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Introduction: Kids Don't Stop Growing
When School is Out
In California, more than 3.7 million students were eligible
for free or reduced priced school meals in the 2017-2018
school year. For many of those students, school meals are the
primary source of regular access to healthy food. When the
bell rings at 3:00 or lets out for summer break, many of those
students go home to nutritional uncertainty or high-calorie,
low nutrient foods. For many low-income families, the out-of-
school-time food access gap increases family stress: limited
budgets are stretched further to cover food, rent, utilities,
transportation, medications, and childcare costs. For very
young children, food insecurity can negatively impact brain
and physical development. For children of all ages, disrupted
access to healthy food can impact behavior, increase risk of
obesity, make it harder to concentrate, or exacerbate existing
health conditions like type 2 diabetes. The impact is not limited
to summer, and can lead to a rocky start to the school year,
negatively impacting school attendance and students' ability
to effectively participate in school.
USDA Child Nutrition Programs
Address the Out-of-School-Time Gap
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Summer
Food Service Program and Child and Adult Care Food
Programs enable schools, as well as city, county, tribal,
and nonprofit agencies to serve free, healthy meals to youth
ages 18 and under in low-income neighborhoods when
BRIEF
Keeping Kids Healthy and Engaged When School is Out
Through Public and Affordable Housing Communities
