Food Security Projects

Breakfast for Nonschoolaged Children

In 2022 Assembly Bill 558 established the Child Nutrition Act which required California to develop direction on how nonschoolaged children could be served breakfast or snack at participating public elementary schools.¹

Beginning the 2023-2024 school year, California elementary schools can now serve and be reimbursed for breakfast before school to nonschoolaged children.

“Eligible nonschoolaged child” is defined as “a child who is not enrolled in school and who is a sibling, half sibling, or stepsibling of, or a foster child residing with, a pupil who meets the federal eligibility criteria for a free or reduced-price breakfast at a local educational agency participating in the federal School Breakfast Program that maintains kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 6.” ² Meals and snacks are reimbursable through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).²

Evidence for Use

While there is an abundance of evidence that supports ensuring all children have access to breakfast each day, the provision allowing California schools to provide breakfast for nonschoolaged children began in the fall of 2023, so there is no evidence yet to support or refute the program.

Implementation Process

In California, schools can provide breakfast to nonschoolaged children—defined as those not enrolled in the school—through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). To do this, schools must establish a child care or enrichment program that participates in CACFP and enrolls these children. Meals served to enrolled nonschoolaged children in such programs are eligible for federal and state reimbursement.

It’s important to note that the federal School Breakfast Program (SBP) and National School Lunch Program (NSLP) only reimburse meals served to enrolled students. Therefore, meals provided to nonschoolaged children outside of a CACFP-participating program cannot be reimbursed through SBP or NSLP funds. For detailed guidance on establishing such programs, schools can consult the California Department of Education’s resources on CACFP.

Providing meals to nonschool-aged children is voluntary; local education agencies must decide if they want to opt into the program.²

Best Practices

In order for a nonschoolaged child to receive breakfast or snack, they must be accompanied by a parent or guardian
Procedure and point-of-sale system that can account for meals served to nonschoolaged children