What is the Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP?
Annual Report 2023–2024
A year of growing our partnerships.
What does it take to shift a system? What does it look, sound, feel, and taste like when you succeed? And how do you hold those shifts in place in a changing world?
At FoodCorps, we’ve spent the last 14 years walking our path toward a future where every child is set up to thrive. Our destination is unwavering: by 2030, the 50 million children who attend public schools in America will have access to food education and nourishing meals in school.
Along our way, we have grown, cooked, and savored food with kids. We have gathered at watering holes with allies who will shape how our young people are nourished: FoodCorps members and alumni; school nutrition leaders; school and district partners; families; and children themselves.
Our numbers have grown from an organization to a community to a movement: thousands of advocates from Appalachia to California who are calling on legislators to rewrite the physical, social, and political architecture of our cafeterias and schoolyards, in the name of well-being for every child.
And change has been won. Eight states now have policies that give all kids access to school meals, ensuring they have the nourishment they need to thrive. Schools across the country have begun filling their walk-ins with ingredients from local farms, training their workers to cook from scratch, and rewriting menus to celebrate the traditions that anchor their community. And kids, from Cleveland to Birmingham (both new FoodCorps districts for the 2024-25 school year), are building academic mastery amid the greens growing in their school gardens.
To hold these gains in place, and to advance new progress while we protect the old, we are counting on your continued engagement in this movement. The stories of impact in the pages of our Annual Report make it clear: When children are healthy and well nourished, all Americans benefit. When schools become engines for local agriculture, economic development and opportunity, communities thrive. Our collective work is to share these stories with the people we encounter, finding champions in every schoolhouse and statehouse we reach, and reminding them that what we are asking them to support, protect and advance is not simply policy: it’s children.
Onward,
Rachel Willis and Curt Ellis Rachel Willis and Curt Ellis
Impact in Schools
School districts in this post-COVID era continue to face challenges like student absenteeism, learning losses, depleted relief funds, and limited staff capacity. Children—the most impacted—risk a disconnection from their education and future opportunities. As a partner that bridges food and education, we were uniquely positioned to help boost student engagement, nourishment, learning, agency, and connection during this critical period of rebuilding.
Last year, 162 passionate, trained FoodCorps AmeriCorps members provided food education and school nutrition programming in 220 schools and districts across 16 states and Washington, D.C. We reached a record 528,943 students with the addition of more district-level initiatives—like student-informed cafeteria menu changes—on top of our food education programming. By adapting our program to our partners’ unique histories and goals, we saw the positive impact of what aligned partnerships can do for our communities.
The power of collaboration at Farmington Municipal Schools, our largest district partner in New Mexico.
Stories from Schools
- A Rising Generation of Food Growers in the Delta
FoodCorps members in Greenville, MS. On Earth Day, The Delta News featured student gardeners at elementary schools in Greenville, Mississippi. FoodCorps students proudly shared their gardening knowledge and the importance of protecting the planet. In addition to planting produce like cabbage, Brussels sprouts, watermelon, and beets, students in Greenville have learned how to pull weeds, test the soil’s pH levels, and compost. FoodCorps Member Lisa Parker recalls that during planting, a second grader exclaimed, “This is the best day of my life. Can we do this again soon?!” Later in the school year, the students cooked and tasted the vegetables they grew and made fruit-infused beverages as an alternative to sugary drinks. In April, FoodCorps awarded Greenville Mayor Errick D. Simmons with FoodCorps’ inaugural Child Well-Being Champion Award for expanding food education and access for the children of Greenville. Every public school in the city has a FoodCorps member and school garden where students and their communities can grow their own food.
- Local Produce on Lunch Trays: Students’ Choice
FoodCorps Members Ruthie Grant-Williams and Sara Maciel lead students in a Swiss chard lesson. Janelle Manzano, MPH, a FoodCorps alum, continues to help children experience the joy and power of food in her role as the Farm to School Program Specialist at the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). With the added capacity of five FoodCorps members, Janelle has been able to focus on projects like nutrition education, school meal celebrations with the community, and increasing students’ input in meal creation. For example, this spring, FoodCorps Members Ruthie Grant-Williams and Sara Maciel led students in harvesting, cooking, and composting their own Swiss chard. Ruthie also co-piloted—with FoodCorps Member Zoee Tanner—a cafeteria pop-up to engage students in the process of cooking school meals and getting students excited about school lunches. As a team, they are implementing many long-awaited plans that influence a culture of health for students and benefit the local economy (by expanding the market for local food producers) and local lands. Additionally, Horton Elementary—a school in SDUSD—was named one of America’s Healthiest Schools for its FoodCorps garden and nutrition programs.
- Family-Approved Cafeteria Menus in Umatilla
FoodCorps Member Lourdes Yparraguirre serving samples of pozole to students. This winter, FoodCorps School Nutrition Member Rosa Medina added pozole—a traditional hearty Mexican stew—to the cafeteria menu at Umatilla School District in Oregon. Rosa encouraged her students—98% of whom approved the recipe—to share their reviews of the pozole with their families and the school nutrition staff, which ultimately resulted in the decision to add pozole to the cafeteria menu. Since adding this recipe—which uses many locally sourced ingredients—to the menu, lunch participation has increased. One of the district’s primary partnership goals with FoodCorps was to build capacity to invest in permanent staffing for their food education and school nutrition programming. After five years of partnership, Child Nutrition Director Rikkilynn Starliper pitched a full-time position to the district, and they hired FoodCorps Food Education Member Lourdes Yparraguirre (who collaborated closely with Rosa) as their new Child Nutrition Coordinator. This past year, the district was able to serve approximately 20 scratch-cooked recipes, a testament to the power of this partnership.
- Building Culinary Skills in Rural Michigan
FoodCorps Member Cassidy Hough teaching a squash lesson to her students. When FoodCorps Member Cassidy Hough learned that many of her students’ families in the Alanson Public Schools district worked multiple jobs, including night shifts, she began hosting Friday Cooking Challenges to teach her students simple, healthy dishes they could make at home for dinner. Collaborating with a teacher, she taught her students how to cook eggs, quesadillas filled with veggies, and pasta. One evening, she invited families and turned the cooking challenge into a friendly competition where students competed for ‘best restaurant’ and ‘best dish.’ Every student, including the pickiest eaters, finished their dishes. Weeks later, she observed students in the cafeterias choosing bell peppers and other vegetables in the lunch line because they had cooked, tasted, and enjoyed them in class. She also collaborated with Northmen Den Youth Services to use ingredients from the organization’s youth food pantry for her cooking classes and take-home meal kits.
- An Iron Chef Family Competition Takes Over a School Cafeteria
A FoodCorps student adding final touches to his family’s dish at the Iron Chef Family Competition. On May 7, eight families gathered around their cooking stations in the cafeteria of Harriet Tubman Elementary in Newark, New Jersey, ready to compete in an Iron Chef-style competition. The families had 45 minutes to make a dish honoring their family traditions, using the student-chosen key ingredient: locally sourced, farm-fresh spinach. Students demonstrated culinary skills learned with FoodCorps Member Miriam Entin-Bell, professional chefs judged the dishes, and families and school staff mingled and sampled the dishes. Even with the hiccup of the power shorting in the old cafeteria, Miriam called the event a success, crediting the deep collaboration among key community members and school staff.
“We are holding space for families to see the joy that their children experience through getting their hands in the soil, growing food, and cooking. It’s this cross-generational knowledge that leads to generational change and transformation,” says Tammy Myers, Senior Director of Educational Impact at FoodCorps.
- A Legacy of Long-Term Collaboration and Partnership
FoodCorps Member Gabrielle Brown leading a Harvest of the Month taste test at Katahdin Elementary. Katahdin Schools (RSU 89), a school district in Maine, received a USDA award for “Innovation in Preparation of School Meals” this past school year. They were recognized for incorporating more scratch cooking in their cafeterias after making foods like homemade bread, pickles, and roasted chickpeas. In the four-year partnership with the district, FoodCorps supported the implementation of garden education, the transition from only heat-and-serve school meals to more scratch cooking, and a system to source more fresh ingredients and foods in the cafeteria. Denise Tapley Proctor, the School Nutrition Director, has been instrumental in continuing to build a cafeteria culture of scratch cooking, local procurement, and student choice. The district supports culinary training for its cafeteria staff, partners with local farms to source produce like squash, eggs, and kale, and hosts monthly taste tests to give students opportunities to vote for new menu items. The district also hired a FoodCorps alum, Gabrielle Brown, as their full-time garden educator to support the raised garden beds at Katahdin Elementary School.
Progress in Policy
Through meetings with key members of Congress and congressional committees, letters, and public advocacy work, we focused on Child Nutrition Reauthorization priorities, contributed to the Farm Bill legislation and Child Tax Credit, and supported Voices for National Service’s advocacy efforts to protect and grow AmeriCorps funding.
With our coalition efforts, we saw progress toward policies that support expanded access to nourishing school meals and/or food education in 70% of the states where we offer programming. As of early 2025, more than 11.5 million kids in the U.S. have access to free school meals through state legislation, and thousands more through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) at the district level.
New Mexico’s Youth for Food Advocacy Day organized by FoodCorps.
Celebrating State Wins
Massachusetts: 8th State to Pass Free School Meals
Massachusetts became the eighth state to pass permanent legislation for free school meals for all, with FoodCorps having submitted testimony in support. As a result of our coalition work and meetings with legislators, the state also appropriated funds toward the MA FRESH Grant and school wellness coaches.
Free School Meals Fully Funded in Michigan
Michigan’s legislature passed its general and state school aid budget, maintaining full funding for free school meals. Looking forward, FoodCorps is mobilizing action toward permanent legislation and maintaining farm to school funding. We are also activating school districts and community members to join advocacy efforts.
6,500 More Students Eat for Free in Rhode Island
FoodCorps submitted testimony toward the Rhode Island Healthy School Meals for All Campaign. A step in the right direction, 6,500 children in households who currently receive reduced-price meals at school will now receive free meals.
Growing the Movement
Building on our work in schools, leadership development, and policy change, FoodCorps is actively engaging, mobilizing, and resourcing educators, families, and partner organizations to promote healthy school meals for children. We built awareness through advocacy days, thought leadership in the media, and conferences and events engaging school nutrition professionals and other industry experts.
Tonya Winters, Dr. Robert S. Harvey, and Mayor Tishaura O. Jones at FoodCorps’ African American Mayors Association panel.
FoodCorps students at Avon Avenue Elementary School in New Jersey.
Our Supporters
Thank you to our extraordinary partners who have collectively invested $80.38 million in our Nourishing Futures initiative—a commitment of $250 million in support of all 50 million public school kids having access to nourishing meals and food education at school. Below are the key corporate, foundation, and government partners who helped make the highlights listed in this report possible. We’re also honored by the generous support of many families and individuals (although not listed here) who are advancing this work in cafeterias and at their kitchen tables. Together, we are building generations of empowered and engaged leaders who will champion food education and healthy school meals for all our nation’s kids.
Partner Spotlight: Dohmen Company Foundation
Thank you to the Dohmen Company Foundation, which donated $1 million this year in support of our Nourishing Futures initiative. “The Foundation is proud to support FoodCorps as they work to improve the nation’s health trajectory by empowering children through food education, awareness, and access to healthy, unprocessed meals,” said Rachel Roller, Dohmen Company Foundation President and CEO.
Hero for Healthy Kids
$1 million+
Funds provided by the Walmart Foundation
Leader for Healthy Kids
$250,000 – $499,999
Catalyst for Healthy Kids
$100,000 – $249,999
Partner for Healthy Kids
$25,000–$99,999
Our Board of Directors
= FoodCorps Alumni
John Gomperts
Board Co-Chair, Former CEO of America’s Promise Alliance, Former Director of AmeriCorps
Rachel Willis
Board Co-Chair, Interim President, FoodCorps
Eliza Greenberg, M.P.A.
Board Secretary, Managing Partner, New Profit Inc.
Kara Bobroff
Executive Director, One Generation
Kenya Bradshaw
Chief Program Officer, Reconstruction
Kendal Chavez
Food Policy Advisor, Office of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham
Alejandro Gibes de Gac
Founder and CEO, Springboard Collaborative
Basil Smikle Jr., PhD
Professor of Practice and Director of the M.S. in Nonprofit Management Program, Columbia University School of Professional Studies
Dylan Smith
CFO & Co-Founder, Box
Susan Tunnell, J.D.
Lawyer and Philanthropist
Melissa Williams
Philanthropist
Curt Ellis
Co-Founder & Co-CEO, FoodCorps
Our Financials
Statement of Financial Position
| Assets | FY24 |
| Current Assets | |
| Checking and Savings | 22,710,262 |
| Accounts Receivable | 13,001,499 |
| Other Current Assets | 339,139 |
| Fixed Assets | 166,732 |
| Other Assets | 355,245 |
| Total Assets | 36,572,877 |
| Liabilities and Net Assets | |
| Liabilities | |
| Accounts Payable | 390,533 |
| Other Liabilities | 1,988,821 |
| Total Liabilities | 2,379,354 |
| Net Assets | |
| Temporarily Restricted Net Assets | 11,686,323 |
| Income and Unrestricted Net Assets | 22,507,199 |
| Total Net Assets | 34,193,522 |
| Total Liabilities and Equity | 36,572,876 |
Statement of Activities
| Revenues | |
| Corporate | 6,346,315 |
| Foundation | 2,613,871 |
| Government | 5,917,195 |
| Individual | 5,640,631 |
| Program Service Fees | 2,242,956 |
| Other (in kind, special events) | 116,972 |
| Investment Income | 1,712,301 |
| Total Revenues | 24,590,241 |
| Expenses | |
| Service Member Stipends and Benefits | 6,751,035 |
| Staff and Fellow Salaries and Benefits | 14,245,101 |
| Contract Services | 1,368,515 |
| Marketing and Communications | 206,157 |
| Grants to Other Organizations | 12,500 |
| Nonpersonnel Expenses | 751,850 |
| Facilities and Equipment | 362,408 |
| Travel and Meetings | 1,595,937 |
| Other Expenses | 531,618 |
| Total Expenses | 25,825,121 |
| Net Income | (1,234,880) |
How You Can Help Nourish Student Futures
Building a world where all kids have the nourishment they need to thrive will require each of us to take action. Join us as we continue to pursue healthier food futures for our nation’s children.
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Thank you to our Annual Report contributors: report design by Hiker; photography by Rochelle Li, Genevieve Russell, Chantelle Kodua, Jae Hale, Ryan Parker, and Newton Visuals; additional photos and videos courtesy of subjects.
FoodCorps member Sharde McClure and her student cook sweet potato greens together in Leland, MS.