Snap, Crackle, and Pop at the Massachusetts State House

On Thursday, May 10th, 2018, Rise and Shine Massachusetts members fanned out across the State House, delivering cereal boxes stuffed full of testimonies from children on why school breakfast matters to them to each legislative office. Wheaties, Cheerio’s and Life boxes were filled to the brim with these testimonies and information on the pending Breakfast After the Bell legislation S. 2441.

Student testimonies like Wendy’s illustrate why access to a healthy, nutritious breakfast at the start of the school day is essential to our students’ success.

These efforts were in tandem with the annual Eos Foundation Healthy Start Awards, which recognized Massachusetts schools excelling at providing healthy breakfasts to their students. Holyoke Schools received the Healthy Start Award this year and both Holyoke’s State Representative and House bill sponsor, Aaron Vega (D – Holyoke), and the Senate bill sponsor, Senator Sal DiDomenico (D – Everett), were in attendance and spoke to the importance of breakfast after the bell and passing this legislation so that every child has equity in school breakfast across the state.

The Greater Boston Food Bank is leading the Rise and Shine Massachusetts coalition in support of this legislation. If you have any further questions or would like to submit written testimony in support of the legislation, please contact Catherine Drennan, senior manager public affairs, at cdrennan@gbfb.org or 617-598-5067.