SFUSD Will Offer Free Meals for All Students in 2021-2022 School Year

Press Release

San Francisco (July 29, 2021) - The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) will offer free meals to all students in the 2021-22 school year, continuing the district’s efforts to ensure all children receive healthy and nutritious meals in San Francisco especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the Nationwide Waiver to Allow the Seamless Summer Option through School Year 2021-2022, all school food authorities in states that opt in to the waiver are permitted to serve and claim meals through the Seamless Summer Option. 

SFUSD is the largest meal provider in San Francisco. Since the start of the pandemic, SFUSD offered nourishing meals including breakfast, lunch, snacks and supper to San Francisco families in need. The district’s Grab & Go meals program ends today, July 29, so staff can focus on preparing for in-person learning to resume for all students at all SFUSD schools on August 16.

“SFUSD's Student Nutrition Services staff have done an incredible job, serving over 7.3 million meals at dozens of schools during the pandemic,” Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews said. “I want to thank our staff and volunteers for their dedication and hard work. We know that students learn better when they have access to healthy meals. At SFUSD we are committed to providing this essential nutrition to all students.”

“When schools are in-person, we serve 7.5 million meals per year to 54,000 students at 136 schools across the City,” SF Board of Education President Gabriela Lopez said. “I’m thrilled that California made history as the first state to adopt free Universal School Meals - an initiative that extends the support of providing free school meals for all students regardless of their family income or application status. This is a huge win for social justice and equity — core values for SFUSD.”

About SFUSD

SFUSD is the seventh largest school district in California, educating over 56,000 preK-12 students every year. San Francisco is both a city and a county; therefore, SFUSD administers both the school district and the San Francisco County Office of Education (COE). This makes SFUSD a “single district county.”

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