(c) The department shall award grants of up to fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) per schoolsite on a competitive basis to school districts, county superintendents of schools, or entities approved by the department, limited to an amount subject to budget appropriations each fiscal year, for nonrecurring expenses incurred in initiating or expanding a school breakfast program under this section or a federal summer meals program, including the summer food service program pursuant to Article 10.7 (commencing with Section 49547) and the Seamless Summer Option component of the federal National School Lunch Program. (d) Grants awarded under this section shall be used for nonrecurring costs of initiating or expanding a school breakfast program or a federal summer meals program, including the acquisition of equipment, training of staff in new capacities, outreach efforts to publicize new or expanded school breakfast programs or federal summer meals programs, minor alterations to accommodate new equipment, computer point-of-service systems for food service, and the purchase of vehicles for transporting food to schools. Funds may not be used for salaries and benefits of staff, food, computers, except computer point-of-service systems, or capital outlay. (e) In making grant awards under this section in any fiscal year, the department shall give a preference to school districts and county superintendents of schools that do all of the following: (1) Submit to the department a plan to start or expand school breakfast programs or federal summer meals programs in the school district or the county, including a description of the following: (A) The manner in which the school district or county superintendent of schools will provide technical assistance and funding to schoolsites to expand those programs. (B) Detailed information on the nonrecurring expenses needed to initiate a program. (C) Public or private resources that have been assembled to carry out expansion of these programs during that year. (2) Agree to operate the school breakfast program or the federal summer meals program for a period of not less than three years. (3) Assure that the expenditure of funds from state and local resources for the maintenance of the school breakfast program or the federal summer meals program shall not be diminished as a result of grant awards received under this section.

(f) A grant awarded under this section may be used to implement a school breakfast program that serves breakfast after the start of the schoolday.

(b)(1) Commencing with the 2019-20 school year, an educational entity that participates in the federal School Breakfast Program may, to the maximum extent practicable, provide universal breakfast. Except as provided in paragraph (2), an educational entity that seeks to use the cafeteria fund to supplement meal costs for universal breakfast shall submit to the department for approval before implementing universal breakfast pursuant to this section, on or before July 1 of each year, an application, signed by the educational entity's governing board or governing body, certifying that the educational entity will provide breakfasts at no charge to all pupils and cover with nonfederal funds any costs of providing those breakfasts to all pupils above the amount provided in federal reimbursement.

(b) (1) In order to provide pupils in very high poverty schools with optimal nutrition for learning and to ensure that schools receive the maximum federal meal reimbursement, a school district or a county superintendent of schools shall provide breakfast and lunch free of charge to all pupils at a very high poverty school pursuant to this section, except as provided in subdivision (c). (2) On or before September 1, 2018, a school district or county superintendent of schools that has a very high poverty school in its jurisdiction shall apply to operate a federal universal meal service provision, which may include, but is not limited to, the Community Eligibility Provision or Provision 2, pursuant to Section 1759a of Title 42 of the United States Code. (3) A school district or county superintendent of schools shall begin providing a universal meal service pursuant to Section 1759a of Title 42 of the United States Code to all pupils at a very high poverty school upon state approval to operate a universal meal service. A school district or county superintendent of schools may stop providing the universal meal service at a school if the school ceases to be a very high poverty school.

This document provides strategies to providing breakfast in schoools.