Well, she has just had a payrise! Modern Family star Sofia Vergara heads to the shops to buy furniture - Daily Mail

Well, she has just had a payrise! Modern Family star Sofia Vergara heads to the shops to buy furniture - Daily Mail

By Emily Sheridan

PUBLISHED: 05:42 EST, 1 August 2012 | UPDATED: 09:19 EST, 1 August 2012

She's just a substantial payrise and is said to be planning her wedding, so there's plenty of reasons for Sofia Vergara to hit the shops.

In between filming the new series of Modern Family, the Colombian actress and a friend headed out to look at furniture in Los Angeles.

Having just had her salary increased from a reported $65,000 to 175,000 an episode, Sofia's already healthy bank balance has been boosted even more.

Plenty to smile about: Modern Family star Sofia Vergara shops in West Hollywood yesterday

So you can't blame the 40-year-old actress for wanting to spend her money.

Her on/off boyfriend Nick Loeb reportedly proposed to her during her 40th birthday celebrations last month.

And although she was wearing a large ring on her left hand yesterday, she is yet to confirm the engagement.

Looking casual in a white T-shirt, jeans and wedges, the brunette looked in good spirits as she chatted to her male friend.

Looking for inspiration: Sofia peruses the store looking for items for her home

Casual: The Colombian actress was accompanied by a male friend as she shopped

Bling: Sofia was wearing a large ring on her engagement finger

She headed into Christopher Guy furniture store in Beverly Hills, as well as other stores.

Her shopping excursion comes after she and some of her Modern Family co-stars dropped a lawsuit against the show's producers over a salary dispute.

Sofia, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell were arguing that their contracts are illegal under California law as they prohibited personal service contracts from extending for more than seven years.

The lawsuit asked a judge to rule the contracts are illegal and should be voided because they prohibit the actors from other work.

Glossy: Sofia's hair was styled in loose curls around her face

It stated the contracts bind the actors to work on the series from February 2009 until June 2016.

However they have since come to an agreement with ABC producers which has reportedly seen them settle for $175,000 per episode, as well as a slice of the profits for the whole organisation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The actors’ salary will reportedly increase to $350,000 per episode by the show’s eighth season.

Back on: Sofia is currently filming the fourth season of Modern Family

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Finally an Hermes bag that's not a Birkin. She looks great too.

- Am, Michigan, USA, 01/8/2012 17:03

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Love this woman! She deserves all the happiness in the world!

- Naughti 1, Jamdown, 01/8/2012 16:22

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She needs a stylist

- L., London, 01/8/2012 15:28

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Are these pictures even taken on the same day?!? She has a long sleeve white top on with no necklace & stone washed jeans on in one pic & another outfit on in a different snap!

- A Ray of Sunshine, What used to be Great Britain!, 01/8/2012 12:13

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Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

California Free Lunch Program: Schools Offer Meals That Few Kids Eat - Huffington Post

California Free Lunch Program: Schools Offer Meals That Few Kids Eat - Huffington Post

This article comes to us courtesy of California Watch.

By Joanna Lin

At lunchtime at Cambridge Elementary School, you'd never know that the last day of school was more than a month ago. For one month this summer, Monday through Friday, more than 300 kids packed the Concord school's cafeteria for free lunches.

Most of the kids gobbling up cheese pizza, chicken nuggets and carrots are participating in summer learning programs at the campus. But, as indicated by a big red banner hanging on the school's fence, anyone 18 years old and younger was invited to the free meals.

"If I see somebody out there, I'll go drag them in - 'Go eat! Go in!' " said Colleen Ivie, the school's cafeteria manager.

Still, Ivie said, the school would not have fed nearly as many kids without summer school.

Across California, the loss of summer learning opportunities has lowered participation in federally funded summer meal programs, according to a recent report by California Food Policy Advocates. Summer school provides a central location where students congregate; without it, kids are scattered and more difficult to reach.

Participation in July 2011 - an average of nearly 387,000 children per day - was 6 percent lower than it was a year earlier and nearly 30 percent lower than it was in July 2008, the report found. Yet the number of low-income children served by the National School Lunch Program during the academic year has grown in recent years.

"This summer nutrition gap is harming kids," said Tia Shimada, a nutrition policy advocate with California Food Policy Advocates. "Along with that lack of opportunity for learning and enrichment during the summertime, there's also a lack of access to meals."

Last July, summer meals reached just 16 percent of California children who ate free or reduced-price lunches during the school year, which means more than 2 million students missed out on the meals, the report found.

Shimada said schools, which are the most common sponsor of summer meal programs, should promote the opportunity before the academic year ends and make sure families know where to go. The state Department of Education lists summer meal sites in every county that are open to all children.

Focus groups recently convened by Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit working to end child hunger, also said meal locations should be within walking distance of homes or transportation and be safe, supervised environments, like schools.

The Mount Diablo Unified School District hosted 14 summer meal sites at its schools, including Cambridge Elementary. Most ended their programs Friday, but two - Rio Vista Elementary and Shore Acres Elementary, both in Bay Point - will continue through Aug. 10.

Before the programs began, the district placed advertisements in its local newspaper, the Contra Costa Times; posted flyers at local farmers markets, churches and other community locations; and mailed information to every household in the area, said Tim Watson-Williams, a supervisor in the district's food and nutrition department.

Although daily participation has been strong, ranging from 75 to 325 kids per site, Watson-Williams said he'd like to see more people eating the free meals. The district, which is able to cover the cost of operating the programs with federal reimbursement, could easily serve twice as many people, he said.

"It's a valuable community service," Watson-Williams said. "So many of our kids, lunch and breakfast at school is the core of the meals that they're getting. These are kids that without school may not get a proper meal at all."

Joanna Lin is an investigative reporter for California Watch, a project of the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting. Find more California Watch stories here.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com