Hello all,

Next week you have 2 opportunities to learn about the Summer Food Service Program! On Friday the 29^th you’ll hear details for Michigan libraries from Sara Harmon with the Michigan Department of Education’s SFSP Meet Up & Eat Up. Just the day before, on Thursday the 28^th, you’re invited to hear from CSLP and USDA on summer food service at libraries across the country. Please join – both webinars will be recorded if you cannot attend live.

Eat Up @ Your Library! Summer Food Service for 2020

Friday, May 29, 2020

10:30 AM ET

"Meet Up & Eat Up," the Michigan Department of Education’s SFSP is going to look a little different this summer, but the need is even greater than ever before. Join this webinar to learn how libraries can play a role in feeding the youth in your community. The Michigan Department of Education aims to feed the whole child the whole year. The Meet Up and Eat Up Summer Food Service Program Staff will share how to expand the SFSP to your area. The webinar will cover Michigan SFSP basics, requirements for sponsors who operate the SFSP, sites who provide healthy meals to children, and site activity options for Summer 2020.

Feeding Your Community: Summer Meals at Libraries in 2020

Thursday, May 28, 1:00 ET / Noon CT / 11:00 MT / 10:00 PT

Many libraries around the USA participate in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), a USDA-funded program that provides free meals and snacks to children ages 0-18 in communities with high levels of need. Libraries and SFSP are a great fit! Libraries are free and open to all. Libraries are accessible. Children and teens are always welcome. The library is a stigma-free community center where community members traditionally get things for free. Libraries also gain a lot from participating as SFSP sites. They directly support vulnerable community members and directly address food insecurity. They attract new user groups and increase their visibility and importance as a stakeholder in community well-being.

Summer meals will look quite different this year as USDA has made temporary changes so that meals may be taken home, and parents or guardians may pick up meals for their children if the state allows.

Join Penny Weaver and Maged Hanafi from the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service to learn the basics of SFSP, what will be different in 2020, and how your library can support child and community well-being by being a new or returning SFSP site, or by supporting other SFSP sites in your community.

Speakers:

Penny Weaver, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA Food and Nutrition Service
Maged Hanafi, Team Lead, Community Nutrition, Midwest, USDA Food and Nutrition Service
Luke Kralik, Organizational Coordinator, Collaborative Summer Library Program

https://usda-fns.webex.com/usda-fns/onstage/g.php?MTID=ec550bb0e7098abb855f188ebdd635060 and click on the “Register” link

Resources:

The SFSP is a federally-funded, state-administered program. The SFSP reimburses providers who serve free healthy meals to children and teens in low-income areas during the summer months when school is not in session. Check out our video to learn more: https://youtu.be/U_93W0U3E8U

Contact your State agency to talk about how you can get involved: www.fns.usda.gov/sfsp/sfsp-contacts

Check out the Summer Food Service Program website: www.summerfood.usda.gov

Explore how libraries can participate and support summer meals directly as food service sites, or through outreach, publicity, and collaboration: www.cslpreads.org/libraries-and-summer-food

Learn why organizations throughout the country serve Summer Meals: https://youtu.be/U_93W0U3E8U

Find Summer Meals sites close to you: www.fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks

Since the outset of the coronavirus outbreak, USDA has provided states with broad flexibilities to ensure the continuation of meal service during COVID-19 related school closures. USDA is committed to using all the options available to us to help people get the food they need. To learn more about the USDA Food and Nutrition service and our response to COVID-19, visit www.fns.usda.gov/coronavirus and follow us on Twitter at @USDANutrition.

Finally, don’t forget:

Read Up! is a literacy-based activity guide from the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) for libraries to engage directly with Summer Food Service Program sites, it includes basic summer reading support information and enrichment activities. You can download & edit the PDF to include your library’s programming information on the 2^nd page and your logo on the back cover, or just leave them blank, to send directly to program sites near you. This guide was created with support from the Library of Michigan and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Cathy Lancaster

Youth Services Coordinator

Library of Michigan
702 W. Kalamazoo St.
Lansing, MI 48915

LancasterC5@michigan.gov | 517-335-8129 | www.mi.gov/libraryofmichigan