Educators + Advocates

Explore how educators and advocates support students and families health by sharing and using food access resources.

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School Meal Programs

Federally funded programs that provide nutritious, low-cost or free meals to students.

• National School Lunch Program
• School Breakfast Program
• Child and Adult Food Program

School Lunch Program

The National School Lunch Program has played an important role in nourishing students across the U.S. by providing little to no cost meals daily. Read the "Celebrating Impact of School Lunch In + Out of the Classroom" blog post to learn more.

Why Should Kids Eat Breakfast?

Mornings are the ideal time to "break the fast" and provide children with important nutrients to nourish and fuel them for success! In this episode of Ask a Nutritionist, Maureen Bligh, RDN, addresses why kids should eat breakfast.

School Milk

Milk, a nutritious beverage, is rich in protein and contains 9 essential nutrients that supports optimal growth and development.

Every year in the U.S., federal school meal programs serve 4.9 billion lunches and 2.45 billion breakfasts—that equates to millions of nutritious meals for students every school day. Milk is an important part of these school meals, providing students with essential nutrients that are typically under-consumed in the American diet, including calcium, vitamin D, and potassium. In this episode of Ask a Nutritionist, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Megan Holdaway answers the question, "Why is milk an important part of school meal programs?”

Farm to School

• USDA Grants
  • Apply for Farm to School grants; learn how to plan, develop, and implement farm to school programs on your campus
• CDFA Office of Farm to Fork
  • Connects school districts and the community with California farmers and ranchers. Provides Farm to School Grants to support schools to establish programs that encourage use of California grown food in school meals
• California Foundation for Ag in the Classroom
  • Focused on educating California’s youth about the importance of agriculture. Provides ag in the classroom resources, grant, programs and trainings for educators
• Farm to You Classroom
  • Secure the original Farm-to-You free assembly

School Nutrition Policies and Social Emotional Learning

• School leaders can improve the overall school environment by strengthening the connection between school nutrition, the social and emotional climate, and social and emotional learning. 
• For more information link, visit the CDC site here.

School Meal Programs Support Student Mental Health

School meals have always been a critical access point for the nutritious foods that children need to grow and learn and help ensure children, especially families living at or below the poverty line, are able eat. Read more to learn how mental health outcomes in children and teens are influenced by food insecurity.