{"id":17262,"date":"2024-09-01T17:04:43","date_gmt":"2024-09-01T17:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/?p=17262"},"modified":"2025-04-30T17:03:59","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T17:03:59","slug":"summer-spotlight-series-feeding-san-diego","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/summer-spotlight-series-feeding-san-diego\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Spotlight Series: How San Diego County Schools Nourished Kids in Rural Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\u201cWe don\u2019t have to reinvent the wheel. We can lean on each other for best practices and support.\u201d – Sam Duke, director of programs<\/span><\/h2>

Summer is the hungriest time of the year for millions of children who rely on school meals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

According to the latest U.S. Census data, 10 million children live in poverty, with the child poverty rate increasing to 13.7% in 2023 from 5.2% in 2021. This mirrors the<\/span> latest figures from the USDA<\/span><\/a>\u2019s annual report on Household Food Security, which showed a similar uptick in child hunger. Nearly 14 million children, or 1 in 5, face food insecurity.<\/span><\/p>

Thanks to years of advocacy efforts, Congress expanded a summer-long grocery benefit for kids, known as <\/span>SUN Bucks<\/span><\/a> in California. They also approved meal delivery options in rural areas, improving access to summer meals.<\/span><\/p>

This summer, No Kid Hungry collaborated with school districts and community organizations across the U.S. to help close the hunger gap. With your support, we convened over 400 state and federal officials, community leaders and parents to <\/span>share ideas and work together<\/span><\/a> on ways to feed kids this summer. We also provided grants and technical support to schools and community organizations in California, which helped them purchase critical equipment, as well as hire and retain staff to run pick-up and meal delivery programs in rural areas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The dedicated team of staff and volunteers at Feeding San Diego (FSD) in San Diego County is a shining example of what you\u2019ve helped us achieve.<\/span><\/p>

No Kid Hungry California\u2019s Associate Director, Daisy Munguia, sat down with FSD\u2019s Director of Programs Sam Duke to reflect on how this summer\u2019s rural feeding program went.<\/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

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While many know San Diego for its beautiful coastline, San Diego County has a large rural area that spans eastward toward Imperial County and into the arid Sonoran Desert.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cFor example, Jacumba Hot Springs is a good hour and a half east of any urban area in the county,\u201d Duke shared. So, just for families to even go to a grocery store to get fresh fruits and vegetables can be challenging. And when you add in that students lose access to free school meals during the summer, this compounds the challenges for families already facing hunger and food insecurity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

This year, Feeding San Diego partnered with San Diego County Libraries\u00a0 and took full advantage of the new rural feeding program by offering parent pick-up of multi-day bulk meals at six library locations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Feeding San Diego staff, library staff, and volunteers packed, delivered and distributed meal boxes. The program \u201ctook collaboration and teamwork from everyone in our organization and our partners,\u201d said Duke. \u201cAs sponsors, we had to be accurate with the boxes since this was a federal program and food had to be consistent with nutrition guidelines. It was just motivating to see how we all came together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

In a matter of two months, Feeding San Diego distributed nearly 51,000 summer meals across six rural sites. This meant kids were receiving food boxes with seven days worth of breakfasts and lunches.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Because of the rural feeding program and federal flexibilities, children had consistent access to nutritious meals during the summer months when school is out. The program fostered community engagement by offering families and kids academic enrichment since the sites were at the library, as well as access to information on other programs such as CalFresh, SUN Bucks and year-round food pantry distributions.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cThe program may seem daunting,\u201d said Duke, \u201cbut I advise reaching out to fellow sponsors. Whether a school district, a community organization or other hunger relief advocates, we don\u2019t have to reinvent the wheel. We can lean on each other for best practices and support.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

\u201cFeeding San Diego\u2019s non-congregate feeding program has made impressive strides this year. Using data from CalFresh, the census, and working closely with other sponsors, they could focus on areas with the greatest need, providing nearly 51,000 meals to kids. What stands out is how they\u2019ve scaled their program so quickly in just two years, and now they\u2019re looking to build to connect more kids to nutritious meals. Their success shows the power of strong community partnerships and thoughtful planning,\u201d Munguia shared.<\/span><\/p>

No Kid Hungry will be here to support them every step of the way. We invite you to join No Kid Hungry in helping partners like Feeding San Diego.<\/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

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Naomi Girma, center back for the San Diego Wave FC & Olympic Gold Medalist helped raise awareness of the summer meal program.<\/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
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*Photos provided courtesy of Feeding San Diego.<\/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
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Ways You Can Help<\/b><\/h2>

You can ensure kids have the nutrition they need to thrive in and out of the classroom and reach their full potential in a variety of ways:<\/span><\/p>