start the day hungry,” Wolf said in a press release. “I’m taking hunger off the table for Pennsylvania kids by creating the Universal Free Breakfast Program.”