Santa Ana Unified School District is Providing Students Free Summer Meals

What to Know

Free breakfast and lunch can be picked up at 60 locations throughout the city of Santa Ana.
Schools will serve the free meals from June to July. Parks and Community Centers will offer free meals from June to August.
Last year, the summer feeding program served 14,000 meals a day.

The Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) is providing free summer meals to children 18 and under who might otherwise face food insecurity without the daily meals provided during the regular school year.

During the year, students have access to at least two free meals each day, which includes breakfast and lunch. During the summer, however, it may be more difficult for young children and their families to access adequate nutritious meals, a SAUSD press release states.

According to the OC Food Access Coalition, nearly 350,000 Orange County residents struggle to regularly meet their food needs.

To ensure that children do not go hungry when school is not in session, SAUSD is offering free nutritious breakfasts and lunches during the summer months, which can be picked up at any of 60 locations throughout the city of Santa Ana Monday through Friday.

According to Aileen R. Nguyen, an undergraduate researcher at the University of California, Irvine, Orange County is the second most food-insecure county in California. A Santa Ana case study found that the city’s ineffective public transportation system and a greater general distance from commercial businesses inhibits residents from accessing affordable food retailers with high quality and varied nutritious options.

Various elementary, intermediate, and high schools in Santa Ana will serve the free meals from June to July. Parks and Community Centers will offer the free meals from June to August.