Looking to the future: Feeding more kids after COVID-19
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Once the global pandemic ends and everything goes back to normal, what happens to families that have been relying on the free school meals for their kids that were provided as part of the COVID-19 response?
Before the pandemic even started, San Diego Hunger Coalition teamed up with California Food Policy Advocates and Open San Diego to develop technology that would allow school districts to leverage an existing but underutilized child nutrition program that allows schools to serve Universal Free Meals to all of their students, the Community Eligibility Provision. Working together, the three organizations developed an online tool that helped school districts optimize their applications for the program and increase their likelihood of approval.
When Coronavirus hit, the partners stayed the course and completed the project. Now, San Diego Hunger Coalition provides technical assistance to school districts, paired with the new online tool, to help schools get the most out of their application. Already, San Diego County schools have seen great success.
With our help, 4 districts, or 68 schools, expanded their Universal Free Meals. That means that an addition 27,000 students will receive free meals once we’re on the other side of the pandemic.
It may seem redundant to continue advocating for this program while all students receive free meals during the pandemic. However, the policies and flexibilities that allow schools to feed every student during COVID-19 expire on December 31, 2020. These schools that have been approved through the Community Eligibility Program will be allowed to continue providing free meals for every child for the next four years!
