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When Snacks Are Not Enough! How To Provide Reimbursable Meals in After School Programs
June 9, 2011
Check out this free webinar to learn how your after school program can provide federally-reimbursed meals in addition to snacks.
This new option under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 is available now through the Child and Adult Care Food Program! The webinar was hosted by the California Afterschool Network and presented on June 7, 2011.
Who is this webinar for and how is useful?
The webinar was put together for after school programs, community partners, food service providers and school districts to learn the benefits of the new meal option, how to apply, the requirements and best practices.
This new option under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 is available now through the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
View the webinar recording
Download the presentation slides
Call to Action: Time to Improve California’s Summer Nutrition Programs
June 8, 2011
Urge schools and nonprofit organizations to maintain or expand efforts to promote and operate the Summer Nutrition Programs!
California is failing its children during the summer. A new report by the Food Research and Action Center shows that California served 65,000 fewer low-income children with its Summer Nutrition Programs in 2010 compared to 2009. Cuts to state and local funding for education are causing summer school to disappear in too many districts. County-specific data on summer meal participation will be released on June 15 by California Food Policy Advocates to give a more in-depth look at what is happening across the state.
View Press Release.
As children lose access to summer learning and enrichment opportunities, they also lose access to meals served through summer school. And struggling families, who relied on the school nutrition programs to feed their children during the academic year, must fill the nutrition void.
This is a trend that California must reverse. Over the past eight years, California’s participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs has spiraled downward despite increased need. In 2002, California led the nation in serving its low-income children nutritious summer meals, serving 827,000 low-income children during the summer—providing lunches to more than 40 percent of children who relied on free or reduced-price school lunches during the academic year. Today, only 440,000 low-income children in our state benefit from summer meals – that’s less than 20 percent of students who depend on free or reduced-price meals during the academic year. This decline is alarming, especially given the 300,000 increase in the number of children participating in free and reduced-price lunches during the school year.
Federal dollars are available to pay for summer meals served through the Summer Nutrition Programs, but these federally funded programs are becoming yet another casualty of the state budget crisis. By failing to feed children during the summer, California is forgoing over $33 million per year in federal funds.
As fewer and fewer meals are served through summer school programs, nonprofits are stepping in to fill the void. Participation in the Summer Food Service Program, which is not limited to schools, has grown by 27 percent. But the increase has not been enough to offset the loss in school participation.
There is a summer nutrition crisis in California. Action is needed. We urge state and local policy makers to reverse cuts to summer learning and enrichments – reinstate educational programs to revive the accompanying nutrition programs. We urge schools and nonprofit organizations to maintain or expand efforts to promote and operate the Summer Nutrition Programs.
It is not too late for Californians to take action this summer, and together we can build a stronger program for the future.
Signed by:
CANFIT
California Association of Food Banks
California Food Policy Advocates
Partnership for Children and Youth
Offer Free Summer Meals for After School Programs in Oakland!
May 5, 2011
SAVE MONEY, SERVE HEALTHY CAMPAIGN - Summer Meals in Oakland; Here's how!
Oakland’s Summer Lunch Program delivers free and nutritious meals to children in Oakland neighborhoods
from City of Oakland website (http://www.oaklandnet.com) Click here for more info:
We help children in Oakland get the nutrition they need to learn, play, and grow throughout the summer—making them better prepared to start another school year. The Summer Lunch Program encourages healthy eating habits leading to normal weight and a positive self-image.
How to become a Free Summer Lunch site (please scroll down)
To find the summer lunch program near you, please call:
· Oaklanders’ Assistance Center at 510-444-C-I-T-Y
· Alameda County Community Food Bank 1-800-870-FOOD
· Dial “211” – Eden Information & Referral
Locations
Summer Food Service Program sites are located throughout Oakland.
Our Partners
Some of the City’s many partners for the Oakland Summer Lunch Program include:
· City of Oakland Recreation Centers
· Many non-profit organizations serving children
· Faith-based organizations
· Alameda County Community Food Bank
· Oakland Unified School District
Program Requirements
For young people in Oakland, 18 years old and younger:
NO program requirements.
Youth can drop in for a free lunch at any SFSP open site between the hours of 12:00pm – 1:00pm
How to become a FREE Summer Lunch site:
For youth serving organization:
The City of Oakland, Department of Human Services, invites eligible youth serving organizations to participate in the 2011 Oakland Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Oakland’s SFSP, under U.S. Department of Agriculture sponsorship, delivers FREE lunch to community organizations serving youth in Oakland.
First day of the SFSP is June 20, 2011 and last day of lunch service is August 19, 2011.
CANFIT’s $ave Money, Serve Healthy Campaign Coming Soon!
March 4, 2011
How the Recent Federal Bill can Benefit After School!
Be sure to take advantage of recently passed federal legislation (Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010) that can provide up to $2.72 per student for after school meals.
Why bother?
If the ASES Program was at full capacity (365,212 children), and each child was served a reimbursable meal, over $178 million in federal funds would flow into California. With budget cuts being proposed, these federal dollars could potentially SAVE programs threatened by pending state budget cuts and shrinking philanthropic dollars.
What you can do!
1) Sometime around June, USDA will issue a handbook on providing afterschool meals for at-risk school children. Be on the look-out for guidance from the California Department of Education (Nutrition Services Division) on how your afterschool program can access these dollars. (We’ll remind you!)
2) CANFIT is launching its $ave Money, Serve Healthy Campaign to encourage more programs to sign up. We also want to hear from YOU and the cost-effective ways you are making your after school/community a healthier place.
For More info:
Check out this simple and easy-to-read writeup of the recently passed bill.
Read CANFIT’s Recent Blog.
Follow us on Twitter!
Child Nutrition Act Extension
November 10, 2009
Still time to improve food served to youth! Figure out how...
The current Child Nutrition Act was extended through September 30, 2010. Although the extension was expected, updating the Child Nutrition Act deserves to be in the front of policy agenda & will require fundamental changes in the current program. That battle will be taken up next fall.
