It’s that time of year again! For many kids across Tennessee, school is out and summer is here – and with summer break comes summer meals. For kids who rely on school breakfast, lunch, and afterschool meals, summer can be the hungriest time of year. Fortunately, communities across Tennessee are taking care of kids through summer meals programs, and making sure they get the healthy food they need.
Many of our Schools and Community-based organizations have already kicked off summer and are serving summer meals to kids across the state. Morgan County School Nutrition Department hosted a Summer Meals Kick-off event June 1st for their county. They hosted hundreds of children and their families for a fun event with the Mayfield cow and ice cream, along with bounce houses, face painting and resources from around the county for families to take advantage of during the summer months. The library, head start, local colleges and resource agencies, set up booths with games and prizes for all. Through sponsorships, Morgan County Schools was not only able to feed all children 18 and under for the day through the Seamless Summer program, but also fed all parents and community members. The event highlighted the various locations throughout the county that they would be serving meals to children during the summer months.
In McMinn County, Athens City Schools and the Athens/McMinn YMCA are tag-teaming summer meals to cover meals for the whole family. Athens City Schools is serving meals daily to their summer school students in the building and allowing for pickup meals for children not attending each day. The Athens/McMinn YMCA was approved to give out 3 and 4 days worth of breakfast and lunch meals along with some work sheets to keep kids entertained during the summer months. Their Y on the Fly van with huge coolers packed with meals are delivered to various housing communities in the county. Their No Kid Hungry Youth Ambassador, Rachel was excited to be serving meals to the youth in the community and supporting the program.
The YMCA of Metro Chattanooga is also out delivering meals this summer to their various sites with the help of their No Kid Hungry Youth Ambassador, Caroline. Caroline is excited to increase awareness of sites and partners in Hamilton county and surrounding areas through social and print media. The Downtown Chattanooga library has had a great turnout this summer Monday-Saturday for their lunch meal which is usually offered on the heels of other fun activities they host during the summer.
Summer Meals Resources
No Kid Hungry Tennessee is committed to supporting families and summer meals providers, and we have a number of resources available to make sure kids have access to the food they need to thrive.
Families can text FOOD or COMIDA to 304-304 to find a site with meals for kids closest to them when school is out. New this summer, families can also use WhatsApp to find free summer meals – visit NoKidHungry.org/WhatsApp to learn more. This toolkit includes a range of ready-made promotional materials to help publicize summer meals in your community.
This toolkit was created to help you get the word out to families about meals available for children and teens this summer. There are a variety of ready-to-use and customizable materials—in both English and Spanish—to help you quickly and easily communicate with families. Find social media graphics, sample social media posts, postcards, and more.
Successful Non-Congregate Meal Service Models for Rural Areas: Implementation Guide
This resource outlines effective models for non-congregate meal service. Use this guide to find strategies and tactics to execute a successful non-congregate summer meals program in your rural community.
Feeding a Crowd: Tips for Congregate Meal Service
This resource provides strategies to make congregate meal service easier for site staff and improve the experience for children and families. Use the strategies outlined to create a welcoming and fun environment and also tips for training and communicating program requirements to site staff and families.
Promoting Your Summer Meals Program: Tips, Tricks, and Strategies to Spread the Word
Raising awareness about your summer meals program is key to ensuring children and families have access to meals all summer long. Whether you are a sponsor, site, or advocate, you have a role in spreading the word about summer meals.
At No Kid Hungry Tennessee, we are so grateful to our state agencies, meal sponsors and providers across the state for making sure that Tennessee kids have access to nutritious meals all summer long. If you need help implementing a summer meals program, or are looking for guidance or support, fill out our inquiry form and we’ll be in touch!