2.3.17 On January 13, Senator Mike McGuire (North Coast) introduced Senate Bill 138, the “Count Me In for School Meals Act,” which would address child hunger by removing hassles from school meal program enrollment and by serving all students free school meals in very high poverty schools. CFPA is proud to sponsor SB 138, and is very excited to be working with Senator McGuire and the bill’s co-authors, including Senator Holly Mitchell, to ensure that students throughout California have what they need to succeed.
According to UCLA, over 1.7 million California households with children struggle to put food on the table. SB 138 takes the success of a 14 school district pilot to enroll low-income students who receive Medi-Cal into free school meals statewide. Building upon these pilots, SB 138 would also move to enroll eligible Medi-Cal students into reduced-priced meals as a way to address hunger among the working poor.
In addition, SB 138 calls for very high poverty schools to serve school meals to all students free of charge by using federal options to do so. Federal provisions, including Community Eligibility and Provision 2, allow schools to maximize federal reimbursements for meals served, while reducing administrative burdens.
SB 138 would help struggling students and struggling schools by making the most out of federal nutrition resources. Given our state’s child poverty rate- the highest in the nation- and the need to ensure that students are nourished and ready to learn, California needs to take action now.
To learn more, visit CFPA’s SB 138 page.
Learn more about Medi-Cal Direct Certification and Universal Meal Provisions. link
Sign-up to receive SB 138 legislative updates. link
Questions: Contact Elyse Homel Vitale at 510.433.1122 ext 206, or elyse@cfpa.net
