The San Bernardino County Initiated Quad County Nutrition Action Partnership (CNAP) School Meals Access Collaborative: Supporting School Meals Access During COVID-19

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

San Bernardino County Nutrition Action Partnership (SBCNAP), of the Department of Public Health’s (DPH’s) Nutrition Program, has pioneered collaborative partnerships in supporting school districts. From 2015-2019, SBCNAP Summer Meals Collaborative, co-chaired by local school districts and No Kid Hungry, prioritized increasing summer meal participation to address food insecurity and access to healthy food. However, due to COVID-19, state restrictions, shutdowns and distance learning, the focal point of SBCNAP Summer Meals Collaborative had to be reimagined. To address/expand food access, SBCNAP then engaged three neighboring Southern California counties to form the Quad CNAP School Meals Access Collaborative to support school district food service departments as well as increase access to school meals and other food resources during COVID-19. To date, this engagement has resulted in 7 webinars featuring 30 School District Nutrition Directors and 17 community presenters across 4 counties with over 1,300 participants, representing: school staff, community organizations, health care, government agencies and college/universities. About 30 School District Nutrition Directors and 17 community partners have shared best practices in overcoming challenges. These collaborative partnerships have also led to policy, systems and environment changes with San Bernardino CalFresh Outreach and Schools trainings that are being replicated in four other counties.