Enrichment Activities
Add some additional fun to your summer and afterschool meals sites by offering enrichment activities! Examples include providing nutrition education, physical activity opportunities, arts and crafts, and reading. See below for some fun, simple, and low-cost ideas.
New for SummerPalooza 2023
General Nutrition and Physical Activity Resources
- Cooking Matters
- Summer Meals Programming Toolkit from DINE
- USDA Summer Food, Summer Moves Resource Kit
- USDA Team Nutrition
Fruits and Vegetables
Doing fun activities around fruits and vegetables can help get kids excited to eat them. Consider doing fun activities around the fruits and vegetables served in the meals and/or doing a taste test featuring the items being promoted.
Summer Fruit and Vegetable Holidays
Promote fruits and vegetables year-round, but consider having special themed activities for national fruit and vegetable holidays at your summer meals sites!
- June: National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month
- June 11: National Corn on the Cob Day
- June 17: National Eat Your Vegetables Day
- July: National Blueberry Month
- July: National Watermelon Month
- August: National Peach Month
- August 3: National Watermelon Day
Fruit and Vegetable Resources
Blueberry Activity Ideas
- Blueberry Sorting
- Finger Print Blueberry Bucket
- Fruit S’mores
- Pin the Blueberry on the Bush
- Pompom Blueberry Bush
- Tissue Paper Blueberry Bush
Corn Activity Ideas
- “Hot Corn”
- Finger Print Corn on the Cob
- Paint with Corn on the Cob
- Pass the Corn
- Pompom Corn on the Cob
- Pop Corn Kernel Corn on the Cob
- Pop the Corn
Peach Activity Ideas
Watermelon Activity Ideas
- Handprint Watermelon
- Pin the Seed on the Watermelon
- Watermelon Addition and Subtraction Games
- Watermelon Flower Pot
- Watermelon Fraction Games
- Watermelon Paper Fan
- Watermelon Playdough
- Watermelon Tissue Paper
Farm to Summer
Farm to Summer helps connect local foods with summer meals programs through activities such as serving local foods as part of meals or taste tests, education, and gardening.
Farm to Summer Resources
Farm to Summer Activity Ideas
Physical Activity
Help kids stay active during the summer by offering fun physical activity opportunities!
Physical Activity Ideas
Ray, the official NC Summer Meals Mascot
Ray loves visiting meal sites and doing enrichment activities with kids! See below for Ray-themed activities.
Ray Activity Ideas
Nutrition Education from the Carolina Hunger Initiative
The Carolina Hunger Initiative site hosts tons of nutrition education materials for kids and teens, including: activity handouts you can print and bring to sites; simple, healthy recipes you can teach to kids; online games; and more.