We Did It!
California is the first state in the nation to permanently adopt free breakfast and lunch for all K-12 students. We are grateful for California's leadership and the 200+ organizations that advocated to create the largest free school meal program in the United States.
California To Provide Free School Meals For All
June 29, 2021 - (Sacramento, CA) - California is the first state in the nation to permanently adopt free school meals for all K–12 students after the Legislature and the Governor came to an agreement on a 2021–22 operating budget that will reduce child hunger, support essential school nutrition workers, and bolster the state’s agricultural sector, according to a coalition of more than 200 organizations
representing health, education, labor, agriculture, and food banks.
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California launches largest free school lunch program in US
When classrooms in California reopen for the fall term, all 6.2 million public school students will have the option to eat school meals for free, regardless of their family’s income.
Opinion: Student meals in California are now free and fresh
As San Diego Unified School District’s nutrition services director for almost 19 years, I knew our students were still going to need food when our schools closed due to the pandemic in March 2020. The district has provided over 30 million free meals to children since then. Thankfully, federal waivers allowed all school meals to be free during the pandemic, providing a reliable source of nutrition for students during a tumultuous time. However, the concern for many in our community remained because the economic struggle some families are facing will continue: What will happen once those waivers expire?
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