And so it begins.

The Shapiro for Pennsylvania campaign released a new television and digital ad highlighting Gov. Josh Shapiro’s work to make universal free breakfast for all Pennsylvania public school students the law in the Commonwealth.

Shapiro appears in the 30-second spot, entitled “Kid News,” alongside a group of student broadcasters during a newscast. 

The governor champions free breakfast at school for 1.7 million public school students, saying “when your belly is full, you can pay attention in class and be your best self. And that sets you up for success.”

Shapiro has put free breakfast into each of his three budget proposals and delivered nearly 93 million breakfasts in schools during the 2024-25 academic year. 

According to Morgan Flood, policy research specialist with the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, research shows that school breakfast consumption is associated with a variety of positive outcomes, including improved test performance and academic achievement, better attendance and engagement, lower risk of food insecurity, and higher dietary quality. Given the large increase in breakfast participation in Pennsylvania over the last several years, it is reasonable to expect that there will be improvement in these metrics as well, though more research would be needed to properly assess any potential effects. 

The ads began airing Thursday on TV and digital platforms across the state. Shapiro’s campaign reserved $445,000 worth of airtime through next week to show the ads in the Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre, and Harrisburg media markets, according to AdImpact, a site that tracks political ad spending.