2025-26 Lunch at the Library

Funds and support are available for all California public libraries that help to provide summer meals for children and youth. 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.

Lunch at the Library is a project of the California State Library, supported with funds from the State of California.

An indirect cost is the applicant’s incurred cost that cannot be readily isolated or identified with just one project or activity. These types of costs are often referred to as “overhead costs.” Typical examples of indirect costs are general telephone service, postage, office supplies, office "space expenses, and administrative or financial operations for an entire organization." Applicants may choose to: • Not requests any indirect costs; • Use a current approved indirect cost rate with a federal agency or one pending review to be approved by the project start date (applicants choosing this option must attach supporting documentation to application); or • Use an indirect cost rate not to exceed 10% of modified total direct costs

Submissions due 11/05/25 at noon (12:00 noon) Notification on final funding amounts will be made in December.

Input $1 into your budget when first submitting your application. Once the application period has closed and the Lunch at the Library team has reviewed applications, we will notify applicants of their award amounts and provide instructions for updating the application budget.

Must be a Public Library, Library Friends or Foundation Group, or Library Consortium within California Must be prepared to serve as a library meal site and/or provide pop-up library services to an existing community meal site