As the weather warms up and the days get longer, we find ourselves getting closer and closer to summer – and with summer comes summer meals! While you may still be focused on finishing out the school year, a successful summer meals program starts with strong planning. No Kid Hungry Ohio is here to help. No Kid Hungry’s Center for Best Practices offers a variety of resources for summer meals sponsors of all levels of experience. Not sure where to start? Here’s some of our favorite resources:
Mapping & Area Eligibility:
- Navigating Area Eligibility In Summer And Afterschool Meals
- No Kid Hungry Summer Meals Eligibility Map
- Rural Summer Meal Coverage Tool
Operational Support
- Proactive Planning for Summer Meals Sponsors
- Expanding Your Reach: Planning Your Rural Non-Congregate Summer Meal Service
- How a School District Can Offer Home Delivery of Meals During the Summer
- Successful Non-Congregate Meal Service Models for Rural Areas: Implementation Guide
- Feeding A Crowd – Tips For Congregate Meal Service
- Managing Costs In School Nutrition Programs
- Smart Hiring: Leveraging Student Workers for Impactful Summer Meal Programs
- Reaching Rural Families with Grab & Go: Ideas for Transforming Summer Meal Programs
Generating Program Support
- Bridging the Gap: Building Authentic Partnerships Between Urban and Rural Organizations
- Summer Meals in Libraries
- Conversation Starters for Designing More Inclusive School Meals Programs
- Together We Serve: How Schools and Community Organizations are Boosting Summer Meals
Curious about how other sponsors are operating in Ohio? Check out our spotlights from Summer 2024, including Fremont City, Ottawa County Family Advocacy Center, Scioto County Community Action Organization, and Carrollton Ex. Village.
Have more questions or need technical assistance? Reach out to the No Kid Hungry Ohio team at ARoudebush@strength.org. When we work together, we can make sure that every child across Ohio has access to three meals a day, 365 days a year.
