Calif. governor signs child-hunger bill into law

A bill to improve students’ access to the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs was signed into law this week by Governor Jerry Brown.

Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) wrote Bill SB 708, which was approved earlier this week by the State Assembly and has the stated purpose of addressing childhood hunger.

The senator said he hopes the new legislation will help serve the needs of students from various backgrounds, as more than 2 million children are in danger of being food insecure and live in poverty in California, according to a press announcement about the new law.

“My bill will help improve access and participation in federally-funded school meal programs by ensuring that schools provide the applications online and offer them in multiple languages,” Mendoza said in the statement.

The bill goes into effect January 1, 2016.