[OPLINLIST] Webinar: Feeding Your Community: Summer Meals at Libraries in 2020, Thu May 28

Thu May 21 08:33:17 EDT 2020

Cross-posted. Please excuse duplication.

Good morning,

The Collaborative Summer Library Program and representatives of the USDA Food & Nutrition Service are collaborating to offer a nationwide webinar for library staff about the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and its special waivers for summer 2020 that allow non-congregate feeding.

This may be the ideal year for libraries to serve as SFSP sites, even with all the challenges libraries themselves are facing. Grab-and-go summer meals seem like an very do-able add-on to curbside pickup of library materials, and with the economic devastation of the pandemic, the need for access to nutritious food for children has never been greater.

Also, while this will not be addressed in the webinar, the Ohio Department of Education has received a waiver from the USDA that expands site eligibility through June 30, and has applied to extend that waiver through the summer. Ordinarily, a site must be in an area where 50% of the children are eligible for free or reduced price school meals. That eligibility has temporarily been broadened to 30%. Many libraries in locations not typically eligible for SFSP may currently be eligible.

This webinar came together very quickly. The extended waivers were just announced by USDA last Friday. The webinar will be held next Thursday, May 28, to give libraries time to follow up if they decide to pursue being a 2020 SFSP site. The webinar will be of interest to library staff at current and prospective SFSP sites, and any library worker who is interested in learning about SFSP. See details below.

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

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Feeding Your Community: Summer Meals at Libraries in 2020
https://usda-fns.webex.com/usda-fns/onstage/g.php?MTID=ec550bb0e7098abb855f188ebdd635060
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

Register for the May 28 webinar here:
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<http://www.fns.usda.gov/sfsp/sfsp-contacts>

  *   Check out the Summer Food Service Program website: www.summerfood.usda.gov<http://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<http://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<http://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<http://www.fns.usda.gov/coronavirus> and follow us on Twitter at @USDANutrition<https://twitter.com/USDANutrition>.

Register for the May 28 webinar here:
https://usda-fns.webex.com/usda-fns/onstage/g.php?MTID=ec550bb0e7098abb855f188ebdd635060 and click on the "Register" link

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[cid:image003.jpg at 01D62F47.70072BF0]
Janet Ingraham Dwyer
Library Consultant
274 E. 1st Avenue
Columbus, OH 43201
Tel: 614-644-6910
jdwyer at library.ohio.gov<mailto:jdwyer at library.ohio.gov>
library.ohio.gov<http://library.ohio.gov/>
library.ohio.gov/youth-services<http://library.ohio.gov/youth-services>

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