May 15, 2012 -- By
Jimmy Nguyen, Food and
Nutrition Service Last summer, my
colleague Barbara Lopez
and I traveled to South
Dakota to document the
great work two Native
American Tribes were
doing to feed their
children during the
summer months. Feeding
children during the
summer is crucial in
fighting childhood
hunger because children
are out of school and
are not getting the
school breakfast and
lunch they normally
receive when in school.
The Cheyenne River Sioux
and Rosebud Sioux Tribes
both have long-running
summer feeding programs
that have helped many
families in these
tight-knit communities
keep their children well
fed and physically
active. Watch the videos
that we created from our
trip below.
The Cheyenne River Sioux
Tribe's summer feeding
site in Eagle, Butte,
South Dakota.
The Rosebud Sioux
Tribe's summer feeding
site in Mission, South
Dakota
The first thing that
struck me about South
Dakota was the
uninterrupted grassland
stretching for miles in
all directions. I had
many opportunities
traveling from Rapid
City to the reservations
to imagine what these
prairies would have been
like 200 years ago.
Perhaps Sioux warriors
would be tracking the
large buffalo herds that
used to roam the open
grassland. Perhaps we
would have been able to
spot the pointed tops of
temporary Lakota tipi
dwellings on the horizon
as the community
followed the migratory
buffalo herds.
Indeed this is most
likely the romanticized
imagery many people have
of the Lakota Sioux. The
current, less idealized
imagery of life on the
reservations we visited
is of abject poverty. My
visit to the Cheyenne
River and Rosebud Sioux
Indian Reservations
helped to reconcile the
two images. There were
many families on both
reservations who were
living well below the
poverty line. However,
in my interactions with
the Sioux people I found
that they are still very
proud people who look
out for one another in
their tight-knit
communities. In my
interviews with
students, I found that
they are very aware of
the many problems in
their community and yet
they are hopeful for the
future and have a quiet
confidence that can only
come from living in a
strong community with a
rich culture.
It was important for us
to capture positive
moments for our video in
order to show that even
seemingly insurmountable
problems can be overcome
by simple community
actions that serve to
inspire and nurture the
next generation of
leaders. We got images
of a teenage drum group
who played traditional
Lakota songs taught by
their Lakota language
teacher. We captured
video of children
swimming at the
community pool
as part of the Youth
Diabetes Program before
they went next door to
get a nutritious summer
lunch that included a
salad with bright pink
radishes and a juicy
plum. We interviewed a
hard-working teenager
employed at a summer
feeding site through his
community's summer youth
work program. By
teaching these young
people about their
culture, giving them
work opportunities, and
making sure they receive
a nutritious meal every
day, the Tribes are
helping to ensure that
the future will be
brighter for their
people.
Summer
Food Service Program
kicks-off at the
Basilica of Our Lady of
San Juan Del Valley
June 26, 2012 -- By
Georgina Castillo,
Public Affairs
Specialist, FNS
Southwest Region As summer time
begins, I think of
children playing with
their friends and having
a great time as they
enjoy their vacation
from school. I am also
very aware that some
children may go hungry
during the summer
months. Fortunately for
children in the Rio
Grande Valley on June 1,
Catholic Charities began
their second year
providing meals to
children up to age 18
through USDA’s
Summer Food Service
Program (SFSP).
Catholic Charities is
now providing summer
meals in Cameron,
Hidalgo and Willacy
counties in South Texas.
USDA employee DeAdrian
Maddox poses with girl
during kick-off ceremony
Catholic Charities
kicked-off the SFSP at
the Basilica of Our Lady
of San Juan Del Valle on
May 24. Attending the
event were DeAdrian
Maddox, USDA, Angela
Olige, Texas Department
of Agriculture assistant
commissioner, Eddie
Lucio Jr., Texas
senator, Daniel E.
Flores, bishop of the
Diocese of Brownsville,
San Juanita Sanchez, San
Juan mayor, and local
community organizations.
During the kick-off,
children from Idea
Public School enjoyed a
nutritious lunch and
participated in various
activities.
In Bishop Flores’
remarks to the audience,
it was clear that he was
happy to continue
supporting the efforts
of the federal, state
and local community as
they work together to
provide children healthy
meals during the summer.
Catholic Charities
partnered with local
communities to make
feeding sites available
in rural areas and
colonias.
The Summer Food Service
Program is a federally
funded program that is
administered by the
states in which they
reimburse organizations
for meals served to
children during the
summer months. Although
USDA funds the summer
program, local
organizations make the
program work by becoming
sponsors that serve
nutritious meals and
snacks at schools,
recreation centers,
playgrounds, parks,
churches, day camps,
summer camps, housing
projects, and Indian
reservations.
As I saw the children
eat their lunches in San
Juan, I realized how
important a role SFSP
plays in reducing food
insecurity. That’s why
the Food and Nutrition
Service
continues to work every
day with potential
partners to close the
gap.
April 2, 2012 -- By
Jimmy Nguyen, Food and
Nutrition Service
Most kids cannot
wait for school to let
out in June. However,
for some parents, when
school is out for
summer, they have to
worry about where their
kids will get breakfast
or lunch. USDA's
Summer Food Service
Program (SFSP)
fills this summer meal
gap for many low-income
families. Local
organizations all over
the country participate
in the SFSP and serve
meals at schools,
recreation centers,
playgrounds, parks,
churches, day camps,
summer camps, housing
projects, and Indian
reservations.
Now you can advertise
the summer food sites in
your community by using
our free Radio Public
Service Announcements (PSAs).
It's never too soon or
late to start
advertising summer
meals. We have provided
four PSAs to choose from
and each of them are
under 30 seconds. Two of
the PSAs focus on
recruiting summer meal
sponsors and volunteers
and the other two PSAs
focus on letting
families know where they
can go to receive summer
meals. Please download
and then give one or all
of the Summer Food PSAs
to your local radio
station to play for
free.
• PSAs to recruit
sponsors and volunteers
to serve summer meals -
#1 /
#2
• PSAs to tell families
where they can get free
summer meals -
#3 /
#4
Now you may be asking,
"How can I get my local
radio station to play a
PSA?" Well, here are
some instructions that
you can follow:
1. Look up radio
stations in your area by
going to radio-locator.com.
2. Pick some
stations that you always
listen to and contact
their public affairs
director or station.
3. Some stations
post details about PSA
submissions on their
websites. However, if
they don't, you can ask
the station's public
affairs staff the
following questions:
a. How should I
submit a PSA - via
e-mail or regular mail? b. What format
should it be in? c. Do you require
the transcript? d. Will one of
your DJs read the PSA or
will you just play the
recording? e. When will the
PSA be aired and for how
long?
4. Follow the radio
station's instructions.
If all goes well, sit
back, relax, and listen
for the Summer Food PSA
to be played.
Congratulations to the all the
winners of the contest and thank
you to all of the Summer Food
Service Program contestants and
finalists.
Click here to see all of the
pictures and read about the
stories behind them.
A
Visit to Indian Country - First
Stop: Eagle Butte, South Dakota
September 6, 2011 --
By Barbara Lopez, FNS
Partnerships
With summer in full
swing, my colleagues and
I had the opportunity to
visit summer feeding
sites in Indian Country.
Our journey landed us
first at a Bureau of
Indian Education school
in Eagle Butte, South
Dakota on the Cheyenne
River Sioux Tribe
Reservation. Eagle Butte
is about 170 miles
northeast of Rapid City,
SD and home to a
Seamless Summer site in
full operation, serving
over 200 kids daily
breakfast and lunch.
Food
Service Manager Stacie
Lee has been
running
Seamless Summer
for 11 years.
Ms. Stacie Lee, the Food
Service Manager at Eagle
Butte, has been running
the
Seamless Summer
Option through
the National School
Lunch Program (NSLP) at
the site for 11 years.
The site is the largest
in the area and with the
USDA meals
reimbursement, she is
able to cover most of
her expenses, “It
practically pays for
itself”, says Ms. Lee,
“except it doesn't cover
all salaries but it does
pay for food, freight,
storage. It may pay for
one or two salaries”. Ms
Lee adds, “The kids
really inspire me to run
this program.”
An Eagle Butte girl
savors a healthy lunch
at
the Eagle Butte feeding
site.
During our visit, the
kids enjoyed a healthy
breakfast made up of an
egg and cheese burrito,
fruit, juice and milk.
The lunch menu featured
home-made pizza made
with whole grain dough,
tossed salad, fruit and
milk. Overwhelming, the
kids said their favorite
part of the meal was the
fruit option – plum.
Many of the kids joining
in summer meals also
participant in the
Diabetes Prevention
Program where the kids
enjoy pool activities
from 10 AM – 12 Noon,
then join summer meals
directly afterwards with
the pool onsite at the
Eagle Butte school.
As part of the Diabetes
Prevention Program, kids
enjoy two hours of
swimming before lunch.
As part of our visit, a
Native Youth Drum Circle
honored us with
traditional songs. The
Drum Circle’s leader,
Mr. Emmanuel Red Bear,
is Eagle Butte’s Lakota
Language teacher and
plays an active role in
developing youth
following Lakota
traditions. “These songs
have been handed down to
generation after
generation pretty much
the same melody, and the
same beat. It’s good to
know that these young
guys can sing these
kinds of songs. It makes
me feel good to know
that the culture isn't
going to die out”.
Join us for our next
visit as we head 150
miles south to Rosebud
Sioux Tribe and learn
about the
Summer Food Service
Program (SFSP)
at their site in
Mission, South Dakota.
Cheyenne Eagle Butte
School Drum Circle
made up of community
youth play and sing
traditional Lakota
songs.
Summer is in full swing,
and it’s time for some
healthy competition!
Around the country,
local organizations from
churches to community
centers are busy serving
meals to kids through
the Summer Food Service
Program (SFSP), a
federally-funded program
that provides free,
nutritious meals and
snacks to children in
low-income areas
throughout the summer
months when school is
not in session.
Although thousands of
organizations operate
this program, each site
has different ideas
about activities,
volunteer recruiting,
and outreach in both
rural and urban settings
to make sure no child
goes hungry in the
summer.
To help capture and
share some of the
creative and successful
ways sites are managing
the program, FNS is
sponsoring "Food, Fun
and Sun! Summer Food
Service Program Story
and Photo Contest.” We
are looking for best
practices that fit into
four targeted
categories. Winning
entries will help us
spread the word about
programs that break down
barriers with innovative
methods.
Current SFSP Sponsors
and Sites are eligible
to enter. We’re looking
for examples of
successful programs that
fit into any of these
targeted categories:
1. Recruiting and using
volunteers to support
SFSP
2. Serving meals to
older children (ages
12-18)
3. Programs that serve
meals in rural areas
4. Programs that are
extremely creative
Contest submissions
should be in the form of
a 200-400 word narrative
(your story) accompanied
by two photos.
Finalists will be posted
on the contest website
where a public vote will
determine Winners and
Honorable Mentions.
Winners will be honored
and recognized in a
variety of ways on a
National stage.
Food, Fun and Sun!
Summer Food Service
Program Story and Photo
Contest starts July 20
and submissions will be
accepted through
August 20, 2011.
FNS staffers Gretchen
Ruethling, Sara Gold,
and Emily Buckham Buday
volunteer to help
distribute DC summer
meal site information
around Washington DC.
This is their story.
June 21, 2011 -- By
Emily Buckham Buday, FNS
Outreach It’s here! Today is
the first day of summer.
To children this often
means sleeping in, pool
parties, ice cream, and
a summer vacation. But
to many children, it
also means hunger.
That’s where the USDA
Summer Food Service
Program comes in, to
help reach children, who would normally receive
meals from the
National
School Lunch Program and
School Breakfast Program
during the regular
school year, with
nutritious meals while
school is out.
We, at the
Food and Nutrition
Service, have offered
toolkits, guides,
templates, webinars, and
a lot of other
outreach
materials, encouraging
community organizations
and individuals to
conduct outreach and
walk their communities
to
let people know about
summer meals for kids. We
continually reiterate
how important it is to
do local outreach, but we
sometimes find
ourselves removed from
that type of effort here
at the National level.
Fortunate for us, on
Saturday, June 18, 2011,
DC Hunger Solutions,
founded by the
Food Research and
Action Center (FRAC),
launched the first ever,
“Washington DC Summer
Food Service Program
Outreach Day” in an
effort to increase
awareness of and
participation in the DC
Free Summer Meals
programs.
In Minnesota, the
Minnesota Vikings
football team visit
elementary schools right
before school lets out
to promote the Summer
Food Service Program in
their communities.
DC Hunger Solutions
asked for volunteers to
help distribute posters,
fliers, and cards with
summer meal site
information all over the
city. This seemed like a
great opportunity to get
involved and really do
some of the outreach
that we often encourage
others to do.
Three of us from the
Food and Nutrition
Service Office of
Strategic Initiatives,
Partnerships and
Outreach, volunteered
our time on Saturday to
help at the local level.
Groups all over the city
teamed up and spread out
to distribute fliers in
English, Spanish, and
Amharic (an Ethiopian
language). We
distributed fliers and
posters to churches,
community centers,
laundry mats, cleaners,
corner stores, markets,
housing projects, gas
stations, and other
locations. It felt good
to think that after just
a few hours of our time
on Saturday this
information could reach
a family or child that
didn’t know about this
opportunity. It felt
good to know that with
just a few hours on
Saturday, we helped feed
more hungry children
this summer.
Felicia
Owusu of DC Hunger
Solutions shows how
easy it can be to find a
summer site in
DC using your cell
phone.
Last year, DC topped the
charts for the number of
children fed meals in
the summer compared to
the number reached
during the regular
school year. The 2011
FRAC Report, “Hunger
Doesn’t Take a Vacation”,
showed that in the
summer of 2010, DC was
feeding slightly over
80% of children
receiving meals during
the school year.
Although DC is leading
the country in feeding
children during the
summer, DC Hunger
Solutions knows there
are still more children
that need meals.
Hopefully this
additional outreach
effort will help reach
more children this
summer.
If you have volunteer
opportunities and need
help finding volunteers,
go to
www.serve.gov/endhunger
and post your
opportunities.
If you want to volunteer
in your community, visit
www.serve.gov/endhunger
and find an opportunity
near you.
To find a summer site
near you, call the
National Hunger
Hotline at
1-866-3-HUNGRY or
1-877-8-HAMBRE. We hope
to see you next year on
outreach day.
June 14, 2011 -- As
summer draws near, we
know that it is time to
shift our Summer Food
Service Program (SFSP)
outreach emphasis from
recruiting new sites and
sponsors to letting
families and children
know where to go for
free, nutritious meals.
Below are two ways to
spread the word about
your Summer Food site.
1. Register Your Feeding
Site for the National
Hunger Hotline:
The
National Hunger
Hotline
(1-866-3-Hungry),
answers calls from
people around the
country looking for food
assistance. Registering
SFSP sites with the
Clearinghouse ensures
that Hotline operators
have access to the best
information to steer
more kids to sites, and
it helps sites make use
of all available
outreach methods.
Make
sure you register your
summer feeding site so
more kids can eat and
smile all summer long.
If you have questions
about the Hotline or
need help registering,
please emailnhc@whyhunger.orgor call the
Hotline at
1-866-3-HUNGRY.
2. Use Serve.Gov to
Recruit Volunteers to
Help Your Summer Site:
We know that many
summer sponsors and
sites look for
volunteers to help
support their programs.
The new hunger-themed
volunteer website
www.serve.gov/endhunger,
allows for opportunities
to be posted as well as
allowing volunteers to
search for
opportunities. We
encourage Summer Food
Service Program Sponsors
and Sites to register
their volunteer
opportunities with
www.serve.gov/endhunger.
Thank you for the work
that you do each summer
to feed hungry kids!
May
25, 2011 -- For the past few
years, many partners who work
with us have requested more of
our outreach materials in
Spanish. We are happy to
oblige as FNS programs do not
reach a large portion of Latinos
who are eligible to participate.
We are excited to announce two
new materials that are available
for download in Spanish and
English.
The Summer Food Service
Program Outreach Toolkit
has outreach tips for how to
reach families and children,
media, schools, and other
community organizations and get
them to participate in Summer
Food. The downloadable
toolkit contains templates for
letters, press releases,
calendars, posters, door
hangers, and much more.
These materials can be
customized with your
organization's contact
information and feeding site
details. Toolkit and all
materials are available in
Spanish and
English.
How to Get Food Help Brochure
is written in clear language for
consumers who need food
assistance. The brochure
contains information on how to
apply for USDA's nutrition
assistance programs. You
can order up to 700 copies for
free at
http://snap.ntis.gov.
If you want to download a .pdf
version of the brochure in
Spanish or
English right now.
Don't forget, we have other
existing outreach materials and
tools in Spanish:
The SNAP Prescreening
Tool can be found in
Spanish here.
The SNAP Retailer
Locator can be accessed
in
Spanish here.
Find healthy, low-cost
recipes from SNAP-Ed
Recipe Finder in
Spanish here.
May 13, 2011 -- Catholic Charities in Chicago is
just one of many organizations
that has committed to serving
thousands of kids nutritious
meals this summer through the
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).
Recently, FNS staff visited
Catholic Charities headquarters
in Chicago and met with Angel
Gutierrez. Mr. Gutierrez,
Vice-President of Community
Development and Outreach
Services, shared a bit about
their operations and why
they are committed to expanding
summer feeding to serve more
hungry kids in the Chicago area.
Watch the following video clip
to learn about how they have
used the SFSP to feed children and
create jobs in the process. Not
to spoil the video, but in the
summer of 2010 alone, Catholic
Charities Chicago was able to
serve 12,040 different children.
Quite a summer!
Expanding access to the Summer
Food Service Program is an
important part of
ending
childhood hunger in the United
States. Many children from
low-income families depend on
school meals for breakfast and
lunch, but when school is out,
those meals are no longer
available. For this very reason,
USDA introduced SFSP, a
federally funded program
administered by States that
reimburses organizations for
meals served to children during
summer. As a community
organization, school,
university, local government, or
individual, you can get
involved! You can sponsor the
program and operate multiple
feeding sites or, you can become
a feeding site and work with an
existing sponsor to provide an
additional location where kids
can come to eat free nutritious
meals. And of course, you can
always volunteer at summer
feeding sites to make sure that
food gets to the children.
Please visit
www.summerfood.usda.gov to learn
more!
Feb.
4, 2011 -- Each
summer, 22.3 million students
are at risk of going hungry when
the school year ends and school
lunches are no longer available.
For many children, school meals
are the only complete and
nutritious meals they eat. In
the summer they go without those
meals.
The
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)
can help to fill the summer meal
gap for low-income children.
Faith-based, community and
private non-profit organizations
can make a difference in the
lives of hungry children by
serving meals with SFSP, a
federally-funded program
administered by States that
reimburses organizations for
meals served to children during
the summer. Schools, churches,
recreation centers, playgrounds,
parks, and camps can serve those
meals in neighborhoods with high
percentages of low-income
families. These venues are safe
and familiar locations where
children naturally congregate
during the summer.
Join the USDA Food and Nutrition
Service (FNS) in one of the free
upcoming webinars in the
2011
Summer Food Service Program
Webinar Series! Learn more
about how you can be involved;
as a site where kids eat meals,
as a sponsor serving
meals, or as a volunteer. Anyone
can participate in these
webinars!
Sessions scheduled for the
general public:
Thursday, 2/10/11, 12:00pm –
1:00pm EST
Thursday, 2/10/11, 3:00pm –
4:00pm EST
Monday, 2/14/11, 3:00pm –
4:00pm EST
Thursday, 2/24/11, 5:00pm –
6:00pm EST
Tuesday, 3/8/11, 6:00pm –
7:00pm EST
Thursday, 3/17/11, 11:00am -
12:00pmEST
These sessions are free for all
participants. You will need
access
to a phone line and a
computer with internet access to
participate. To participate,
please complete the online
registration by clicking
on the following link:
http://vovici.com/wsb.dll/s/17fb9g48fe7