California Police Chief- Fall 2013 | Page 25

In California, summer meal programs are only reaching a fraction of eligible students. In 2014, only 485,000 of California’s 2.4 million eligible students accessed summer meal programs, according to a report from the Food Research and Action Center. What’s more, California’s counties vary in their success in meeting the need, according to California Food Policy Advocates. Underutilization of these programs is often a result of lack of awareness among families, lack of activities at sites, and \