Food to learn, grow, and thrive

California is home to one of the world’s largest economies—and the nation’s highest rate of child poverty. Millions of children across our state rely on publicly funded nutrition programs operated by schools, community organizations, and childcare providers. These programs are a lifeline for the more than 2 million California kids living in households that struggle with food insecurity. 

In 2022, California became the first state in the nation to provide universal school meals to all school-aged children. The program offers breakfast and lunch free of cost to any child who wants to participate. The sustainability of this program depends largely on optimizing federal and state funding. In addition, we must make sure that every child has access to meals during the summer months. Nourish California is working to bridge the gaps so kids have year-round access to nutritious foods.

Every kids deserves access to food every day. This campaign pursues this by advocating for school meals, Summer and Pandemic EBT, and more.

Legislation

Follow along for updates, Frequently Asked Questions, and opportunities to call our leaders to actions.

Related Posts

SUN Bucks, a new summer food program is coming in 2024!

**Traducido al Español abajo President Biden signed The Omnibus Bill in December 2022, creating a permanent Summer EBT program: SUN Bucks. The California Department of Social Services has submitted a plan to USDA to implement the program in 2024 and provide benefits to eligible children.This new program can help fight the higher rates of food insecurity children experience during the summer by providing a monthly [...]

Pandemic EBT Alert & Updates

P-EBT Alert & Updates  You Might Qualify for More P-EBT Benefits! The Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) is a federal program that helps children affected by school closures during the pandemic to get the food they need. If your child is eligible for free or reduced-price meals at school or childcare, they could receive P-EBT benefits to buy groceries. Using the P-EBT program is [...]

School Meal Budget Hearing: Assembly Subcommittee on Education

Earlier this week, the Assembly Budget Subcommittee #2 (Education Finance) held a hearing on school nutrition, including state investments to implement universal school meals. Read our comment to the subcommittee, highlighting the need for guaranteed levels of funding. “Structuring the state, per-meal reimbursement as an entitlement rather than a capped appropriation will help provide the stability needed to reach more students and sustain school [...]

Every Kid, Every Day

Food to learn, grow, and thrive.