In every school district in the state, regardless of the wealth of the community, there are children who can't learn because they are hungry. Connecticut can be a national leader in funding universal school meals indefinitely to ensure the physical and mental health of our children and keep their focus on earning A's in the classroom rather than a growling stomach.

I support healthy school meals for all because it would be nice to get a break somewhere since food and everything we need day to day is so expensive. Also some people can’t work or are single parents and struggle to put meals on the table every day.

Since free meals stopped, I have friends who don't eat lunch because they don't have food at home and don't have money to buy it. I think that everyone deserves to have food but especially kids. I hope that Connecticut will pass legislation that gets food to the kids who don't have it otherwise.

As a pediatrician, every day I see how important it is for children to have access to healthy, nutritious food. Children who experience food insecurity, defined as a lack of access to consistent food or nutritious food are at increased risk of multiple negative health outcomes... it is critical for Connecticut's elected officials to act now to ensure that all Connecticut's children have access to free school meals in order to ensure that all children and especially those who experienced structural inequities have a healthy bright future.

I'm frustrated that we have this fantastic program that used to give access to all our students to healthy meals with local foods. And now I have to cut back on the quality of those meals. I'm frustrated that I have students in every school that are going hungry every day now. I'm frustrated that when I talk to parents who just want to feed their children, that there's nothing I can do to help them.

When our life stops when our child is hungry, the life of the legislature should stop as well. Because these are Connecticut children, they are our children.

I am concerned about the psychological damage done to students that skip meals because they cannot buy it at school. Hunger at school could be a core memory that will impact a person forever.

I can’t bring that much food from home and it’s not really healthy. I don’t want my parents to pay so much for school lunch every day, they should rather worry about stuff like our gas bill. The food I bring is also not enough for until 5 p.m. when I get home, because of sports.

Since lunch has stopped being free, myself and many others have stopped getting the school lunch. By not getting lunch, people are not able to appreciate the lunch ladies hard work and cooking and lots of food is going to waste.

Getting free food helps my family w/ getting & saving more money for bills. Multiple of my friends can’t afford lunches sometimes & it’s sad watching.

My mother is a registered nurse in the Willington schools. She has seen first-hand the effects of children coming to school hungry or becoming hungry as the day goes on. They spend valuable class time coming to her office looking for a snack or wanting to lie down because they are tired or do not feel well due to lack of food. My mom, along with many other professionals in her school, provide snacks as they are able. A more sustainable solution, such as no-cost school meals, is essential to best support students like the ones my mom sees and the many others like them across the state.