{"id":16999,"date":"2024-08-15T18:42:48","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T18:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/?p=16999"},"modified":"2025-04-30T17:03:59","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T17:03:59","slug":"food-is-the-most-important-school-supply","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/food-is-the-most-important-school-supply\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Is the Most Important School Supply"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"16999\" class=\"elementor elementor-16999\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-d1fcfc9 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"d1fcfc9\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-62561b2\" data-id=\"62561b2\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d0e456c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d0e456c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Across <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">California<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, families, educators, and kids are heading back to their classrooms for another year of learning. Unfortunately, in <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">California<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, as many as 1 in 6 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">children are facing food insecurity. For these students, a healthy meal is the most important school supply &#8211; as important to their learning as a new notebook and pencils. With the high costs of food, fuel, and other essentials, many hardworking families are struggling to make ends meet. School meals programs help take some of the burden off of these families, making sure kids are able to access nutritious meals every day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-6bc467b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6bc467b\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-acda842\" data-id=\"acda842\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ed10de4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ed10de4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3><b>Why School Meals Matter<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">School meals are a <\/span><b>healthy, convenient, and inclusive <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">way to ensure students have the nutrition they need to thrive in the classroom and beyond.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Healthy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">: School meals conform to nutritional guidelines, making sure that kids are getting the fruits, veggies, and proteins they need to grow and be healthy. In fact, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/now.tufts.edu\/2021\/04\/12\/study-finds-americans-eat-food-mostly-poor-nutritional-quality-except-school\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Research<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> shows that for many children, the meals they eat at school are the most nutritionally balanced meals they get all day.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Convenient<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">: School meals can save busy parents the work of having to prepare breakfast and lunch each morning.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Inclusive<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">: School meals help create a sense of community, by bringing together peers and trusted adults, like teachers. They play a role in building equity in the school, making sure kids can focus on their classwork and on just being kids. And school meals are available to <\/span><b>ALL <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">children, regardless of immigration status.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul><h3><b>School Meal Applications and CEP\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-44e6c50\" data-id=\"44e6c50\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f32ba81 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"f32ba81\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/08\/FoodSupply3.png\" title=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7a84d56 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7a84d56\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b823d9c\" data-id=\"b823d9c\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0ef227a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0ef227a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In most districts, families must complete and submit applications to determine their eligibility for free or reduced price meals. Even schools that offer free meals for all students (for example, through the Community Eligibility Provision) may require families to complete applications. Applications for free and reduced price meals are also one of the primary ways to determine eligibility for Summer EBT, called SUN Bucks in California &#8212; a grocery-buying benefit for families during the summer. School meals applications may also qualify families for additional benefits, like discounted exam fees and college applications, extracurriculars, scholarship opportunities, and even affordable internet. They can also help your child\u2019s school secure additional classroom resources that will support all students\u2019 education.<\/span><\/p><p><b>If you have school aged children, be sure to fill out an application for free or reduced price meals this school year!\u00a0<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Help spread the word! Encourage your friends and family to contact their children\u2019s school to learn more. Work at a school district and want to spread the word about meal applications? Check out our School Meals Applications resources!<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-21c55aa elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"21c55aa\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-a6f7e38\" data-id=\"a6f7e38\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f53aa91 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f53aa91\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1We2G4t-4XUM_C9ZtIZy4930abwKD8AMNVLUurHTgWZo\/edit\"><b>School Meals Marketing Toolkit<\/b><\/a><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This toolkit was created to help you get the word out to students and families about school meals. It includes both ready-to-use and customizable assets to help you quickly and easily communicate with students and families about school meals. No social media? No problem! The graphics and sample language can also be used in newsletters, on flyers, or in emails.<\/span><\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/express.adobe.com\/page\/wEEqmTwGwxrRS\/\"><b>CEP Communications Toolkit<\/b><\/a><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Will your school or district be offering free meals for all students this school year? No Kid Hungry has a toolkit to help you spread the word to students and families! Check it out if you are participating in CEP or using other non-pricing models like Provision 2. The toolkit includes downloadable and customizable graphics, posters, and social media posts\u2014available in both English and Spanish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-c086c08\" data-id=\"c086c08\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1559358 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"1559358\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/12\/CEP_Comms_Banner_v1-01.png\" title=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\"><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-75a9a15 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"75a9a15\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-1c01a3e\" data-id=\"1c01a3e\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a138536 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"a138536\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ac9dadd elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ac9dadd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3><strong>Join No Kid Hungry<\/strong><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">No Kid Hungry California <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is working to ensure every child in the Golden State <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">can access the healthy school meals they need to grow up healthy and strong. We do this through providing grants to launch and improve school meals programs; advocating for smart state and federal school meals policies; building awareness; and offering tools, resources, and training to help build and maintain successful school meals programs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/secure.nokidhungry.org\/site\/Donation2?23926.donation=form1&amp;df_id=23926&amp;mfc_pref=T&amp;s_src=web&amp;s_subsrc=1I000DD2400WHAXASMA\">Donate<\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong>1 dollar can help provide 10 meals* for kids. Your support will help us fund meal programs all over the country and help us advocate for policies that will help kids get the meals they need\u201d *Donations help support programs that feed kids; No Kid Hungry does not provide individual meals. Learn more at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nokidhungry.org\/blog\/NoKidHungry.org\/OneDollar\">NoKidHungry.org\/OneDollar<\/a><\/p><p><em>Last reviewed: August 15, 2024<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Across California, families, educators, and kids are heading back to their classrooms for another year of learning. Unfortunately, in California, as many as 1 in 6 children are facing food&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16999","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Food Is the Most Important School Supply - California<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/food-is-the-most-important-school-supply\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Food Is the Most Important School Supply - California\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Across California, families, educators, and kids are heading back to their classrooms for another year of learning. Unfortunately, in California, as many as 1 in 6 children are facing food...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/food-is-the-most-important-school-supply\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"California\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-15T18:42:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-30T17:03:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/08\/FoodSupply3-1024x1024.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"No Kid Hungry CA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@nokidhungryca\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"No Kid Hungry CA\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/food-is-the-most-important-school-supply\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/food-is-the-most-important-school-supply\/\",\"name\":\"Food Is the Most Important School Supply - California\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nkh-state-nkh-state.pantheonsite.io\/california\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-15T18:42:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-30T17:03:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nkh-state-nkh-state.pantheonsite.io\/california\/#\/schema\/person\/10ce249e83b1c7196720b41d1170162e\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/food-is-the-most-important-school-supply\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nkh-state-nkh-state.pantheonsite.io\/california\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nkh-state-nkh-state.pantheonsite.io\/california\/\",\"name\":\"California\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nkh-state-nkh-state.pantheonsite.io\/california\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nkh-state-nkh-state.pantheonsite.io\/california\/#\/schema\/person\/10ce249e83b1c7196720b41d1170162e\",\"name\":\"No Kid Hungry CA\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nokidhungryca\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/author\/tle1\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Food Is the Most Important School Supply - California","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/food-is-the-most-important-school-supply\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Food Is the Most Important School Supply - California","og_description":"Across California, families, educators, and kids are heading back to their classrooms for another year of learning. Unfortunately, in California, as many as 1 in 6 children are facing food...","og_url":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/food-is-the-most-important-school-supply\/","og_site_name":"California","article_published_time":"2024-08-15T18:42:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-30T17:03:59+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/08\/FoodSupply3-1024x1024.png"}],"author":"No Kid Hungry CA","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@nokidhungryca","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"No Kid Hungry CA","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/food-is-the-most-important-school-supply\/","url":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/food-is-the-most-important-school-supply\/","name":"Food Is the Most Important School Supply - California","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nkh-state-nkh-state.pantheonsite.io\/california\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-08-15T18:42:48+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-30T17:03:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nkh-state-nkh-state.pantheonsite.io\/california\/#\/schema\/person\/10ce249e83b1c7196720b41d1170162e"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/food-is-the-most-important-school-supply\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nkh-state-nkh-state.pantheonsite.io\/california\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nkh-state-nkh-state.pantheonsite.io\/california\/","name":"California","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nkh-state-nkh-state.pantheonsite.io\/california\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nkh-state-nkh-state.pantheonsite.io\/california\/#\/schema\/person\/10ce249e83b1c7196720b41d1170162e","name":"No Kid Hungry CA","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/nokidhungryca"],"url":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/author\/tle1\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16999"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18067,"href":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16999\/revisions\/18067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}