At a time when Valley families will see crucial food benefits disappear as the government shutdown rages on, Fresno Unified School District is doing all it can to make sure none of its more than 73,000 students go hungry.

“I’ve never seen a situation where there was a potential lapse in SNAP benefits, so that is absolutely unprecedented that I’m aware of,” said Amanda Harvey, Director of Nutrition Services for Fresno Unified School District.

According to the district, about 40 percent of its student population relies on food benefits.

“It’s only exacerbating the problem that our community and family members already face,” said Harvey.

On Wednesday, the district unveiled a webpage on its site packed with resources for students and their families, including a food distribution calendar and food locator tool.

“Let’s get on top of this, let’s make sure our families know that we are there for them,” said Harvey.

Since 2022, the district has been offering free breakfast and lunch for enrolled students through the statewide School Meals for All initiative introduced by Governor Gavin Newsom.

Prior to that, the District operated under a community eligibility provision since the 2014 – 2015 academic school year.

“What that means it’s a USDA provision that allows all of our students, due to the high level of poverty in our district, to eat at no cost,” said Harvey.

That USDA provision offers a third lesser-known option called Super Snack. It is a full and complete meal provided at 88 school sites to anyone aged one to 18 — regardless of school district or residency.

The meal consists of a protein option, a grain, a fruit and a vegetable serving as well as dairy.

“We’re not checking IDs. We’re not checking addresses. They just need to come; they need to consume the meals on site,” said Harvey.

The supper program is completely funded through the USDA, which is not impacted yet, as meals are said to be funded through November.

From inside the 100,000 sq. ft. facility, the District can distribute 75,000 meals a day, totaling almost 14M meals a year.

Fresno Unified is the third-largest school district in the state, behind San Diego and Los Angeles.

The District said its school meals program is on the front lines of food insecurity. It hopes to bridge that gap to families without any stigma.

“Know that we are here to serve them breakfast and lunch and supper,” said Harvey.

Meals will not be provided on Tuesday, November 11, which is Veterans Day and during Thanksgiving break.

To learn more about the resources available, visit the FUSD resource website.

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