225+ Organizations Support Funding for School Meals for All along with complementary investments in Kitchen Infrastructure and Training, Farm to School, and California Healthy School Food Pathway programs in the 2026-27 CA Budget
March 16, 2026
Dear Senate President pro Tempore Limón, Assembly Speaker Rivas, Senate Budget Committee Chair Laird, Assembly Budget Committee Chair Gabriel, Senate Budget Subcommittee Chair Pérez, Assembly Budget Subcommittee Chair Alvarez, Senate Budget Subcommittee Chair Hurtado, and Assembly Budget Subcommittee Chair Bennett,
The undersigned 225+ School Meals for All Coalition members are writing to express our strong support for critical school nutrition programs in the 2026–27 FY California budget. We thank the Legislature for your consistent leadership and continued support for California’s first-in-the-nation School Meals for All program. Transforming the school food system is complex and benefits from multiple proven policies to improve student access to and the quality of school meals, food education, kitchen infrastructure, connections to local farmers, and training and career development for school nutrition professionals. Together, these complementary policies and investments create an ecosystem of support that can accomplish so much more for California’s students and the people who nourish them.
We are grateful for the inclusion of $1.87 billion in funding for School Meals for All, $100 million for Kitchen Infrastructure and Training, $25.2 million ongoing for the Farm to School Grant program, and $14.3 million for California’s Healthy School Food Pathway program in the Governor’s proposed January budget. We respectfully ask that you support these proposed investments and advocate for their inclusion in the finalized budget.