In 2024, one in three children in San Diego County, California, experienced nutrition insecurity, according to the San Diego Hunger Coalition. The USDA’s new permanent summer EBT program, known as SUN Bucks, aims to alleviate hunger for qualifying school-aged children by providing $120 per child for groceries during the summer. However, many families still needed to sign up for this program. When our San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative (COI) team learned of the new program, we began to spread the word.
COI’s Schools & After-School Workgroup partnered with the COI Community Council to implement a comprehensive outreach strategy. Tana Lepule, Community Council Tri-Chair, emphasized that communities often labeled as ‘hard-to-reach’ are actually ‘hardly reached’ due to systematic barriers. The Community Council, composed of multi-lingual, multi-cultural members, created a flyer detailing how and where SUN Bucks funds could be used. An outreach plan followed, involving one-on-one conversations, group presentations, and social media messaging in preferred languages. Since launching in mid-May, Community Council members have dedicated over 100 hours to outreach activities. Additionally, Nourish CA! updated its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) flyer and webpage to reflect insights provided by the Community Council. Michelle Lee, a policy advocate with Nourish CA! noted that, “the Community Council helped to ensure that the FAQ reflected the needs and concerns that were being voiced by their community members. To create more equitable policies and programs, it’s important that those with lived experience are actively driving the conversations on the issues that impact them.”
Recognizing the pivotal role of schools, COI ensured School District Wellness Leads and Child Nutrition Directors were informed about SUN Bucks and actively promoted it to parents, teachers, and administrators. One of the workgroup chairs secured placement in school district newsletters and made sure SUN Bucks was discussed in telebriefings and workgroup meetings. Alondra Alvarado, President and CEO of San Diego Hunger Coalition, explained, “Summer is the hungriest time of year for many students who rely on school meals as their primary source of nutrition. This is why we provided crucial free resources and trainings to community-based organizations and schools, empowering families to successfully navigate the application process and participate in this essential program. Every student deserves to enjoy their summer break without the worry of where their next meal will come from.”
Although it will take time to assess the overall success of this first year, SUN Bucks has already proven to be a vital bridge, helping families keep their refrigerators full during the summer. Moving forward, COI aims to secure funding to expand outreach efforts, start promoting the program earlier in the school year, and to provide resources in all eight threshold languages in San Diego County. We’ve also determined a need to partner with ethnic grocery stores and small corner markets to promote the program ensuring that everyone has access to nutritious food for a healthy, happy summer.