No child should have to sit in a classroom trying to learn while hungry.
That was the message State Representative Kaitlyn Shake brought to Hartford during School Meals Advocacy Day as she joined advocates calling for greater access to meals for Connecticut students.
Shake is a co-sponsor of legislation introduced during the 2026 session aimed at increasing state support for school meals.
House Bill 5144 proposed providing funding to reimburse school districts for the difference between federal reimbursement rates for reduced-price and fully paid school meals.
For Shake, the issue is about more than providing breakfast or lunch.
Making nutritious meals accessible to students can help remove the stigma that sometimes comes with income-based meal programs while ensuring children arrive in the classroom ready to focus on learning.
Families across Connecticut continue to face rising costs for groceries, housing, utilities, child care, and other necessities. School meal programs can provide some relief while ensuring that a family’s financial circumstances do not determine whether a child has enough to eat during the school day.
Shake participated in School Meals Advocacy Day on March 17 and emphasized the connection between nutrition, health, and educational success.
As a nurse who has spent more than a decade caring for women and children, she brings firsthand experience with the importance of meeting children’s basic needs as part of supporting their overall health and development.
The Stratford Democratic Town Committee supports efforts to ensure Stratford students have the resources they need to succeed.
That means great teachers, safe schools, strong academic programs, appropriate special education services, and attention to the basic needs that allow children to learn.
We thank Representative Shake for continuing to advocate for Stratford’s children and families in Hartford.
Because a child’s ability to learn should never depend on whether their family can afford lunch.