Resources to plan your Summer Meal Program for 2013

February 20, 2013 UPDATED Summer Meal County Fact Sheets - look at your community's program and start planning for 2013 Find out which schools or organizations hosted meal sites last summer and where eligible sites could be for 2013.  See how long sites were open and where service gaps might be.  Talk with current sponsors, identify areas of need and work with community partners to build local summer meals options for kids! 2013 Summer Meal County Fact Sheets Check out more resources on the Summer Meals Toolkit Eligible summer meal sites are in areas where more than half the kids are enrolled in free or reduced-price meals at school, or where more than half an area’s residents are low-income. Click here to find out which schools can qualify as a Summer Meal site in your community this summer. For more information, contact Donna Parsons OSPI Child Nutrition Services Director (360) 725-6210 What Organizations and Schools Need to do NOW to become a Program Sponsor Organizations that want to sponsor a Summer Meals program work with OSPI to get required training, information and support throughout the spring and summer. Read the overview of sponsor roles/responsibilities and the official OSPI Sponsor Memo File a Letter of Intent to be a Summer Meals Sponsor(deadline is March 18) For more information, contact Donna Vincent at OSPI  (360) 725-6202 Sponsor trainings are SOON so get organized! April 2      Tumwater April 16    Yakima April 18    Spokane April 24    Marysville Summer Meals Webinars Take advantage of free training from national experts about Summer Meal programs. February 27 (Wednesday)- How Faith-Based Organizations Can Feed Hungry Children This Summer  March 8 (Friday) - Summer Food Service Program and Seamless Summer - Getting State Elected Officials Involved March 13 (Wednesday) - Summer Food Service Program - Alimenta a los Niños en el Verano (en español) March 20 (Wednesday) - Already a CACFP Site? Then Become a SFSP Site Too March 27 (Wednesday) - Summer Food Service Program and Seamless Summer - Getting Local Elected Officials Involved April 3 (Wednesday) - Addressing the Summer Food Transportation Challenge Register to participate in any of these free USDA Summer Food Service webinars. Funding Opportunities for Summer Meal Programs There are options to help communities fund Summer Meal programs in Washington: Feed Your Brain Grants (application available) for summer literacy and summer meal programs in high-poverty, rural communities. Food Lifeline Grants (application available) to start new Kid's Cafe Summer Meal Sites in Western Washington. United Way of King County Grants for start-up or expansion of Summer Meal programs in King County that can fund equipment, staff and outreach.  For information, contactLauren McGowan. OSPI Meals for Kids Grants for start-up or expansion of Summer Meal programs that can fund equipment, training and outreach in any Washington community.You must have a Letter of Intent to be a Sponsor on file at OSPI to apply. Look for more information about the Meals for Kids Grant process in March. The WA Summer Meals Partnership sends periodic newsletters to keep statewide partners up-to-date on the latest information about the Summer Meals Program.  http://www.icontact-archive.com/C9ZecoQL5yw3xrxuUf8TXsfe8jeOpJAA?w=4