California Universal Meals
Includes background, policy, provisions, resources, FAQs, and contacts regarding California’s Universal Meals Program.Overview
In School Year (SY) 2022–23, California became the first state to implement a statewide Universal Meals Program for school children. California’s Universal Meals Program (UMP) builds on the foundations of the federal National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP). There are three key pillars to ensure the program's success:
- Pillar One: California’s state meal mandate requires local educational agencies (LEA) to make available both a nutritiously adequate breakfast and lunch for, not just needy children, but all children each school day.
- Pillar Two: High poverty schools are required to participate in a federal provision.
- Pillar Three: The California State Legislature allocates funds to provide state meal reimbursement to cover the cost of the UMP.
Background
In 2022, California Education Code (EC) sections 49501.5 and 49564.3 were enacted, establishing the UMP, which updated the state meal mandate and required high poverty schools to apply for a federal provision, such as the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or Provision 2.
Update of State Meal Mandate
California EC Section 49501.5 requires public school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools serving students in grades transitional kindergarten through grade 12 (TK–12) to provide two meals free of charge (breakfast and lunch) during each school day to students requesting a meal, regardless of their free or reduced-price meal eligibility.
Federal Provision Participation Requirement
California EC Section 49564.3 requires LEAs with high poverty schools to adopt a federal universal meal service provision, such as CEP or Provision 2. A school is considered high poverty if their identified student percentage (ISP) is over 40 percent, meaning 40 percent of enrolled students are determined eligible for free school meals through direct certification, or identification as homeless, migrant, foster, or runaway.
Supplemental State Meal Reimbursement
The California Department of Education (CDE) will provide additional per meal reimbursement to LEAs for all nutritionally adequate meals served to students, as long as the LEA is approved to participate in the federal School Breakfast and National School Lunch Programs and serves U.S Department of Agriculture reimbursable meals. LEAs will still be required to abide by federal regulations and guidelines as the UMP is meant to supplement, not replace, the federal school nutrition programs.
Under California EC Section 49501.5, the meal reimbursement amount will not exceed the difference between the federal and state free reimbursement rates. Additional state reimbursements will be provided for reduced-price and paid meals to ensure LEAs receive the same reimbursement for those meal categories as they would for meals served at the free reimbursement rate.
Provisions
Universal Meals requires all public school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools with high poverty schools to adopt a federal provision, such as the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or Provision 2.
High poverty schools are identified as any school site with an identified student percentage (ISP) of at least 40 percent. A school’s ISP is determined by dividing the number of directly certified students, including those students who are certified as foster, homeless, migrant, runaway, or participating in Head Start programs, by the total number of enrolled students. For example, if a school site has a total enrollment of 500 students and 250 of those students are eligible for meals through direct certification, the ISP of the school site is 50 percent.
Community Eligibility Provision
The CEP is a four-year reimbursement option for eligible high poverty schools. A district can decide if they want school sites to participate individually in the CEP, if they want to group some schools together in order to meet eligibility requirements, or if they want the entire district to participate. This reimbursement option is based solely on direct certification data, which means that agencies operating CEP do not have to collect household meal applications.
Reimbursement under CEP is determined by multiplying the ISP by the multiplier, which is 1.6 (a number set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture). This is the percentage of meals that can be claimed at the free rate. The meals reimbursed at the free rate will be reimbursed with federal reimbursement, while additional state reimbursement will cover the cost of any meals claimed at the paid rate.
CEP applications are due June 30 of each year. For information on how to apply for CEP, please reach out to your School Nutrition Programs Specialist by visiting the School Nutrition Programs Specialist Directory web page.
For more information on CEP, please visit the Community Eligibility Provision web page.
Provision 2
Provision 2 is another option that high poverty schools can apply for to meet the requirements of the UMP. Provision 2 requires the use of free and reduced-price meal applications, but reduces the frequency in which applications are collected and processed to once every four years. Unlike CEP, there is no minimum threshold required to participate in this provision.
Provision 2 applications are due June 30 of each year. For information on how to apply for Provision 2, please reach out to your School Nutrition Programs Specialist by visiting the School Nutrition Programs Specialist Directory web page.
For more information on Provision 2, please visit the Provision: Claiming Alternatives web page.
Guidelines
The California Department of Education (CDE) has developed these UMP Implementation Guidelines (Guidelines) in accordance with California Education Code (EC) Section 49501.5(d).
The Guidelines provide guidance to LEAs regarding applicability, eligibility, compliance, use of funds, reimbursement, complaints, civil rights, payment holds, and appeals with respect to the UMP. LEAs are subject to additional state and federal statutory and regulatory requirements outside the scope of this guidance when operating the School Nutrition Programs (SNP) and implementing the NSLP and SBP. The SNPs are also subject to compliance with the Code of Federal Regulations, California Education Code, California Code of Regulations, California Retail Code, California Health and Safety Code, California contract law, and county and local requirements. Additional guidance can be found in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) School Nutrition Policy Memoranda, USDA School Nutrition Policy Manuals and Question & Answer documents, and CDE Management Bulletins.
Resources
Online Training Databases
To find additional online trainings, visit the:
- California Department of Education (CDE) Food Service Staff Education and Training web page for online trainings and resources pertaining to operating the child nutrition programs.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture's Professional Standards for School Nutrition Professionals web page
to search for trainings related to the key areas nutrition, operation, administration, and marketing.
| Resources | Description |
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| Food Service Staff Education and Training web page | This web page provides online trainings and resources pertaining to the administration of the child nutrition programs. |
| Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) | The CEP provides School Nutrition Program sponsors an alternative method for claiming student meals in high poverty schools. |
U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) guidance manual for operating CEP. This includes guidance on frequently asked questions. |
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Provides additional USDA guidance and common questions about CEP. |
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USDA guidance manual for operating Provision 2 (P2). This includes guidance on frequently asked questions. |
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Provision 2 is a method for reducing paperwork and other administrative burdens at the local level by simplifying the traditional operating procedures for meal eligibility and meal counting. |
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The SNP Provision 2 Overview training video provides guidance on operating P2. School food authorities (SFA) applying to participate in P2 must watch the training video and obtain the Certification of Completion no later than June 30th prior to the school year in which they are requesting to participate. The P2 training video is accessible through the Nutrition Services Division (NSD) Learning Site. The NSD Learning Site is available to Child Nutrition Program operators, which includes directors, managers, and both full and part-time staff. SFAs must set up an account before taking the training course. After setting up an account, enter “Provision 2” in the search field to be directed to the P2 training video. For help setting up an account on the NSD Learning Site, please download the LMS 001 – LMS Account Set Up Job Aid located in the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System, Download Forms section. For questions or support setting up an account, contact the NSD Learning Site team at NSDLearning@cde.ca.gov. |
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A list of local welfare or social service office contacts to verify CalFresh participation for directly certifying students. LEAs should contact their counties to ensure they have an accurate Identified Student Percentage (ISP). |
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A list of Migrant Education Office contacts. If an LEA has migrant students in their population, they should contact their Migrant Education Office to certify those students and ensure they have an accurate ISP. |
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To be counted as eligible for free or reduced-price meals for purposes of the LCFF, pupils must meet income eligibility criteria for the NSLP through an approved NSLP application, Universal Benefit Application, or alternative household income data collection form, be directly certified to receive free meals, or be categorically eligible. |
Frequently Asked Questions
For a list of frequently asked questions, please visit the Universal Meals Program Questions and Answers web page.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, please contact the School Nutrition Program Specialist assigned to assist your county, or you can email the School Nutrition Program Unit directly at SNPInfo@cde.ca.gov.
Subscribe to the School Nutrition Program Mailing List.