Training

Webinar | Lunch at the Library: Nourishing Bodies and Minds

For too many children and teens, summer is a time of hunger and learning loss. Libraries offer the perfect environment to combat childhood hunger and obesity while preventing summer learning loss by offering free, healthy lunch to kids through the USDA Summer Food Service Program. In California, Lunch at the Library was developed to provide tailored support to library staff, offering tools to develop successful public library summer meal programs that draw new families to the library, foster community partnerships, and engage families with learning and enrichment opportunities while school is out.  Join us for this webinar to learn about the tools and practical tips for starting or expanding a USDA summer meals site and incorporating lunches into your summer reading program. Even if you’ve been offering summer lunches for years, you’ll come away inspired and ready to plan.

The Summer Food Service Program is a program of the United Stated Department of Agriculture.

Presenters
Patrice Chamberlain, Executive Director, California Summer Meal Coalition
Trish Garone, Programs Manager, California Library Association
Jasmin LoBasso, Marketing & Promotions, Kern County Library (CA)

For individuals who would like to receive a certificate for Continuing Education documentation, please access this webinar via WebJunction’s free Course Catalog.

Annual Lunch at the Library Training Workshop

California Library Association hosts an annual winter (January/February) Lunch at the Library training workshop. The training workshop is suitable for anyone planning a summer meal program for the first time, or considering expanding or improving upon an existing program. Topics covered include:

  • the logistics of getting started
  • finding and working with meal sponsors (the agencies that provide the USDA Summer Meal Program meals that are served in participating libraries)
  • creating an inviting space
  • outreach to families
  • programs to complement the meal service
  • working with volunteers
  • gaining staff and leadership buy-in
  • implementation with limited staffing and resources
  • engaging community partners
  • evaluation

PowerPoint Presentations

We encourage libraries to use these materials from past trainings to host Lunch at the Library trainings locally and to supplement the resources available elsewhere on this site.

Overview / Getting Started

Partnerships

Creating an Inviting Space

Programming

 

Volunteers

Evaluation