Last week, the Early Childhood Education (ECE) program was awarded federal funding of over $765,000 to support its new central kitchen and expand children’s nutrition beyond the classroom.
Currently, ECE partners with FoodLink for Tulare County to provide weekly Smart Packs to children at four of its 19 Head Start sites. This helps ease the burden of food insecurity for many families. Last year 7,072 packs were given to Head Start families each Friday. Thanks to the new grant and the continued partnership with FoodLink, the Smart Pack project will expand to approximately 20,000 packs during the 2025-26 school year and increase to 27,000 packs in the 2026-27 school year.
Read more in the News Gallery Week.
Also in News Gallery Week:
ERS to hold instructional materials fair and training; Educators of the Year honored at awards dinner; Around the County: COJUSD opens Aquatics Complex, expanding access to water safety and recreation
Nominations for the annual Kids of Character Awards will remain open through September 26 for students in Tulare County school programs who are exhibiting great character. Teachers, parents, and family members are encouraged to nominate Kids of Character as part of the 30th annual CHARACTER COUNTS! Week Celebration (October 19-25).
The nomination form can be found at tcoe.org/kidsofcharacter.
