{"id":17333,"date":"2024-09-01T20:31:14","date_gmt":"2024-09-01T20:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/?p=17333"},"modified":"2025-04-30T17:03:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T17:03:58","slug":"summer-spotlight-series-lodi-usd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/summer-spotlight-series-lodi-usd\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Spotlight Series: How San Joaquin County Schools Nourished Kids in Rural Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\u201cThe true intent of a program like this is to serve our communities, to serve our families and to make deep inroads to equity. I\u2019m very happy we were able to serve over 257,000 meals, but we\u2019re just getting started.\u201d – Dr. Betty Crocker, director of nutrition services<\/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>\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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The nutrition services team from Lodi Unified School District (LUSD) in San Joaquin County is a shining example of what you\u2019ve helped us achieve.<\/span><\/p>

We had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Betty Crocker, director of nutrition services and Sharon Mu\u00f1oz, nutrition specialist to hear how their first year sponsoring the summer rural feeding program went.<\/span><\/p>

Despite the surrounding agricultural abundance, some families struggle to access affordable and nutritious food due to economic challenges, limited availability of grocery stores, transportation, and rising living costs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Spanning 350 square miles, LUSD was able to sponsor just one rural feeding site this summer in the town of Lockeford, just east of Lodi, CA.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Dr. Crocker, formerly the director of nutrition services at Redlands Unified School District and No Kid Hungry\u2019s <\/span>Summer Meals Hero<\/span><\/a> in 2018 took on this challenge to ensure Lodi\u2019s community of scholars and families have access to summer meals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cWhen Mu\u00f1oz came running into my office one day saying we have a school site eligible for the new rural federal feeding program, it was game on,\u201d said Dr. Crocker. \u201cWe had the best practices of running a grab-and-go program like we did during the pandemic and had an idea of the scale to run the program. But with Lodi, we did not have an idea of the scale or the need.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Through arduous planning and partnerships with the town, vendors, and California Highway Patrol, Crocker, Mu\u00f1oz and the entire LUSD nutrition services team served more than 257,000 meals\u2014 a 302% increase from the 64,000 meals served last summer!<\/span><\/p>

They called it the \u201cUSDA 10-Day Challenge,\u201d an initiative aimed at addressing food insecurity and supporting families across the area. With distributions across four targeted dates throughout the summer, they offered kids 10 days\u2019 worth of breakfast and lunch. Meal boxes filled with fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables, frozen entrees, milk and other pantry items ensured families had the nutritional support needed throughout the summer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cTheir time mattered,\u201d said Mu\u00f1oz. \u201cBy using a reservation system where families can sign up for meal boxes and offer 10 days\u2019 worth of meals, this gave working families much-needed flexibility to plan their schedules and reduce the number of trips they would have had to make.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

With the summer rural feeding program wrapped up, it wasn\u2019t even a question whether they would sponsor the program again next summer. With the best practices and lessons learned from this summer, they\u2019re looking to build the program and deepen partnerships with many agricultural producers to procure fresh and quality fruits and vegetables, and at the same time find ways to support and improve food security for farmworkers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cThis team had a clear vision and relentless dedication, producing a program that was truly one of a kind,\u201d said Mariela Donis, No Kid Hungry senior program manager.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cTo No Kid Hungry, we want you to understand the transformative power of this grant,\u201d said Dr. Crocker and Mu\u00f1oz. \u201cYour support has provided the infrastructure to create a summer filled with nourishment and connection, showing that when a community comes together, we can overcome challenges. We hope you will share our success to inspire others as we continue to build a brighter future\u2014one meal at a time.\u201d<\/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 Lodi Unified School District.<\/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

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Lodi USD has a district enrollment of 30,068.<\/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
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Nutrition staff started their days at 3:30 AM.<\/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
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Photos provided courtesy of Lodi USD.<\/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>\n

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>\n