Lunch at the Library

Public libraries are helping make sure kids have access to nutritious food when school is not in session by hosting summer food programs.

  • Once again this summer, Northwest Regional Library (NWRL) staff are reading at meal sites that provide free meals for children and their caregivers in Thief River Falls. The Library Ladies read stories to children as they eat their lunches. NWRL also uses the Once Upon a Reader story strolls to promote early literacy.
  • The Winona Public Library in SELCO is collaborating with the Winona Area Public Schools to provide a FREE lunch program at the library for children ages 18 and under, June 13 – August 26, from 11:30 am-1:00 pm, Monday thru Friday. Children can “grab and go from the lunch bus” or may eat in the bus or on the library’s old front steps.
SELCO Winona Public Library Lunch Bus 2016-06
The Lunch Bus at the Winona Public Library

Become a Summer Food Program Site

Learn How Your Library Can Be a Summer Food Program Site

Fewer than 15 percent of Minnesota kids who benefit from the free or reduced-price school lunch program have access to summer and afterschool food programs. Limited access to free food programSummer Food Programs, particularly during the summer, leaves many children hungry. Public libraries can help make sure kids have access to nutritious food when school is not in session.

Begin planning your summer 2016 participation by attending an informational webinar on February 24, 2016 at 11 a.m. Jenny Butcher, USDA Summer Food Service Program Coordinator at MDE, will share how you can get involved. There is no need to pre-register.

Please join the WebEx meeting online (meeting number 594 625 833) or call in at 1-888-742-5095 (conference code 874 403 3672). Email Jen Verbrugge with questions or to request a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event.

Note: MDE requires a two-week advance notice in order to provide the requested accommodation and requires a 48-hour notice in order to cancel a requested accommodation.

Summer & At-Risk Food Program

Summer and At-Risk Food Programs for Kids – Webinar Reminder

Public libraries can help make sure kids have access to nutritious food when school is not in session by participating in summer and/or afterschool food programs. Begin planning your library’s summer 2015 participation by attending an informational webinar on February 4, 2015 at 11 a.m.  Jenny Butcher, USDA Summer Food Service Program Coordinator at MDE, will share how you can get involved.

Register

Contact Jennifer Verbrugge with questions or to request a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event. Note: MDE requires a two-week advance notice in order to provide the requested accommodation and requires a 48-hour notice in order to cancel a requested accommodation.