Hi, Everyone,

As you may know, many students in your community rely on school meals to get the nutrition they need to grow, be healthy and succeed in school. In the summer, these children lack access to those meals and families struggle to put food on the table.

The federal summer meals program provides a solution to summertime hunger for kids.

The NJ Food for Thought Campaign and the New Jersey Department of Agriculture have asked for our help in spreading the word to parents about these programs. To find out if your community provides summer meals, click here for an online directory. 

If your district or community provides summer meals, please inform your parents of these meals through your library’s website, e-news and by distributing flyers in your library locations.

Click here for resources to help you easily spread the word about summertime meals in your town.

About Summer Meals

In general, summer meals programs, funded through federal dollars, are free and require no identification or income verification from parents. Unfortunately, many parents simply do not know they exist. Not only do these programs provide nutritious meals, they also give kids a chance to engage in fun, healthy activities during the summer months. In fact, a growing number of libraries are host summer meals sites. 

Help combat childhood hunger and ensure that children have the summertime nutrition they need to return to school in September ready to learn.

Useful resources to spread the word to parents in your community.