Congratulations on another great year for the Summer Meals Program in Washington!
Together you served 1,755,842 meals and snacks and brought in more than $4.8 million
in federal funding to your local communities during summer 2012!
It’s not too early to be thinking about summer 2013 – OSPI has sent out their “Intent to Participate” memo and 62 sponsors have already indicated that they are a GO for 2013. If you have not done so, please send in your Intent ASAP. Here are the links to the memo and intent:
- Summer Meals Sponsor Requirements and Reimbursement Rates
- Details about the Seamless Summer Feeding Program for Schools
- OSPI Memo - Intent to Participate in 2013 Summer Meals
- 2013 Intent to Participate as Summer Meals Sponsor Application (Due March 18)
- 2013 Summer Meals Sponsor Training Dates and Locations
Within Reach is currently updating the Summer Meals Tool Kit and by next Wednesday the county factsheets will include 2012-13 school by school data on the percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. School data is the easiest way to determine eligible sites; a back-up is Census Data.
We hope you’ll consider expanding your program:
· Schools: consider providing meals to community-based organizations or at apartment complexes or parks. We’d be happy to help connect you with community agencies.
· Non-profits, local government and tribal organizations: consider where kids live and hang out in your communities; taking the meals to the kids is the best option for steady participation!
· Everyone: kids are hungry all summer; consider extending your programs to at least 40 days to better fight childhood hunger all summer long!
If you are not planning to continue your summer meals program in 2013, please let me know. We’d like to know if we can help address barriers to continuing your program or, if that’s not possible, we’d like to get moving on finding another sponsor in your area.
Thanks for all your terrific work! And let me know if we can help in any way. Linda
On behalf of the Summer Meals Work Group: Children’s Alliance, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Child Nutrition Services, Within Reach, School’s Out Washington, Washington Food Coalition, Food Lifeline, Northwest Harvest and United Way of King County.
Linda Stone
Food Policy Director
Children’s Alliance
office: 509-747-7205
cell: 509-844-1314
Food, for children, is the main source of security. If we want them to engage in what are scary experiences to them, such as learning to read, we have to supply them well with food. We have to do that for them when we want them to begin the dangerous exploration of letters and words, as we would have to fill their knapsacks full of good food if they were going to explore the wilderness.
Bruno Bettelheim
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