Report

Improving California Children’s Participation in Nutrition Programs

By Danielson C, Bohn S

Food and nutrition assistance programs help children gain access to adequate amounts of nutritious food—reducing child hunger and food insecurity as well as promoting healthy development. Yet in California, enrollment varies widely across counties and across the main nutrition programs that serve children: CalFresh, popularly known as food stamps; the WIC program, which serves infants and preschool-age children; and school meals, which include lunch and often other meals. Increasing children’s enrollment in CalFresh and achieving healthier outcomes for Californians are priorities for the state. The governor’s January 2016 budget set a goal of enrolling 400,000 more eligible children in CalFresh over two years. This report assesses children’s eligibility for CalFresh and eligible children’s participation in the three main nutrition programs to explore opportunities for improving enrollment and the benefits of higher enrollment.

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Date Added
May 6, 2019

Citation
Danielson C, Bohn S (2016) Improving California Children’s Participation in Nutrition Programs Report  Public Policy Institute of California. Available online: http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/report/R_1216CDR.pdf