Identifying and Connecting with an SFSP Meal Sponsor
- Go to the USDA’s Capacity Builder Map www.fns.usda.gov/capacitybuilder to identify existing sites and their meal sponsors. Input your library address. Select the box for the previous summer’s SFSP meal sites to see SFSP sites near you and to identify the sponsoring meal provider for those locations.
- For California libraries, visit California Department of Education’s Summer Meal Sponsor/Site Map to identify existing sites and their meal sponsors.
- Contact the local meal sponsor(s), and initiate a conversation.
- If there are no SFSP sites near you and you are in an eligible area, consider contacting the nearby school district Nutrition Director or the local food bank that serves your area, to discuss the possibility of using your library as a meal site.
Helpful Resources:
USDA How to Participate in Summer Meals
https://www.fns.usda.gov/sfsp/sfsp-fact-sheets
USDA Site Supervisor Guide (SFSP)
https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/sfsp/SFSP-Supervisor%20Guide%202017_RELEASE.pdf
USDA Summer Meals Toolkit
https://www.fns.usda.gov/sfsp/summer-meals-toolkit
USDA’s Area Eligibility Map
https://www.fns.usda.gov/area-eligibility
USDA Capacity Builder
https://www.fns.usda.gov/capacitybuilder
CDE Summer Meal Sponsor/Site Map
https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sh/sn/summersites.asp
Food Research and Action Center
Conference Call and Webinar Recordings – Summer Meals Matter
https://frac.org/conference-call-webinar-recordings
Share Our Strength: No Kid Hungry Campaign
Summer Meals
https://bestpractices.nokidhungry.org/programs/summer-meals
Memorandums of Understandings (MOUs)
Some agencies may require a formal agreement for participation. Below are some samples.
- Sample Memorandum of Understanding between county library and school district – courtesy of Imperial County Library
- Sample Memorandum of Understanding between city library and regional food bank – courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library
Food Safety, People Safety
At the site training, the meal sponsor sponsor will provide detailed information about adhering to local, state, and federal food and health safety standards. For the safety of the children and to maintain site and sponsor integrity, it is imperative that the library complies with the standards rigorously and exactly as the sponsor demonstrated in the training. Failure to comply can result in the site being closed down or jeopardize the sponsor’s ability to operate the program. In some communities, the health inspector may visit sites.