(a) The Department of Education shall administer, within available appropriations and in collaboration with the Office of Early Childhood, a child nutrition outreach program to increase (1) participation in the federal School Breakfast Program, federal Summer Food Service Program and federal Child and Adult Care Food Program; and (2) federal reimbursement for such programs.
(b) The child nutrition outreach program shall:
(1) Encourage schools to (A) participate in the federal School Breakfast Program; (B) employ innovative breakfast service methods where students eat their breakfast in their classrooms or elsewhere after school starts, rather than only before school and only in the cafeteria; and (C) apply to the in-classroom breakfast grant program pursuant to section 10-215g ;
(2) (A) Encourage local and regional school districts to sponsor Summer Food Service Program sites; (B) recruit other sponsors of such sites; and (C) make grants to site sponsors to assist them in increasing child participation;
(3) Encourage child care centers, group child care homes and family child care homes, as such terms are described in section 19a-77 , to participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, including, but not limited to, through the sharing of relevant data between the department and the office; and
(4) Publicize the availability of federally funded child nutrition programs throughout the state.