145 Massachusetts schools receive Healthy Start awards

Awards recognize breakfast participation

The Eos Foundation announced on Oct. 27 that 145 Massachusetts schools will receive 2026 Healthy Start Awards for serving free breakfast to at least 80% of their students. Each school will receive an unrestricted award, putting total funding above.

The recognized schools collectively enroll 48,000 students. Eighty-seven percent use Breakfast in the Classroom as one of their service models, incorporating the morning meal into the school day rather than limiting breakfast to a cafeteria period before classes.

Eos President Andrea Silbert said schools using the classroom model typically record twice the participation seen in cafeteria programs held before the bell. A Nutrition Policy Institute study cited in the foundation’s announcement found students were three times more likely to eat school breakfast when it was served in classrooms instead of only in the cafeteria before school.

Statewide breakfast gap

Massachusetts has offered universal free school meals to all K-12 students since 2023. State education data for fall 2025 show an average of 588,654 students ate school lunch each day, while 291,792 ate school breakfast. That left breakfast participation at less than half the lunch level.

Classroom breakfast can address barriers including transportation schedules, family routines and students arriving too late for a meal served before classes.

New state initiative

The awards coincide with the Healey-Driscoll administration’s Strengthening School Breakfast Challenge, which seeks to increase participation statewide. The administration is working with the Eos Foundation, Project Bread and New England Dairy to offer schools resources, technical assistance and funding opportunities for breakfast programs.

Education Secretary Steve Zrike said the initiative is intended to remove barriers that keep students from beginning the school day with a meal.