Food Insecurity
A call to action for policy makers
Critical to healthy child development is
consistent access to enough nutritious food.
National and state data show that food
insecurity is increasing and an urgent issue for
families and children. Households with children
continue to experience higher levels of food
insecurity than the average household, and
households in western states show a significant
increase in food insecurity.
​
A 2023 California survey found that 57 percent
of single parents with children experienced food
insecurity. Children experiencing intermittent
or persistent food insecurity are more likely to
have significant and lasting effects on academic outcomes and/or behavioral wellbeing.
1
2,3
This Food Security Brief takes a broad systems
and community engagement lens to offer
three equity-focused recommendations and
calls to action for policy makers to strengthen
food-security supports for families and young
people. The last page focuses on a call to action
for families, young people, and others to access
food benefits.
In the US, food insecurity
increased significantly from
12.8% in 2022 to 13.5% in 2023
This increase is more than
twice the national goal
standard of 6% to
improve health and
educational outcomes
for children.
4
5
Recommendation: Ensure policies provide students sufficient time to eat school meals
In California, public schools serving Transitional Kindergarten (TK)-12 graders are required to “make available” two meals per day at no cost to students. However, there are no requirements determining the length of an adequate meal period. In practice, many schools in the county are not providing adequate time for all students to eat the meals available to them. A local observational study conducted by Second Harvest found that the last students in line only had 7-17 minutes for lunch.
6
Best Practice for Breakfast
The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)
offers three options for students to have enough
time to eat breakfast that prepares them for the
school day:
-
Breakfast in the Classroom where meals are delivered and eaten during the first 10-15 minutes of class may be best suited for students in elementary school.
-
Grab and Go Breakfast where students pick up a bagged breakfast meal from carts in the hallway or from the cafeteria on the way to class and eat at their desks may be best suited for older students in elementary, middle, and secondary school.
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Second Chance Breakfast where breakfast is offered after first period, works particularly well for secondary schools because teenagers are often not hungry early in the morning and tend to arrive at school closer to the start of the school day, leaving even less time for breakfast.
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Best Practice for Lunch
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) points to
a minimum of 30 minutes for lunch to be ideal
to ensure students have the recommended 20
minutes of seated eating time. Seated eating
time is the time students are in their seat and
eating their meal – it does not include activities
during the lunch period, such as using the
restroom and handwashing, waiting in the food
line, and walking to the lunch table.
Time for Lunch is Separate from Recess
The passage of Senate Bill (SB) 291 directs
schools that offer recess periods (typically
elementary, sometimes middle) to provide
recess periods of at least 30 minutes of
unstructured play time on a regular school day,
beginning School Year 2024-2025. SB 291 also
defines recess to be separate and distinct from
mealtimes.
9
Recommendation: Support funding for local food banks
Pre-pandemic, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley served about 250,000 individuals each month. The
pandemic doubled the community’s need for food overnight. The need for food remains steady with an
average of 500,000 individuals served each month. Given Santa Clara County’s high cost of living, people
turning to food banks during the pandemic discovered welcoming distribution sites and fresh food options.
Families discovered that accessing food banks alleviates household budgets, allowing paying for rent or
childcare so they can continue to work or stay enrolled in higher education.
Second Harvest is struggling to provide food resources that match the need observed across its partner
network. Donors were generous during the pandemic and this helped build up reserves, but they are
getting spent down. In FY24, Second Harvest had a $13M deficit and is expecting a $13M deficit in FY25 as
well. Resources need to be identified to right-size the food distribution budget. Second Harvest is reducing
its purchased food budget but still offers a generous food assortment compared to pre-pandemic levels.
However, families and individuals are receiving fewer food items and options.
Recommendation: Continue support of local Guaranteed Basic Income pilots
Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) refers to the receipt of regular (usually monthly), unconditional cash
assistance to break the cycle of poverty. The County of Santa Clara (County) is testing four GBI pilots with
system-impacted communities – former foster youth, unhoused graduating high schoolers, justice-involved
individuals, and young parents – to improve self-sufficiency, reaching education and/or employment
goals, and inter-generational success. The County is utilizing a randomized-control trial where some GBI
participants receive $1,200 per month for two years.
There is mounting evidence that GBI support fills a critical economic gap that allows recipients to use the
money where it is most needed. GBI studies show consistent threads in how recipients use GBI to increase
financial security, housing stability, meet basic needs, and help family and friends. Survey outcome data
from the first County GBI cohort of former foster youth line up with other GBI pilot studies.
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What Schools Can Do
-
Implement best practices for students to have enough time and access to school meals
-
Implement recess before lunch
Research shows that students that have more time for lunch and are not pressured to go play, consume more of their lunch and are more likely to select fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; reduces food waste; and improves classroom behaviors.
What Local Leaders Can Do
Advocate to State Policy Makers to:
-
Support Kitchen, Infrastructure, and Training Funds that are vital to schools’ ability to quickly upgrade their facilities to serve an increased number of student meals. School districts continue to report that their facilities are inadequate to serve their full student population and meet other state nutrition mandates.
-
Develop Requirements for Minimum Time to Eat School Meals. Without specific guidelines or requirements for determining adequate time for students to eat school meals, there is a wide range of lunch time scheduling.
Former foster youth in the County of
Santa Clara’s first GBI Program
reported more stability in their lives
and planning for their futures
Here is what an early GBI study of former
foster youth participants found:
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Decrease in homelessness, from 11% to 5%
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Increase in full-time school enrollment, from 13% to 33%
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Increase in full-time employment, from 44% to 58%
To join the regional movement in Santa
Clara County to expand GBI and to see
a list of all active/planned pilots across
Santa Clara County, visit:
https://guaranteedincomesv.org
Support food policy at
higher levels of government, too!
The most vulnerable families and young people
in our communities will be at risk of losing out if
any federal or state programs that contribute to
food security are reduced or eliminated.
Advocate for:
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Expanded Child Tax Credit to help low-income families that are more likely to face economic hardships be able to meet basic needs
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Permanent Medi-Cal Medically Supportive Food & Nutrition Program to enhance the health of people and children with health-related conditions
Join:
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Nourish California to track important food policies and lift community voice on intersectional priorities at: https://nourish.org
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A call for families, young adults, and care providers to access food benefits
Food and social benefits can increase household income and improve health and wellbeing.
Accessing nutritious food has important benefits for children, teens, and the whole family, including
young adults, college students, and seniors.
When people have access to adequate nutritious food, children, teens, and young adults can have healthy growth and brain development, improve academic performance, and participate in positive social and community activities.
​
For families living with children or seniors, or young adults with financial challenges, food assistance and
social benefits programs can help improve overall wellbeing. By supplementing household income
with these resources, families may afford additional opportunities for their children, such as tutoring,
summer camp programs, and family outings. Young adults, including college students, can also reduce
financial stress, save for future goals, and maintain a healthy diet.
13,14
Food is Medicine
A study in the journal Pediatrics found that children in families experiencing food insecurity
also experience stress in their lives that results in being:
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Less likely to be in very good or excellent health
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More likely to experience chronic health conditions like asthma and allergies
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More likely to experience symptoms of depression
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More likely to experience communicable diseases like colds and stomach problems
Programs that can help
CalFresh Food and other public benefits at
https://benefitscal.com
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Apply for CalFresh Food to help pay for nutritious foods
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Financial assistance to help pay for needs
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Medi-Cal for health care coverage for families children, and seniors
Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition
Program at 408-792-5101 or text 888-413-2698
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Access free healthy eating support for pregnant women, new parents, and children 0-5 years
Food Banks and Resource Assistance at
https://shfb.org/get-food/calfresh/
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Access information on food banks near you
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Receive help to apply for CalFresh Food
Child and Adult Care Program at 916-348-7410
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Licensed family child/adult care providers may be reimbursed for serving nutritious meals/snacks
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Love Little Children, Inc. is the host site that serves licensed providers in Santa Clara County
Second Harvest assists its neighbors
with their CalFresh applications and
troubleshooting issues
A Food Connections specialist received a
referral from Pacific Clinics, a Second Harvest
partner. Here is what happened:
An undocumented couple spoke with Claribel,
a Food Connection specialist, for assistance
applying for CalFresh for their daughter.
Unfortunately, their application was denied.
While the family was ready to give up, Claribel
was determined to advocate on their behalf.
She contacted the County caseworker to
understand the denial reason and worked
with the family to correct and resubmit their
application. The application was ultimately
approved, and the family received backpay for
the reconsideration period.
Sources:
1 UCLA Center for Health and Policy Research (Feb 2025), Cal. Health Interview Survey: Food Insecurity.
2 International Jo. of Environmental Research & Public Health (Aug 2021), Food Insecurity and Child Development: A State-of-the-Art Review - PMC.
3 FRAC (Oct 2016), Breakfast for Health.
4 US Dept of Agriculture Economic Research Service (Jan 2025), Food Security in the US.
5 US Dept of Health & Human Services Office of Disease Prevention & Health Promotion, Healthy People 2030: Reduce household food insecurity and hunger.
6 Cal. Dept. of Education (CDE), Universal Meals Program.
7 FRAC, Making Breakfast Part of the School Day. How it works.
8 CDC School Nutrition (Jul 2024), Time for Lunch.
9 CDE (Mar 2024), SB 291–Pupils Rights: Recess.
10 Scientific American (Jul 2024), Basic Income Gives Money without Strings.
11 Urban Institute (Dec 2024), Expanded Child Tax Credit.
12 Medically Supportive Food & Nutrition California, About MSF&N.
13 First Focus Campaign for Children (Oct 2023), Universal School Meals.
14 The Annie E. Casey Foundation (Jul 2024), Child Food Insecurity in America.