California Summer Sunshine Award Recipients
An annual listing of the California Summer Sunshine Award winners
Congratulations California Annual Summer Sunshine Award Recipients!
In 2015 the USDA awarded six California-based organizations the Western Region Summer Sunshine Award for efforts to end hunger and improve nutrition in California.
The winners include:
- California Summer Meal Coalition, recognized for Outstanding Partners.Key achievements: collaborating with the California Department of Education, the California Library Association, and the California State Library to establish “Lunch at the Library” in 99 libraries (up from 2014 with 64 libraries), serving nearly 100,000 meals.
- Conejo Valley Unified School District, recognized for Bringing the Farm to Summer Meals.Key achievements: integrating local foods into the summer meal programs and promoting healthy eating through nutrition education, taste testing, and cooking demonstrations. Conejo Valley Unified School District sourced all produce from local farmers, serving two schools and 10 housing sites.
- Lakeside Union School District, recognized for Strategies to Promote Meal Quality, Nutrition Education, and Wellness.
Key achievements: serving high-quality, kid-friendly menu items and involving parents to increase participation in summer meals. The school district collaborated with local partners to offer family barbecues, salad bars, and kid-friendly breakfast offerings.
- Pasadena Unified School District, recognized for Successful and Innovative Community Partnerships.Key achievements: working with community partners to tailor program strategies in menu planning and marketing efforts. Pasadena Unified School District’s program “Fuel Up for Summer Fun” had a 26 percent increase over the previous year.
- Riverside Unified School District, recognized for Strategies to Promote Meal Quality, Nutrition Education, and Wellness.
Key achievements: incorporating fresh, local produce into summer meals and offering enrichment activities for children. Riverside Unified School District networked with local partners to implement healthy food promotion, food tastings, and physical activities at sites.
- West Contra Costa Unified School District, recognized for Successful and Innovative Community Partnerships.
Key achievements: partnering with Contra Costa Food Bank to distribute fresh produce to needy families at more than 10 summer meal sites. West Contra Costa Unified School District served 323,577 nutritious summer meals and snacks at 71 sites in low-income neighborhoods.
Questions: Nutrition Services Division | sfsp@cde.ca.gov | 916-322-8323
California Summer Sunshine Award Recipients - Summer Meal Programs (CA Dept of Education):