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Officials say Springfield’s ‘Breakfast in the Classroom’ program thriving a decade into school district’s rollout

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By James Paleologopoulos

Published November 10, 2025 at 4:18 PM EST

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Getting a look at how Springfield Public Schools handles its "Breakfast in the Classroom" program, Massachusetts Secretary of Education Dr. Patrick Tutwiler (center) toured Rebecca Johnson Elementary School Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, meeting students like 5th-grader Kameron Rucker (left) as he and his classmates ate and read at the start of their school day.

James Paleologopoulos / WAMC

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Much of the food that makes its way to Springfield Public Schools comes by way of the district's Culinary and Nutrition Center, operated by Home Grown Springfield (SPS) and Sodexo. The facility includes an entire apparatus capable of baking 18,000 muffins in a single run, according to Operations and Communications Director Lydia Rodriguez.

James Paleologopoulos / WAMC

A decade ago, Springfield Public Schools began to roll out one of the largest “Breakfast in the Classroom” programs in Massachusetts – tackling food insecurity with the most important meal of the day.

Ten years later, the program’s only grown in popularity, with proponents calling it a “national model.”

WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief James Paleologopoulos reports.

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This piece originally aired on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025.