FoodCorps, Inc.

We work at the intersection of food and education systems, with a three-equal-part commitment to students health, education, and sense of belonging. We partner with schools and districts to help advance food and nutrition
education and access to nourishing school meals for more than 350,000 studentsfueling a national movement for food equity. We intentionally work with schools and districts where kids have experienced the systemic injustices of racism and classismwith 84% of FoodCorps students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, and 85% who come from BIPOC households. As we commit to always centering students best interests with our programming and resources, our partnerships are also strongly rooted in honoring the land, people, traditions, visions, and
wisdom of the communities where we work.

Building on 13 years of programming, a deep commitment to anti-racism work, and the leadership of food, education, and justice experts, we have established a clear pathway toward a future where all 50 million public school students have access to food education and nourishing school meals by 2030.

In collaboration with the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September 2022, we launched our $250 million Nourishing Futures initiative with three focus areas to track our progress toward achieving food education and access to nourishing school meals for every student. By 2030, we and our school partners aim to reach 500,000 students annually with our partnerships with schools and districts, prepare 1,000 BIPOC emerging leaders for careers in food education and school nutrition, and mobilize one million supporters for policies that weave food and education equity into the broader systems.

Case studies in states where we operate or have worked in the past prove that we can actualize this goal by committing to four strategies: our work in schools and districts, leadership development, public participation, and policy and advocacy.

Our FoodCorps AmeriCorps members work alongside educators and school nutrition leaders in 233 schools and districts, where they help provide kids with nourishing meals, food education, and culturally affirming experiences with food that celebrate and nurture the whole child. We also extend our programming to caregivers and in 2022, began Family Engagement programming to intentionally involve caregivers in their children's food experiences at school.

We invest in our alumni to continue pursuing mission-aligned careers. These alumniequipped with training, a year or more of work in schools and districts, and a supportive network grow into justice leaders who support change efforts within their institutions. We are also actively growing and resourcing a pipeline of BIPOC leaders composed of experienced and brilliant allied partners, FoodCorps members, site partners, school staff, and alumni who are key to shifting power to those most impacted by systemic injustices.

On a broader scale, we have devised a strategic communications plan to generate public awareness of the importance of food education and nourishing, free meals for kids, and to build the movement necessary to advocate for policies that will bring our 2030 goal to life. As part of our communications efforts, we seek to lift up the messages of leaders and organizers, resource people to take action centering kids health and wellbeing, and strengthen connections among groups and sectors to amplify the voices and visions of the communities most impacted by our current food and education systems.

As a national organization with community programs, FoodCorps has the unique opportunity to influence policies that will institute a more sustainable and just school food system at the local, state, and national levels. Leaning into the experience of direct work in schools and communities, we are co-leading state coalitions, building relationships with legislators, and helping to review and implement legislation that supports food education, free and nourishing school meals, local procurement, and funding for school kitchen infrastructure. And throughout
our bodies of work, were resourcing students, FoodCorps members, school partners, families, alumni, and FOLCS members to have agency as advocates for food education and free, nourishing school meals for every student.

FoodCorps offers unique value at the intersection of the food and education systems:
- We have set a national vision that is rooted in the local context, through collaborative and trusting community partnerships, local adaptability, and cultural responsivenessas evidenced by 92%+ school stakeholder satisfaction each year.
- We serve and strive for impact across diverse populations most impacted by systemic inequities, spanning a mix of urban, rural, and Indigenous communities, and a focus on students who rely on school meals and who identify as BIPOC.
- We place emerging leaders directly in schools and districts to provide much-needed capacity and evidence-based resources in support of our partners goals.
- 78% of FoodCorps members continue pursue mission-aligned careers after they graduated from the AmeriCorps FoodCorps program. They go on to become change agents in their fields.
- We have a strong reputation among national and local partners across sectors to drive systemic change.
- We are guided by an equity and antiracism framework that serves as a foundation for our decision-making, from investments in recruitment that have increased rates of BIPOC service members (who better reflect the identities and lived experiences of the students they work with) to elevating our focus on resources and training that support culturally responsive programming. In the 2024 school year, 32% of our corps members identify as BIPOC, and 70% of members are serving in their local communities.

Whats more, the FoodCorps program is founded on collaboration. Our program strives to balance national consistency with local adaptability, ensuring a measurable approach that can establish a proof point for systemic change while respecting and lifting up the visions of local leaders.

Backed by over a decade of programming and a robust network of education and school nutrition leaders sharing their lived experiences, our policy recommendations have positioned FoodCorps as a credible leader paving the way to nourish every kid in every school. Our policy work has leveraged our partnerships and partners perspectives to scale our impact to reach kids and school leaders far beyond the communities that we serve directly. Across the country, the movement for food equity ignited a groundswell of support for free school meals, food education in schools, and increased access to fresh, locally sourced food. In a historic moment, we elevated these priorities to the national level by bringing local leaders experiences and wisdom to the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September of 2022. Following the conference, FoodCorps was encouraged to see that the
National Strategy and White House Challenge to End Hunger included core policy recommendations that FoodCorps has been prioritizing and advancing as part of our commitment to nourish all students across the country.

Partnerships with Schools and Districts:
FoodCorps programming positively influences students nutritional habits by shifting their willingness to try new foods and consume more fruits and vegetables. A Columbia University study found that students in schools with more of FoodCorps hands-on learning eat up to triple the fruits and vegetables compared to students in schools with less hands-on learning. In the 2022-2023 school year, FoodCorps and our partners worked together to nourish more than 350,000 kids health, education, and sense of belonging through the joy and power of food in 237 schools and 21 districts in 16 states and D.C. Our most recent survey indicated that 92% of school staff reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their overall FoodCorps partnership experience. Here are some of the ways FoodCorps made an impact in schools and districts in the 2022-2023 school year:
-Reached 353,177 students
-Provided 28,266 hands-on lessons
-Held 13,100 taste tests
-Supported 290 gardens
-Added 279 foods to cafeteria menus
-Promoted 1,346 cafeteria menu items
-Engaged families in 521 family activities
-Made 588 farm-to-school outreach efforts

Leadership Development:
-FoodCorps members: This year, we offered FoodCorps members 175+ training sessions
to equip them with the confidence and knowledge to work in schools and alongside
communities. Additions to the program included cultural inclusion, harm reduction, and
conflict resolution lessons.
-Alumni: With 78% of our alumni pursuing mission-related careers, we created a tiered
engagement and support program for alumni, launched a group for alumni policy
leaders, and partnered with Arizona State Universitys graduate program in food policy
and sustainability to offer 10 scholarships that prioritized alumni who identify as BIPOC
and first-generation college students.
-FOLCS: After three years of foundational work, this multi-generation network of food
justice leaders convened in person for the first time to connect, learn, and build the
vision for a just and sustainable future in school food. Hear from a few members about
the impact of this critical space.

FoodCorps has been encouraged to see that the National Strategy and White House Challenge to End Hunger included core policy recommendations that FoodCorps has been prioritizing and advancing as part of our
commitment to nourish all students across the country. At the state level, FoodCorps greater community and our coalition co-leaders moved the dial toward a more nourished student body; to date, more than half of the country has passed policies or is working to pass policies that align with our 2030 goal. As a result, more than 11.5
million kids in the U.S.nearly a quarter of the countrys K-12 population now have access to free school meals through state or district-wide legislation.