California
‘The kids are just happier’: could California’s universal school meal program start a trend?
Before California grew to become the primary state to implement a common meals program for its 6.2 million public faculty college students, Alyssa Wells would preserve granola bars in her classroom for college students who complained of being hungry.
When the brand new program started in August at Foussat elementary faculty in Oceanside, California, which is primarily attended by Latino college students from low-income households, the trainer observed fast modifications in her college students. “The youngsters are consuming far more and so they’re extra targeted, wanting to study and so they’re simply happier,” she mentioned. “They’ve obtained one much less factor to fret about.”
In San Diego county, the place Oceanside is situated, greater than 14%, or 100,000 youngsters, are meals insecure, with a scarcity of constant entry to sufficient meals for an lively, wholesome life.
Dad and mom, educators, faculty officers and anti-hunger organizations say this system – which serves all youngsters no matter household earnings – may also enhance faculty efficiency and take away the stigma related to free and decreased worth lunches. California has the nation’s largest inhabitants of public faculty college students, which now signifies that about 12% of American youngsters have entry to free breakfast and lunch by way of this state laws, made doable by an sudden finances surplus. Maine handed an identical common meals program proper after California.
One other trainer, Sydnee Trelease, mentioned Foussat college students have been particularly all for contemporary fruits and the salad bar. “There’s completely different meals they is probably not used to,” she mentioned, “and since it’s free, it offers them an opportunity to broaden their palate with out feeling stress.”
The rollout of California’s new program comes after Joe Biden introduced a purpose to finish starvation by 2030 and because the Biden administration prepares to host the White Home Convention on Starvation, Vitamin, and Well being, the primary of its type since 1969, on 28 September.
Ranges of meals insecurity and starvation have barely improved up to now 20 years, with main spikes linked to excessive unemployment through the Nice Recession and first yr of the Covid pandemic. Meals insecurity is instantly linked to poverty and final yr, greater than 5 million households – the equal of 1 in 10 American households – skipped meals and lower portion sizes as a result of they couldn’t afford sufficient meals.
Regardless of these alarming numbers, in 2021, Covid reduction packages comparable to little one tax credit, an growth of meals stamps and common free faculty meals truly helped lower starvation in households with youngsters to the bottom degree on document.
In the long run, eradicating starvation can solely be achieved by tackling the basis causes of poverty, however consultants say common faculty meals for all are an vital a part of making an attempt to succeed in that purpose. Congressional Democrats have been pushing for laws to make such help everlasting, however the politics are sophisticated.
“Elevated meals safety helps youngsters succeed academically and break the cycle of poverty,” mentioned Gary Sloan, chief US operations officer on the non-profit Feed the Kids. “It additionally permits dad and mom to reallocate these monetary assets to supply meals and necessities for his or her house.”
For the one in three California households who wrestle to fulfill fundamental wants, this system is a recreation changer.
Starvation can have an effect on cognitive perform, total well being, moods and a focus spans. There’s additionally a psychological toll to being meals insecure. Analysis exhibits that free faculty meals are linked to improved tutorial achievement and a decreased incidence of dangerous habits.
Anti-hunger advocacy teams say this system may also assist create extra racial fairness in California, the place marginalized communities face meals insecurity at larger charges than the white inhabitants.
Some communities of shade and immigrant households had mentioned they have been afraid to enroll in free or decreased worth lunches because of detailed types that ask invasive questions on earnings and immigration standing. Others really feel embarrassed to obtain free meals. Now California’s youngsters can entry breakfast and lunch on equal footing.
After the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the US Division of Agriculture (USDA) waived eligibility necessities in order that college students may get free meals year-round, to be able to forestall a looming little one starvation disaster.
USDA knowledge and analysis suggests these common faculty meals coincided with meals insecurity charges amongst youngsters lowering between 2020 and 2021.
This system expired this summer season at the same time as lower-income households confronted hardships comparable to larger meals and gasoline costs and financial uncertainty, all of which result in elevated starvation.
In July, an aide to Senator Mitch McConnell mentioned that the minority chief and different Republicans didn’t assume faculties wanted the pandemic-era provisions because the situations that made them mandatory had ended.
However “when these packages are unavailable or compromised, youngsters face elevated dangers of continual starvation and meals insecurity – which means they’ll’t make certain how or when they may get their subsequent meal,” mentioned Sloan.
States together with Nevada, Vermont and Massachusetts prolonged free faculty meals for the 2022-2023 faculty yr and momentum is constructing for common statewide packages just like California’s and Maine’s throughout the nation.
Almost a dozen states, together with Colorado, Minnesota and Pennsylvania, are working to cross everlasting laws, and main US cities together with New York, Boston and Chicago already supply free faculty meals for all.
“We spend billions of {dollars} on training funding and if lecturers have hungry college students of their classroom, we’re losing our cash,” mentioned Crystal FitzSimons, director of faculty packages at Meals Analysis & Motion Heart (Frac), one of many greater than 200 organizations that backed California’s plan.
“This isn’t rocket science. Everyone is aware of when youngsters are hungry they’ll’t focus or focus.”
Frac and different advocacy teams are calling on the White Home to discover methods to completely transfer all US faculties to a free nationwide system.
The nation already has a nationwide faculty lunch program and college breakfast program working in faculties and residential childcare establishments. Kids from households with incomes at or under 130% of the federal poverty degree are eligible free of charge meals, whereas these with incomes between 130% and 185% of the federal poverty degree are eligible for decreased worth meals.
A spokesperson for Senator John Boozman, the highest Republican on the Senate agriculture committee, just lately mentioned he wouldn’t help attaching common faculty meals to a must-pass stopgap invoice to maintain the federal government funded. Conservative critics have mentioned free meal packages are pricey and a handout to prosperous households.
However Norm Fruchter, senior guide at New York College’s Metropolitan Heart for Analysis on Fairness and the Transformation of Faculties, mentioned extra laws on free meals may cross primarily based on what occurs in California.
“It’s a thriller to me why extra states and districts haven’t come on board already as a result of there’s no draw back right here,” he mentioned. “I don’t know why states are hesitating.”
Free faculty meals for all college students are already well-liked amongst People. In December 2021, nearly 70% of adults supported common meals, in response to a survey carried out by the City Institute.
For Sandra Medellin, who has two daughters attending Foussat elementary, the state’s new program saves her money and time and makes it simpler for her youngsters to attempt extra nutritious meals.
“Typically there’s no time for breakfast and generally by the second week of the month I’m quick on cash to purchase wholesome stuff,” she mentioned.
As a single mother who works full-time and attends faculty on-line, Daniela Solis, one other Foussat mother or father, welcomed the arrival of common meals. “The brand new program is simply wonderful,” she mentioned. “It offers all college students entry to ample and nutritious meals in school, because it ought to have at all times been.”
Solis mentioned her son preferred to convey a lunchbox from house, however he loved having supplemental selections. On the few events they’ve forgotten to convey his lunch, the free meals program was there as a security internet.
“How can we as a nation declare to have such a powerful economic system and profitable riches when we’ve got youngsters that would not have entry to meals?” Solis mentioned. “These are the form of packages that our taxes must be used for.”
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom may exclude Tesla and other automakers from an electric vehicle (EV) rebate program if the incoming Trump administration scraps a federal tax credit for electric car purchases.
Newsom proposed creating a new version of the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, which was phased out in 2023 after funding more than 594,000 vehicles and saving more than 456 million gallons of fuel, the governor’s office said in a news release on Monday.
“Consumers continue to prove the skeptics wrong – zero-emission vehicles are here to stay,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re not turning back on a clean transportation future – we’re going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that don’t pollute.”
The proposed rebates would be funded with money from the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which is funded by polluters under the state’s cap-and-trade program, the governor’s office said. Officials did not say how much the program would cost or save consumers.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday proposed creating a new version of the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program if the incoming Trump administration scraps a federal tax credit for electric car purchases. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, File / Getty Images)
They would also include changes to promote innovation and competition in the zero-emission vehicles market – changes that could prevent automakers like Tesla from qualifying for the rebates.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who relocated Tesla’s corporate headquarters from California to Texas in 2021, responded to the possibility of having Tesla EVs left out of the program.
Tesla and other automakers may not qualify for the proposed tax credits, according to the governor’s office. (Getty Images, File / Getty Images)
“Even though Tesla is the only company who manufactures their EVs in California! This is insane,” Musk wrote on X, which he also owns.
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Those buying or leasing Tesla vehicles accounted for about 42% of the state’s rebates, The Associated Press reported, citing data from the California Air Resources Board.
Newsom’s office told Fox Business Digital that the proposal is intended to foster market competition, and any potential market cap is subject to negotiation with the state Legislature.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 338.59 | -13.97 | -3.96% |
“Under a potential market cap, and depending on what the cap is, there’s a possibility that Tesla and other automakers could be excluded,” the governor’s office said. “But that’s again subject to negotiations with the legislature.”
Newsom’s office noted that such market caps have been part of rebate programs since George W. Bush’s administration in 2005.
Newsom has pushed Californians to replace gas-powered vehicles with zero-emission vehicles. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Federal tax credits for EVs are currently worth up to $7,500 for new zero-emission vehicles. President-elect Trump has previously vowed to end the credit.
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California has surpassed 2 million zero-emission vehicles sold, according to the governor’s office. The state, however, could face a $2 billion budget deficit next year, Reuters reported, citing a non-partisan legislative estimate released last week.
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Along with most other Democratic politicians in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom still doesn’t seem to understand what happened in the 2024 election.
For years, Newsom, along with California cronies like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and, of course, Vice President Kamala Harris, bragged about their state being a “model for the nation.”
In one sense–not the one they intended, of course–that’s true. California became a model of what not to do.
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The terrible combination of elitism and extremism that has defined Democratic policymaking in my home state for at least the last decade has delivered failure on every front.
Despite having the highest taxes in the nation, despite the state’s budget nearly doubling in the last ten years (even as our population has been falling, in the exodus from blue state misrule), California has the highest rate of poverty in America. We have the highest housing costs, the lowest homeownership, highest gas and utility bills, and the worst business climate–ten years in a row.
This record of failure is exactly why Democrats lost so badly on November 5th. Voters had a clear choice: between more of the same Democrat policies that raised the cost of living and lowered their quality of life, or a return to the peace and prosperity of the Trump years.
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In many ways, the contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris represented a battle between the ‘blue state model’ championed by Gavin Newsom in California, and the ‘red state model’ that has driven people and businesses out of California and into the arms of more welcoming states like Texas, Tennessee and Florida.
Of course, the red state model won and the blue state model was roundly rejected.
You would think that would make blue state leaders like Newsom pause and reflect. But the exact opposite has happened. Gavin Newsom immediately called a “special session” of the California legislature to “Trump-proof” his state.
What California really needs is “Newsom-proofing.”
Instead, California Democrats are doubling down on the exact same agenda that was defeated across the country – including in California, which saw the biggest shift from Democrats to the GOP in decades.
Here are the five things California Democrats still don’t get:
1. People want results, not lectures
Democrats and their media sycophants can do all the self-righteous, sanctimonious bloviating they like about “our democracy” and “equity”, but in the end people want the basics of the American Dream: a good job that pays enough to raise your family in a home of your own in a safe neighborhood with a good school so your kids can have a better life than you. No amount of moral superiority from the people in charge will make up for that if they fail to provide it.
2. Enough with the ‘climate’ extremism
“Climate” has become a religion for Democrats, and you see that especially clearly in California. But when you look at the main reason life is so unaffordable for working people, whether that’s gas prices, utility bills or housing costs, extreme climate policies are to blame. Working-class Americans can’t afford these ‘luxury beliefs.’
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3. Who cares about Hollywood?
This election destroyed forever the myth that fancy celebrities can sway votes. Oprah, Beyonce, George Clooney, Taylor Swift…nobody cares! The new cultural powerhouses are the podcast hosts, comedians…the raw power of UFC is where it’s at, not the decadent Hollywood elite who won’t even turn up to support “their” candidate without a multimillion dollar paycheck.
Producer and actress Oprah Winfrey holds up Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ hand as she arrives onstage during a campaign rally on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 4, 2024. (Getty Images)
4. ‘Little tech’ beats Big Tech
Democrats may console themselves with the knowledge that California’s Big Tech monopolies are on their side. But in this election we saw the rise of what famed Silicon Valley investor Marc Andressen calls “little tech”, the upstarts and rebels who reject leftist groupthink. They got engaged in this election in a way we’ve never seen before. It’s a massive shift and will be a huge force for the future.
5. Working class beats the elite
Back in 2016, after the Brexit vote, and then Donald Trump’s victory here, shocked the world, I predicted that the Republican Party had the opportunity to become a “multiracial working class coalition.” Trump’s 2024 victory has delivered that — a revolutionary shift in our political landscape. The other part of my prediction? Democrats will be left as the party of the “rich, white and woke.”
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Unless Democrats come to terms with these realities and change course, they can expect to lose elections for years to come. The reaction in California – epicenter of today’s Democrat elite — shows that there is zero sign of this happening.
They just don’t get it.
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- Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to revive California’s EV rebate if Trump ends the federal tax credit.
- But Tesla, the largest maker of EVs, would be excluded under the proposal.
- Elon Musk criticized Tesla’s potential exclusion from the rebate.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is preparing to step in if President-elect Donald Trump fulfills his promise to axe the federal electric-vehicle tax credit — but one notable EV maker could be left out.
Newsom said Monday if the $7,500 federal tax credit is eliminated he would restart the state’s zero-emission vehicle rebate program, which was phased out in 2023.
“We will intervene if the Trump Administration eliminates the federal tax credit, doubling down on our commitment to clean air and green jobs in California,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re not turning back on a clean transportation future — we’re going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that don’t pollute.”
The rebates for EV buyers would come from the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which is funded by polluters of greenhouse gases under a cap-and-trade program, according to the governor’s office.
But Tesla’s vehicles could be excluded under the proposal’s market-share limitations, Bloomberg News first reported.
The governor’s office confirmed to Business Insider that the rebate program could include a market-share cap which could in turn exclude Tesla or other EV makers. The office did not share details about what market-share limit could be proposed and also noted the proposal would be subject to negotiations in the state legislature.
A market-share cap would exclude companies whose sales account for a certain amount of total electric vehicle sales. For instance, Tesla accounted for nearly 55% off all new electric vehicles registered in California in the first three quarters of 2024, according to a report from the California New Car Dealers Association. By comparison, the companies with the next highest EV market share in California were Hyundai and BMW with 5.6% and 5% respectively.
Tesla sales in California, the US’s largest EV market, have recently declined even as overall EV sales in the state have grown. Though the company still accounted for a majority of EV sales in California this year as of September, its market share fell year-over-year from 64% to 55%.
The governor’s office said the market-share cap would be aimed at promoting competition and innovation in the industry.
Elon Musk, who has expressed support for ending the federal tax credit, said in an X post it was “insane” for the California proposal exclude Tesla.
The federal electric vehicle tax credit, which was passed as part of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, provides a $7,500 tax credit to some EV buyers.
Musk, who is working closely with the incoming Trump administration, has expressed support for ending the tax credit. He’s set to co-lead an advisory commission, the Department of Government Efficiency, which is aimed at slashing federal spending.
The Tesla CEO said on an earnings call in July that ending the federal tax credit might actually benefit the company.
“I think it would be devastating for our competitors and for Tesla slightly,” Musk said. “But long-term probably actually helps Tesla, would be my guess.”
BI’s Graham Rapier previously reported that ending the tax credit could help Tesla maintain its strong standing in the EV market by slowing its competitors growth.
Prior to the EV rebate proposal, Newsom has already positioned himself as a foil to the incoming Trump administration. Following Trump’s election win the governor called on California lawmakers to convene for a special session to discuss protecting the state from Trump’s second term.
“The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack — and we won’t sit idle,” Newsom said in a statement at the time.
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