Why did the United States have a more comprehensive childcare and school meal system during World War II than we do in 2025? 

How many people know that during World War II the U.S. government funded childcare and school meals for hundreds of thousands of children. During the war millions of women were called from their homes to work in factories and production lines.  Women could not perform these essential jobs without childcare. Children’s care and nutrition was rightly seen as essential. In response, a nationwide network of childcare centers was established.

In 1943, my mother was asked to set up and manage the childcare network for Evansville, Indiana. She insisted that every child receive a hot school meal. The result: in Evansville and across the United States was the most comprehensive childcare system ever created in this country. It is estimated that at its peak, 3,000 centers across 49 states served up to 600,000 children ages 2–12. Open year-round, often 12 hours a day to coordinate with factory shifts, these centers offered meals, education, recreation, and health care —a true whole-child approach. After the war, returning men reclaimed factory jobs, and women were pressured to leave the workforce. By 1946, funding was eliminated and the system collapsed.

Fast forward to 2025: more women than ever are working, often out of necessity in the face of skyrocketing living costs. Connecticut has taken a bold step with the Early Childhood Education Endowment, aiming to build a comprehensive childcare system for pre-K to six that includes school meals but there is still no plan to provide free school meals for all children.

Universal, nutritious school meals are not a luxury. They improve student health, reduce the risk of chronic illnesses like obesity and diabetes, boost learning and academic achievement, reduce stigma for children, and mitigate the stress of food insecurity for families.

Meanwhile, federal support that helps feed needy children is under threat. Food banks have already experienced deep cuts. Covenant Soup Kitchen in Willimantic is receiving 400 pounds a day less food due to these cuts. It is likely in the near future that there will be cuts to SNAP and reductions in school meal subsidies that will leave thousands of children hungry. Connecticut cannot wait.

Our governor and legislative leaders must act now, in the upcoming special session, to ensure free school meals for all children.  We succeeded during World War II. Surely, in one of the richest states in the nation, amid record-high food prices, we can provide healthy breakfasts, lunches, and snacks for every child.

Feeding our kids is not charity —it’s common sense, and it’s an investment in the future of Connecticut.

Carol Williams of Willimantic is a Trustee of the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut.