FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | June 30, 2020
Contact: Jessica Ng | jng@mercuryllc.com | 510-508-2836
No Kid Hungry Provides More Than $3.3 Million in Emergency Grants to 128 California Nonprofits, Schools Serving Free Meals During COVID-19 Pandemic
Pasadena, Calif. – In continued support of organizations finding new and innovative ways to provide free meals to children and families safely during the COVID-19 crisis, No Kid Hungry today announced providing more than $3.3 million in emergency grants to 128 California nonprofits and schools serving meals during the pandemic.
“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, No Kid Hungry has focused our work on making sure kids across the state have the food they need both during this crisis and in its aftermath,” said No Kid Hungry California Director Kathy Saile. “We’re pleased to support the dedicated teachers, staff and volunteers who are working in communities across the state to make sure children can continue to get nutritious meals while staying at home.”
This announcement includes 23 new grants totaling $502,000 provided to the following organizations that are helping to ensure all children in California remain healthy and nourished:
- Central California Food Bank
- Silver Valley Unified School District (Yermo)
- Boys & Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe
- Columbia Elementary School District (Redding)
- Del Norte County Unified School District
- Twin Rivers Unified School District
- Alvord Unified School District (Corona)
- Catholic Charities San Bernardino & Riverside Counties
- Centralia Elementary School District (Buena Park)
- Fallbrook Union Elementary District
- Palo Verde Unified School District (Blythe)
- San Marcos Unified School District
- Temecula Valley Unified School District
- YMCA of Greater Long Beach
- Paramount Unified School District
- South Whittier School District
- San Bernardino City Unified School District
- Santa Barbara Summer Meals Collaborative
- Community Alliance with Family Farmers (Davis)
- Marysville Joint Unified School District
- Morongo Unified School District
For additional details about what grant funds will be used for, as well as a full list of grants made in California, please click here.
A new report from Feeding America projects California will see a bigger increase in child food insecurity resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic than any other state in the nation, estimating that a total of 2.2 million kids in our state could face hunger this year. To support these children and their families, No Kid Hungry has launched a texting hotline to let parents know about emergency and summer meal distribution sites in their neighborhoods. Parents and caregivers can text the word “FOOD” (or “COMIDA”) to 877-877 to find the nearest sites. The campaign also advocated in support of the $112.2 million in funding for emergency school meals recently allocated by the California State Legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom through the state budget process.
Nationally, No Kid Hungry has worked with more than 1,000 partner organizations, providing upwards of $23 million dollars. Together, our partners are serving more than 15 million meals daily. Nearly 60 percent of the grants provided since the start of the pandemic are to organizations primarily serving communities of color.