summer reading program

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 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.

Fall Fun Day 2015 a Success

Great River Regional Library (GRRL) hosted the first ever CRPLSA sponsored Summer Reading Program Fall Fun Day Program on November 22. About 40 librarians from around the state attended to brainstorm and share ideas to plan for their 2016 programs and as a “train the trainer” event. Representatives from the CRPLSA-sponsored iReads program were also on hand to display incentives and other program materials available.

The theme for next year will be “Read for the Win” a celebration of sports and achievement which will tie in nicely with the Summer Olympics.

The collaboration was very successful. Attendees reported:

“This was an amazing program that is going to save us SO much time & it is going to make our program stronger & more inventive.”

“So many ideas! The brain games will be used for this Winter Reading Program.”
“I learned new ideas to implement with toddlers, school age, and teen/adults. Most programming can be inexpensive. I have never done a multi-generational program before but I will try one this upcoming year. You gave a lot of ideas that I would have never thought of.”

Fall Fun Day

CRPLSA and the Youth Services Committee invite library staff to the inaugural Fall Fun Day for the 2016 iREAD Summer Reading Program (SRP)! Join youth services staff from across the state to begin planning for SRP – 2016. Fun Day participants will be able to identify at least one new programming idea to augment the summer programming at their library.

Date & Time: Friday, November 20, 2015 | 9:00a-12:00p
Location: St. Cloud Public Library – Mississippi Room
Theme: Read – For the Win! (Games, sports and the Olympics!)

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.

Library Summer and At-Risk Food Programs for Kids

Fewer than 17 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 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 2015 participation today, there are many ways your library can get involved:

1. Learn about local free meal resources and direct patrons to them.
Find information about Minnesota meal sites on MDE’s At-Risk Afterschool Meals web page and Summer Food Service Program web page.

2. Provide information at your library for patrons to take home.
Make available take-home information for families in need. Contact Second Harvest Heartland for pads of tear-off sheets to passively promote summer food service.

3. Your library may be eligible to be an at-risk afterschool and/or summer food site or sponsor.
Sites store and distribute food, supervise meal service, provide activities, and keep a daily record of participation. To notify MDE of your desire to participate as a site, fill out an interest survey. Sponsors manage multiple sites, coordinate fund distribution and reporting. Read the Second Harvest Heartland toolkit for more information about how to be a sponsor.

Contact State Library Services, Jen Nelson at or Jen Verbrugge for more information about how your library can work with summer and out-of-school time food programs.

Prevent summer slide!

The benefits of summer reading are clear. National research finds that students who participate in library summer reading programs score higher on reading achievement tests at the beginning of the next school year than those who do not participate.

The iREAD mission is to provide libraries with the tools to bridge this summer gap, while inspiring literacy and life-long learning. Click here to view iREAD’s new Prevent Summer Slide bookmarks and posters, designed to create support from parents and community leaders.