Summer Food Programs at the Library - Discussion
SFSP Update from May 2020:
Sharing
in case you haven’t seen this update from the USDA, released on Friday. During
the public health emergency, meals have been distributed to children under the
USDA Summer Food Service Program (with schools closed and students unable to
access meals through the National School Lunch Program). The USDA allowed
states several waivers of specific SFSP rules through June 30. These waivers
have now been extended through August 31. Libraries that serve as SFSP sites
may distribute meals grab-and-go style this summer. Parents may pick up meals
for their children. And several days’ or a week’s worth of meals may be picked
up at once.
Please
encourage your participating libraries to talk to their SFSP sponsor. Please
encourage libraries that do not yet participate as SFSP sites to find out if
they are eligible (i.e. located in an area with 50% or more students eligible
for free or reduced price school meals) and to reach out to your state’s SFSP
administering agency to find out how they can participate. With the pandemic’s
economic impact, the need is, of course, even greater than ever. Libraries and
other sites in eligible areas can provide meals to ALL children regardless of
family economic status. Libraries do not have to prepare food; that is the
responsibility of the vendor. Libraries generally do not have to negotiate with
the vendor; that is the responsibility of the local SFSP sponsor. Libraries can
simply serve as a pick-up site, and with their visibility and accessibility in
the community, they will be awesome pick-up sites.