From the State Library of Ohio

For libraries that participate as Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sites or support other SFSP sites in your area with programming, SRP signups, or any other collaboration…
 
The recently introduced Keep Kids Fed Act is being fast-tracked through Congress and passed yesterday in the House of Representatives. If it becomes law, the Keep Kids Fed Act will allow summer meal providers the flexibility to provide grab and go meals, meal delivery, and distribution of up to a week’s worth of meals at a time in summer 2022. It will also make changes to the school meal program for the 2022-23 school year to make it easier for more kids to get free school meals.
 
Meanwhile, as of now, the USDA waivers that increased access to SFSP during the pandemic are ending on June 30. Though this could change with passage of the Keep Kids Fed Act, libraries and other summer meal providers are currently planning for and providing congregate meals (i.e. eaten on site).
 
We know that fun, enriching programming is a big draw, which is one of the reasons libraries are awesome SFSP sites. Kids can come for a program and stay for lunch. Not all summer meal site operators are as experienced and knowledgeable as librarians are about programming. You can help them out by sharing CSLP’s Read Up! guide – a mini-manual for summer meal sites, featuring easy-to-implement enrichment activities that support reading, creativity, and fun. It was developed for non-library SFSP sites. You are encouraged to share this resource with summer meal sites to give them tools and ideas for integrating enrichment programming that supports reading and literacy.
 
Customize page 2 with your library’s information and page 26 with your library’s logo before distributing:
Online version (accessible for screen readers): https://www.cslpreads.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cslp_read_up_guide_accessible.pdf
Print version: https://www.cslpreads.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cslp_read_up_guide_print.pdf
 
If you do not choose to customize, here is a version that is ready to print and distribute:
https://www.cslpreads.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cslp_read_up_guide_print_no_placeholder.pdf
 

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 Registration is open for a very interesting national conference taking place in Cincinnati on July 27-30. NatStart22: The Nature-Based Early Learning Conference brings professionals together to explore and promote nature-based learning for young children. Attendees include educators, program administrators, higher education faculty, researchers, education consultants, landscape designers, and others who are committed to or interested in bringing nature, outdoor learning, and environmental education to young children’s education. The program focuses on nature-based education for preschoolers (ages 3-5), early elementary students (ages 5-8), and infants and toddlers (ages 0-3).
 
This year’s Nature-Based Early Learning Conference is hybrid, giving attendees two ways to join the event: in-person in Cincinnati or online.
 
In-person attendees have access to workshops, site tours of high-quality nature-based programs in Cincinnati, interactive indoor and outdoor sessions, networking, and high-impact plenaries that will expand your ideas about nature-based early learning and sustainability. In-person registration includes access to all online conference content.
 
Online attendees have access to live-streamed plenaries, select live online sessions, a live online workshop, and access to 50+ on-demand sessions until July 2023.
 
Live and in-person events take place July 27-30. Registration is $385 for in-person and $95 for online. Visit https://conference.naturalstart.org to learn more and register.