For Sponsors: Promote and Plan
Check out these can’t miss resources for promoting your Summer Meals Program and planning for future summers:
Everything you need to promote your sites in-person and online.
The Capacity Builder Map, a tool provided by the NC Department of Public Instruction, is designed to help sponsors (Summer Food Service Program and Seamless Summer Option) evaluate previous years’ service and plan effectively for the future.
This summer meals outreach toolkit from No Kid Hungry has graphics, social media posts, template letters, flyers, and more to make promoting summer meals easy. Many of the resources focus on the 304-304 texting hotline.
Using data from meal claims submitted to the NC Department of Public Instruction, the Carolina Hunger Initiative creates local profile sheets providing an overview of Child Nutrition Programs and information on how many children received meals through these programs in North Carolina.
The profiles provide a snapshot of the economic benefits and nutrition access challenges and are a great way to introduce yourself or others to these important taxpayer-funded programs in your area. Use the profiles with a school administrator, elected official, or community member to start a conversation about what is going well and what needs to be done to provide sustainable nutrition access for children in your district or county. The profiles can help reveal gaps in efforts to fight hunger and provide context for how efforts compare to the rest of the state.
Local partners can help expand the reach of your summer nutrition program. Consider these ways to help inform families in your community.
The NC Department of Public Instruction’s School Nutrition Services team oversee the operation of NC Summer Nutrition Programs.
The NCDPI website has a wealth of resources related to the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), Seamless Summer Option (SSO), and other programs for schools, community organizations, and others that are participating.
More information, tools, and resources designed to successfully end childhood hunger are available from the No Kid Hungry Center for Best Practices. Resources cover many programs and topics, including summer meals.