The Lunch at the Library Grant Program provides funds to all California public libraries that helps to provide summer meals for children and youth.
Donor Name: California State Library
State: California
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/05/2025
Size of the Grant: Not Available
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
The Lunch at the Library program helps California public libraries:
- Establish library locations as U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) summer meal sites.
- Take pop-up libraries to other USDA community meal sites.
- Provide learning and enrichment opportunities and wraparound community services in conjunction with meals served.
- Connect families with locally sourced, sustainable food, and hands-on food education opportunities.
These funds can support the following Lunch at the Library activities:
- Library Meal Sites
- For many families, the stability, nutrition, and education provided during the school year end when school lets out for summer. During the summer months, children and teens in low-income families often have reduced or limited access to healthy food. The Lunch at the Library program exists to meet this need while sharing information about other resources available at the library and in the community.
- Pop-up Libraries at Community Meal Sites
- Each summer, public libraries bring pop-up library learning and enrichment programs to children and teens at community meal sites. Community meal sites include local schools, neighborhood parks, and community centers.
- Farm to Summer
- Participation in Lunch at the Library includes the expectation of providing Farm to Summer activities. This means all participating libraries support efforts to connect children, teens, and families with locally sourced, sustainable food. Libraries do this by providing hands-on food education and enrichment activities directly before, during, or after meal service at a library or community meal site.
- Youth Development
- Library summer meal programs can be an opportunity to provide teens with leadership development and workforce readiness skills as they assist with the work involved with providing meals at the library or taking pop-up library programming to community meal sites.
Grant Period
February 1, 2026, and ends January 31, 2027
Eligibility Criteria
Only the following organization types are eligible to receive Lunch at the Library funding:
- California Public Library
- Library Friends or Foundation Group
- Library Consortium.
For more information, visit California State Library.
