That was just one of the take-aways from today’s USDA Summer Food Summit, held in San Diego, CA by the USDA Western Regional Office.The context of this particular message was that we, as community members and as professionals working with kids in need, must to take a good look at what we’re doing to support kids during summer and consider how we can provide comprehensive and high-quality support to the kids that really need it when school’s out. We have to think beyond “Are we feeding the kids?” and instead ask, “Are we feeding them well?”
There many ways in which this theme (which was brought to the group by Oregon Department of Education’s Joyce Dougherty) emerged ranging from providing culturally- and age-appropriate foods, integrating community and school gardens into summer meal programs, to providing high-quality food.
Among the presenters, many of whom traveled from other parts of the country to share ideas, challenges and best practices were these Summer Meal Coalition members:
- Patrice Chamberlain, Coordinator, California Summer Meal Coalition
- Crystal FitzSimons, Director of School and Out-of-School Time Programs, Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
- Janet Jendrejack, Manager, Nutrition Programs Administration, California Department of Education
- Norma Johnson, Program Specialist, San Diego Unified School District
- Jennifer Puthoff, Director of Child Care & After School, YMCA of Silicon Valley
- Rodney Taylor, Nutrition Services Director, Riverside Unified School District
Events like today’s summit are key to helping us maintain the focus on the child (not the program) as a venue where we can be inspired by the ideas and stories of others and rekindle our own passion for doing what we do. It’s easy to lose our way and become focused on the operational aspect of summer meal programs but when we are in the company of others that share our vision, we are encouraged and emboldened to believe that we can make a difference in the lives of the kids in our communities. And we can.
