01/23/2024
๐๐’๐ ๐ง๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐
The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) allows kids and teens age 18 and under access to healthy meals at no cost throughout the summer months. Most sites are “open” sites, where there is no sign-up or paperwork required; kids can just drop by when meals are served.
Across the state, community groups, school districts, anti-hunger organizations, and the New York State Education Department are working in partnership to raise community awareness and increase site participation to expand access to summer meals. In summer 2023, this vital program allowed nearly 450 schools and community organizations to serve free, healthy meals at thousands of sites across New York State.
However, federal-level data shows that only 1 in 4 of New York’s low-income children ate summer meals in July 2022 (FRAC 2023). This translates to only 425,114 children accessing a summer lunch compared to the 1.5 million children who rely on free or reduced-price school lunch every school day. Read more from Hunger Solutions New York on SFSP participation here.
If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor or site in summer 2024, our dedicated summer meals page, SummerMealsNY.org, includes information to help you get started. Access outreach materials, USDA’s interactive mapping tools, previous webinar recordings, and more so you can help fill the gap in meal access. Summer meals will help meet a critical need for nutritious food as food insecurity continues to rise for families with children. For individualized help, reach out to Afterschool and Summer Meals Specialist Cody.Bloomfield@HungerSolutionsNY.org
Stay tuned for updates regarding NYSED’s SFSP sponsor training dates as well as more information on the new, permanent rural non-congregate SFSP flexibility and Summer EBT!
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ก๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐
โข ๐๐ฆ๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ง๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐๐๐!
National School Breakfast Week (March 4-8, 2024) is around the corner! Prepare to celebrate school breakfast in your district with the following resources from the New York State Education Department (SED), Office of Child Nutrition:
1. School Breakfast Promotion Toolkit: This resource includes a variety of posters, bookmarks, stickers, coloring books, and recipes to help you create fun and engaging National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) activities that suit your schools’ needs and preferences. Learn more about the toolkit here and place your order by January 31 to ensure delivery in time for NSBW.
2. Virtual Child Nutrition Training “School Breakfast Week: Promotion, Best Practices and Ideas”: Join the New York State Education Department, Office of Child Nutrition to learn best practices on promoting breakfast and sharing ways to celebrate National School Breakfast Week. Tuesday, February 27 from 1-2pm | Register Here.
โข ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ต-๐๐ช๐ด๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ด: ๐๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ญ๐บ ๐๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ!
Eligible afterschool programs can serve healthy meals and snacks after school, on weekends, and during holiday breaks throughout the school year. While many schools already serve afterschool snacks through NSLP, CACFP provides an opportunity to provide greater nutrition for students and 4x the reimbursement for schools when providing a complete meal.
To be eligible for CACFP, the afterschool program must be located within the attendance area of a school where 50% or more of the students qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. Visit https://hungersolutionsny.org/federal-nutrition-programs/cacfp/afterschool-meal-program/ to learn more about eligibility and how to apply. For individualized help, reach out to Afterschool and Summer Meals Specialist, Cody.Bloomfield@HungerSolutionsNY.org.
โข ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐๐
WIC provides healthy food, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and more to pregnant individuals, new and breastfeeding moms, infants, and children under age five. Primary caregivers can also apply for their children under age five. With options for remote or in-person appointments, online nutrition education, and other modernizations, it’s easier than ever for families to participate in WIC. Use the WIC Help NY Resource Center to share information with families in your community, especially those participating in your early childhood programming. In addition to sample social media posts and short videos available in the Resource Center, you can use this form to bulk order a free printed supply of postcards and fact sheets promoting WIC.
โข ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the state’s largest nutrition assistance program, helping more than 2.8 million New Yorkers put food on their table each month. Hunger Solutions New York’s Nutrition Outreach and Education Program (NOEP) offers free, confidential, one-on-one help applying for SNAP across the state. Visit https://hungersolutionsny.org/find-food-help/snap/ to find your county’s NOEP Coordinator and partner to expand local SNAP outreach.