In This Issue

Across California, teachers are finalizing their lesson plans, families are gearing up for the first day of school, and CFPA is working hard to ensure that all low-income students will have access to the nutritious food they need to learn, grow, and achieve this academic year. 

 

Join us! In this Special Edition Nutrition Action Alert, you'll find news, data, and other resources to help make this a healthy, hunger-free school year for California kids. 

2012-13 School Meal Analysis

Nearly 3 in 5 public school students in California are eligible to receive free or reduced-price school meals. Research shows that children who participate in the school meal programs tend to have healthier diets than their peers - and we all know that well-nourished students are better prepared to learn, grow, and achieve at their fullest potential. Unfortunately, far too many students across California are not served by the school meal programs. How many students in your community are missing out?

Learn more about school lunch and school breakfast participation on CFPA's School Meal Analysis page. link 

 

Questions? Contact Tia Shimada at 510.433.1122 ext. 109  

 

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New CFPA Resource:  

School Meal Enrollment Webpage

How can we get school lunch and school breakfast to more children? The first step is to enroll more eligible students in the school meal programs. Local, state, and federal leaders should seize opportunities to optimize school meal enrollment. Improving direct certification and expanding the use of school meal provisions (including Provision 2 and the Community Eligibility Provision) are great strategies for maximizing the reach and efficiency of the school meal programs.

 

Learn more on CFPA's new school meal enrollment page. link 

 

Questions? Contact Elyse Homel Vitale at 510.433.1122 ext. 206  

CFPA's Federal Priorities: Child Nutrition

Over the past year, CFPA has worked to identify federal opportunities that maximize the positive impacts of the child nutrition programs. As part of this work, we solicited input from stakeholders and our network partners - including you! We've now developed our 2014-15 federal priorities on child nutrition, which take into account your input, the pressing needs of California's children, the anticipated impact of policy changes, and the current political climate.

 

CFPA will work with California's Congressional delegation, federal administrators, and local, regional, and national partners to advance these priorities.   

 

Read our specific federal priorities for School Nutrition. PDF

 

We hope you'll lend your support. Learn more about CFPA's federal advocacy efforts and how you can take part. link

 

Questions? Contact Elyse Homel Vitale at 510.433.1122 ext. 206 

Ensuring Students Have Time to Eat School Lunch 

School meals are healthier than ever - but those improvement don't make a difference unless students are actually able to eat during the school day. Earlier this year, CFPA led advocacy efforts to support state legislation that would ensure all California students have adequate time to eat a nutritious lunch at school. Unfortunately, the bill, AB 2449 (Bocanegra) - Adequate Time to Eat: Lunchtime Supports Learning, was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee and will not make further progress this year.

 

A big thank you goes out to the diverse contingent of partners and stakeholders who supported the bill. While AB 2449 was not signed into law, it made a big difference in educating state policymakers about the need for adequate time to eat and promising policy solutions to meet that need. We look forward to future state and federal efforts to ensure that all students have adequate time to eat during the school day.

 

 

Questions? Contact Tracey Patterson at 510.433.1122 ext. 101

Take Action: CalFresh in Your Community 

September is Hunger Action Month! Take action to increase access to nutritious, affordable food in your community by advocating changes that will improve participation in the federal nutrition programs.

 

CalFresh benefits are critical in the fight against hunger and food insecurity - and California's CalFresh participation rate is perennially low. That's why advocates from across the state are taking steps locally to improve access to the program. During this Hunger Action Month, use the CalFresh Data Dashboard to learn more about the reach and shortfalls of CalFresh in your community. This information will prove vital as you work to identify opportunities for increasing CalFresh participation.

 

 

Questions? Contact Alexis Fern�ndez at 510.433.1122 ext.111