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For kids who receive school meals, the summer months can be the hungriest time of year. Patti Bilbrey, School Nutrition Director of Scottsdale Unified District, saw this need and was determined to meet it. Through summer non-congregate, a flexible program that allow families to grab up to a week’s worth of ready to eat, frozen, or shelf-stable food for their children all at once, Scottsdale Unified was able to serve _____ meals!

When Patti first heard that her local Boys and Girls club was serving rural non-congregate meals, this piqued her interest. In January, she said to herself, “I really wish we could do a rural site, there must be something we can do in the Southern part of Scottsdale.” However, she knew rural designation was limited in the valley.

One April day, she poured over a USDA rural designation map and saw a green portion of land. Smack dab in the middle was Scottsdale Community College (SCC). Despite it being April, Patti was determined to make it happen. From this experience, she is confident that “non-congregate is possible to operate, no matter the timeline!” As a sponsor, Scottsdale Unified District has many invaluable learnings and best practices for next summer.

Without many individuals, partnerships, and preparations, Patti would not have been able to operate such a successful, new summer non-congregate site this year. By taking a deeper dive into who and what is behind the scenes of this program, it becomes very evident why they were able to accomplish everything they did this summer.

A Community That Comes Together

Scottsdale Unified District’s partnership with Scottsdale Community College (SCC) was critical to serving rural non-congregate meals. SCC was such a strong, supportive partner throughout the entire process. During the pandemic, SCC administered covid vaccines there and had previous experience with traffic and lines management, police safety enforcement needs, and local traffic laws to abide by. Furthermore, SCC already had an established relationship with the ____ tribe, which made the process more seamless and supportive overall.

Often partner buy-in is a common concern for sponsors. However, SCC leaned in and is now a strong community partner. Whether it be directly promoting/marketing the summer program, having campus police as a resource to set up lines and manage the site, or thoughtfully ensuring Patti and her team were comfortable with restrooms access, chairs, SCC went above and beyond as a host. “What you think will be the hardest hurdle to get past, is actually not.”

“Looking for those community actors looking to help. It might not be a community college specifically, it could be your city’s government, or something else, but community partnerships are integral and so helpful!” says Patti.

She has been so impacted by community partnerships that it has inspired her to hopefully be a mentor in Phoenix and the outer parts/outskirts of the valley next summer. Through partnership and collaboration, the novelty of summer non-congregate is not as daunting.  Patti sums it up so well: “It is hard when you don’t know what you don’t know, but don’t let that deter you! You learn as you go and that’s fine!”

Sustainable Staffing and Program Models

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Intro 1: The driving/guiding question that led to Scottsdale Unified choosing grab and go was this: “What was going to be the most convenient for the family?”

Intro 2: “What was going to be the most convenient for the family?” This was the driving question in choosing a program model.

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“Not many families can come in and eat at an open site 7 days a week,” says Patti. “We wouldn’t have the staff to even host that,” she continues. Scottsdale Unified’s Grab and Go program model demonstrates that sustainable, tailored non-congregate models can also correlate with sustainability for your staff. For Scottsdale Unified, Grab and Go made the most sense and met their community’s need the best.

Scottsdale Unified’s Grab and Go Model

Scottsdale Unified operated a Grab and Go summer non-congregate program, so that families can pick them up and take them home instead of eating together at a central site. When describing grab and go, Patti says, “it’s easy! Why go into the weeds when you don’t have to. One stop shop, get a week’s worth of food, how great is that!”

The grab and go program was not only convenient and accessible, but strengthened community bonds. By the end of the summer, Patti and her team knew people by name in the cars; it was very communal. You would see kids waving, building community with one another, and the program helped keep kids connected with the schools in the summer.

Sustainable Staffing

Staffing is a commonly listed barrier/limitation OR Staffing can be a barrier/limitation when running a summer non-congregate program. However, Patti has found great success in hiring staff because her grab and go model is flexible and convenient for staff as well.

One of the most common limitations to running the summer non-congregate program is weather. Fortunately, Scottsdale Unified’s grab and go model distributed 7 days worth of meals at one pick-up, minimizing the time staff spent in the heat. The program was not only convenient for families, but staff as well!

Another limitation was that some staff could only work certain days and hours, especially because it is summer break. Therefore, Patti organized and scheduled shifts very flexibly. For instance, if some were on packing duty, Patti maximized their shift and had them distribute on days when they are already there packing. On hotter days, Patti also had staff consistently rotating to mitigate health concerns and discomfort. Patti put it best: “You can promote flexibility to make staffing sustainable and accessible. During the school year, the schedule is more rigid/set in stone than a summer program – there are designated school meal times.” However, there is so much potential/room for creativity and flexibility in a summer non-congregate program!

This past summer, Scottsdale Unified’s program was fully run by their own staff, but next year there are endless possibilities for volunteers. From student volunteers trying to get community service hours, youth wanting a summer job, to other community groups looking for volunteer opportunities, there are many ways to staff your program in sustainable, cost-effective ways. Check out the resources below to learn more about innovative staffing for your summer program!

Why Rural Non-Congregate?

When reflecting on the past summer, one memorable individual comes to mind. Every Wednesday without fail, a young boy would walk across the reservation to pick up his meals. When grabbing the bags, he would explain that he didn’t need to take the perishable food items, because they did not own a refrigerator nor have electricity. “When you hear that,” says Patti, “you know you are here for the right reasons.”

On the last day of the program, he did not say much, but he would sit and just watch what was going on. It made his day to come see the team and the program. “This is not someone or something far away. This exists in our community – these are people right next door to us,” Patti says. Every week, Scottsdale Unified would see kids so excited to see familiar foods that they eat during the school year in the summer program, and seeing that excitement touched the team.

The program not only impacts the families served, but the staff running it as well. The summer non-congregate is very communal and fulfilling because the staff can see the impact of their work firsthand. Connecting with families face to face and being acknowledged/thanked was so meaningful for the staff who don’t always feel seen or connected.

Scottsdale Unified is living proof that summer non-congregate is a critical program that meets the needs of the community.