Author Archive
Do you utilize public programs to provide breakfast and lunch to young people attending your program? Now is the time to start planning and gather information about how to provide healthy nutrition this summer.
Each summer, a small fraction of children eligible to receive nutritious meals actually do. According to the most recent data, only one in six children from a low-income household who ate a school lunch during the year received meals during the summer. According to the Comprehensive Assessment of Summer Programs (CASP), the highest quality summer programs provide all meals (breakfast, lunch, snack) appropriate to the schedule for young people every day the program is in session.
There are many good reasons why summer meals are critical to children. Balanced nutrition supports healthy development. Some research suggests that younger children are disproportionally affected by the loss of nutrition because they cannot obtain food themselves through other means. And for families with already stretched food budgets, income does not increase with school dismissal. Summer meals bridge the gap.
The summer learning community can make a difference. If your summer program doesn’t take advantage of the federal Summer Nutrition programs now is the time to start planning. Here’s what you need to do:
- Visit the USDA’s list of state directors for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).
- Find your state.
- Call your state director office and tell them you are interested in being a sponsor of the Summer Food Service Program.
A phone call is a simple step towards supporting the healthy development of children and teens in the most basic way. If you already utilize public support for summer meals, that’s wonderful. Pass the link for this post on to others in your network who may not.
Earlier this week First Lady Michelle Obama launched a new facet of the Let’s Move! initiative, Let’s Move Faith and Communities. This newest endeavor will engage faith- and community-based leaders in efforts to address childhood obesity in their communities. One of the four goals set forth for this group in the coming year is hosting 1,000 new summer feeding sites at congregations or neighborhood organizations. Let’s join the First Lady in her effort to ensure that no child goes hungry this summer.
Do you utilize public programs to provide breakfast and lunch to young people attending your program? Now is the time to start planning and gather information about how to provide healthy nutrition this summer.
Each summer, a small fraction of children eligible to receive nutritious meals actually do. According to the most recent data, only one in six children from a low-income household [https://summerlearning.site-ym.com/resource/resmgr/wellness/wellness_resources_in_brief.pdf] who ate a school lunch during the year received meals during the summer.
There are many good reasons why summer meals are critical to children. Balanced nutrition supports healthy development. Some research suggests that younger children are disproportionally affected by the loss of nutrition because they cannot obtain food themselves through other means. And for families with already stretched food budgets, income does not increase with school dismissal. Summer meals bridge the gap.
The summer learning community can make a difference. If your summer program doesn’t take advantage of the federal Summer Nutrition programs now is the time to start planning. Here’s what you need to do:
1. Visit the USDA’s list of state directors [http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Contacts/StateDirectory.htm] for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).
2. Find your state.
3. Call your state director office and tell them you are interested in being a sponsor of the Summer Food Service Program.
Earlier this week First Lady Michelle Obama launched a new facet of the Let’s Move! initiative, Let’s Move Faith and Communities [http://www.letsmove.gov/blog/2010/11/30/the-first-lady-launches-let%E2%80%99s-move-faith-and-communities/]. This newest endeavor will engage faith- and community-based leaders in efforts to address childhood obesity in their communities. One of the four goals set forth for this group in the coming year is hosting 1,000 new summer feeding sites at congregations or neighborhood organizations. Let’s join the First Lady in her effort to ensure that no child goes hungry this summe
December 2nd, 2010
Last week my colleague Bob Seidel and I presented a pre-conference training about federal policy at the Association’s Summer Changes Everything™ national conference. We distributed a list of our go-to federal websites and favorite email newsletters to share with attendees. It was well-received, so I wanted to make it available in this space as well.
Federal Web Resources
Newsletters
Fritzwire—Topics and areas covered in Fritzwire are education-federal legislation and Hill activity; hearings, meetings and other items of interest; other information including new publications; websites and information on the stimulus package; and job opportunities. Distributed daily.
Join by…sending Fritz Edelstein an email at fritz@publicprivateaction.com and request to be added to the list.
ASCD SmartBrief—Provides summaries and links to major education stories and issues, as well as education employment opportunities. Distributed daily.
Join by…visiting the SmartBrief sign up page.
PEN Weekly—Brief paragraphs from notable education articles from across the country for the past week along with selected funding opportunities from the Public Education Network. Distributed Fridays.
Join by…visiting PEN’s website and following the instructions in the lower left-hand section of the homepage.
ED Review—Update on U.S. Department of Education activities relevant to diverse stakeholders. Distributed biweekly.
Join by…sending Adam Honeysett at Adam.Honeysett@ed.gov an email asking to be added.
SparkUpdate—The Spark Update provides the latest and most relevant information and resources on children’s issues. SparkAction sifts through an enormous amount of information each week so they can point child advocates and organizations working on behalf of children, youth and families to the most up-to-date news, tools and information on issues of concern. Distributed weekly.
Join by…visiting SparkUpdate page and entering your email in sign-up box on the right side of the page.
November 16th, 2010
Today the Food Research and Action Center releases Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report (2010). This year’s report shows that while participation in school lunch programs during the 2008-2009 school year went up, fewer children than the year before were fed by nutrition programs over the following summer.
This annual report by the center analyzes data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture about two federal Summer Nutrition Programs: the National School Lunch Program and the Summer Food Service Program. As summer program providers know, children who receive healthy meals during the school year often struggle to get those same meals during the summer months when the school doors may be closed. Summer Nutrition Programs were created to ensure that all children experience summers free from hunger.
Hunger Doesn’t Take A Vacation compares the number of children who qualified and ate meals through the Summer Nutrition Programs with the number of children who qualified and ate meals through the National School Lunch Program while school was in session. Historically, the number of children who consumed meals during the summer is a small percentage of the school-year number.
During the 2008-2009 school year, 17.5 million children received free or reduced-price meals. That was an increase of 800,000 from the previous year (2007-2008), which isn’t a surprise due to the economic crisis from which the country is just beginning to emerge. The good news is that children affected by the economic downturn were able to eat lunch, and hopefully breakfast, at school. Yet participation in Summer Nutrition Programs fell in summer 2009 by 73,000 children at a time when parents were struggling to find work. Only 16 percent of children who benefitted from a free or reduced-price meal during the school year received one last summer. That’s one in five. Sadly, there were likely a lot of hungry children across the country last summer.
But summer programs, nonprofits, schools, camps, and local government agencies are and will continue to be part of the solution by offering children meals through the Summer Food Service Program. One example is Energy Express in West Virginia. This award-winning program engages children in fun literacy-based activities opportunities followed by a meal served family-style to both campers and counselors.
June 29th, 2010
One of my favorite things about springtime in Baltimore City, aside from the flowering trees, is seeing my neighbors on my block more frequently. During the winter months, no one wants to hang out in the frigid weather, unless it is absolutely necessary. (Shoveling that record-busting 72” is the prime example from this past winter.) The streetscape revitalizes with the arrival of warm weather. Summer brings with it a shift in the pace of life—it’s time for beach getaways, camping, and amusement parks, and stoop-sitting in the dusk.
But of course, the most significant marker of summer is school dismissal. The research team behind the Beginning School Study likens school to a faucet. Like water flowing through a tap, resources are available to the nation’s children when school is in session. Students’ minds and bodies are engaged in learning. Research from the Beginning School Study revealed that regardless of their family’s socioeconomic status, all children acquire knowledge at the approximately the same rate during the school year, as measured by standardized tests. And at basic level, schools meet students’ needs by providing a safe place, relationships with caring adults, and healthy meals. These supports are critical for all children, but especially so for children from economically disadvantaged homes.
When school is no longer in session, the faucet of resources often turns off or slows to a trickle. Children may not have a safe place to go during the day with adequate adult supervision. And for the 16.8 million children who depend on free- or reduced-price meals, accessing healthy food during the summer is often a challenge. There are federal summer nutrition programs in place to provide children meals, but the funding is woefully under-utilized. Less than 20% of the children who access free- or reduced-price meals during the school year can obtain the same meals during the school year. That’s one in six. And the picture varies greatly from state-to-state with a high of 89% participation in Washington, DC to a low of 4.4% participation in Mississippi.
Summer programs can turn faucet of nutritional resources back on for young people by accessing federal dollars to serve nutritious meals. And from a fiscal perspective, since many summer programs already purchase meals or snacks, accessing federal food programs is wise stewardship and will free up program dollars for spending on other priorities.
Hunger should not be part of any child’s vacation experience.
To learn more about federal summer nutrition programs, visit the Summer Nutrition Guide from the Food Resource Action Center.
http://www.frac.org/afterschool/summer.html
Note: All data cited is from Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report 2009 by the Food Resarch Acation Center.
One of my favorite things about springtime in Baltimore City, aside from the flowering trees, is seeing my neighbors on my block more frequently. During the winter months, no one wants to hang out in the frigid weather, unless it is absolutely necessary. (Shoveling that record-busting 72” is the prime example from this past winter.) The streetscape revitalizes with the arrival of warm weather. Summer brings with it a shift in the pace of life—stoop-sitting in the dusk, the jingle of the ice cream truck, and the arrival of an occasional arrabber.
But of course, the most significant marker of summer is school dismissal. The research team behind the Beginning School Study likens school to a faucet. Like water flowing through a tap, resources are available to the nation’s children when school is in session. Students’ minds and bodies are engaged in learning. Research from the Beginning School Study revealed that regardless of their family’s socioeconomic status, all children acquire knowledge at the approximately the same rate during the school year, as measured by standardized tests. And at basic level, schools meet students’ needs by providing a safe place, relationships with caring adults, and healthy meals. These supports are critical for all children, but especially so for children from economically disadvantaged homes.
When school is no longer in session, the faucet of resources often turns off or slows to a trickle. Children may not have a safe place to go during the day with adequate adult supervision. And for the 16.8 million children who depend on free- or reduced-price meals, accessing healthy food during the summer is often a challenge. There are federal summer nutrition programs in place to provide children meals, but the funding is woefully under-utilized. Less than 20% of the children who access free- or reduced-price meals during the school year can obtain the same meals during the summer. That’s one in six. And the picture varies greatly from state-to-state with a high of 89% participation in Washington, DC to a low of 4.4% participation in Mississippi.
Summer programs can turn faucet of nutritional resources back on for young people by accessing federal dollars to serve nutritious meals. And from a fiscal perspective, since many summer programs already purchase meals or snacks, accessing federal food programs is wise stewardship and will free up program dollars for spending on other priorities.
Hunger should not be part of any child’s vacation experience.
To learn more about federal summer nutrition programs and how to offer meals, visit the Summer Nutrition Guide from the Food Resource Action Center. For California residents, there is an informational webinar about how to provide free summer meals to kids on April 7. Be sure to register!
Note: All data cited is from Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report 2009 by the Food Research Action Center. Stay tuned for the 2010 report which will come out later this year.
April 2nd, 2010
Last month we kicked off a series of six free webinars designed to help programs plan for the upcoming summer. I was excited to join my talented colleague, Erin Ulery, for this webinar. Drawing upon the Association’s recent publication, Summer Starts in September: A Strategic Summer Program Planning Guide, Erin reviewed the program planning timeline and what tasks program planners should address in January. (Erin and Sarah Pitcock, director of program quality, did an excellent job writing this exhaustive guide. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, do so!) Summer Starts in September is a quality resource that will serve you well for years to come. The cost is $43.95, but it is a free benefit with your organizational membership (Individual members receive a 10% discount). An individual membership costs $49. Webinar participants described the information as “very timely” and “very informative.”
If you missed last month’s webinar, the next one, Summer Program Planning: Power in the People, is coming up on February 22 at 3 p.m. Eastern. And if that time isn’t convenient for you, we’ll post the recorded webinar for viewing afterwards. Erin will turn to the topics of staff recruitment and screening, and develop staff job descriptions. I’m going to share documents from the Summer Learning Day planning toolkit.
Each webinar is held on the 21st of the month, except for instances where the 21st falls on a weekend. This date was selected as a monthly reminder as we count down to June 21, National Summer Learning Day. Start thinking now about how your program can use this national event to share the valuable work that you’re doing with the community. You can hold an event on Monday, June 21, or anytime that week or during the month of June. During each webinar I will offer tools, tips, and planning guidance for your Summer Learning Day event.
Mark your calendar for the rest of the webinar series:
February 4th, 2010
