Bring Afterschool Meals to Your Organization

1. Bring Afterschool Meals to Your Organization Presented by the New Mexico Afterschool Alliance September 2013

2. Welcome! • Introductions • The Importance of Afterschool Meals in New Mexico • New Mexico’s Afterschool Nutrition Program Options • Preparing For the Application Process • Creating a Budget For a Meal Program at Your Site • Completing The Meal Program Plan Worksheet • Collaborating and Mapping the Community Resources • Next Steps and Takeaways

3. Introductions: Who are you? • Name, title, & organization you represent • What is your afterschool program like? • Are you currently serving afterschool meals or snacks? • Is it through PED, CYFD, or another provider? • Do you have a kitchen and a place to store food? • How is the food or food goods transported to your site? • Do you most of the children in a local school in your area receive free or reduced price lunches?

4. The New Mexico Afterschool Alliance • Our Vision • Quality Afterschool Programs for all children, youth and families in New Mexico. • Our Mission • To create, strengthen and sustain a statewide system of support for quality Afterschool Programs. NMASA believes in improving the quantity and quality of afterschool programs in New Mexico. Join one of our committees today! Membership is free and your afterschool program will be showcased on our website.

5. Fall Into Place “Step Up for Quality” • The New Mexico Afterschool Alliance’s semi-annual conference for afterschool programs statewide. The purpose is to provide tips, resources, training, and examples of best practices for quality afterschool programming! • Food, Nutrition, & Fitness • STEM, creative writing, & art • Anti-bullying and cultural proficiency • Homelessness and health • Positive youth development • Working with school districts • Lesson planning and common core • Family Engagement • Sustainability • Debuting the NMASA Quality Standards • AND MUCH, MUCH, MORE! November 8th and 9th, 2013 at the Nativo Lounge in Albuquerque, NM. Let us know if you would like to receive an invitation!

6. The School Day Ends And Hunger Begins • New Mexico is #1 in the nation for child hunger • 1/3 families in NM are living in poverty and not eating enough • Low-income children in NM rely on the breakfast and lunch they receive in school to stay well-fed throughout the day • When the school day ends, low income children have 3 options for a dinnertime meal:

7. Its Sugar or Nothing • Hit the gas station for dinner - Low income families use the little cash they have, or their food stamps allowance to load up on sugar, low-cost foods. This unhealthy option keeps the hunger under control until Breakfast After The Bell at school the next day. • Wait until morning - Today, SNAP benefits only cover about ¾ of a family’s monthly allowance. In these cases, or when families are not receive assistance, children and their families simply go hungry.

8. The Afterschool Meal Program – a filling option • Children who are enrolled in an afterschool program usually receive an afterschool snack • Offer these children MORE! - Addan afterschool meal to your program - Switchfrom a small snack, to a full balanced afterschool meal!

9. NMASA’s Nutrition Program Standards • The BRONZE Standard • A small snack, sponsored by a school or school district through PED • The SILVER Standard • A full-balanced afterschool meal through CYFD. • The GOLD Standard • For afterschool programs that run longer that 2 hours a day. These programs can serve BOTH options with a 2 hour grace period.

10. Does our afterschool program qualify? • Our program is a: • School • Government organization • Non-profit organization • Faith-based organization • Our program serves youth ages 0-18. • We are located in a low income area where 50% or more of the students at the local elementary, middle, or high school receive free or reduced price lunch. • Our program offers some sort of afterschool enrichment • Homework help, tutoring, mentoring, reading, art, science, dance, music, games, nutrition education, recreation, non-competitive sports, clubs, or extracurricular activities.

11. “I want a food program! What do I need?” 1 Eligible Afterschool Program 1Kitchen* 1 Sanitary Indoor or Outdoor Common Area to Serve the Meals 2-3 Staff Members to Operate the Program * Programs that do not have an adequate kitchen or a big enough kitchen to prepare meals can contract with a current meal sponsor OR a food service management company

12. Budgeting

13. Apply Today! • To apply for the CYFD Afterschool Meals Program, go to NewMexicoKids.org or contact: Loren Miller, Program Manager, at (505) 827-9961 • To apply for the PED Afterschool Snack Program, contact: Dawn Garcia, Health Educator, at (505) 827-1823

14. The Meal Program Staff Members • You have the option of using existing staff members to operate the program, or hiring for new staff members within the community: • Hire 2-3 staff members to: • Cook or prepare the meals • Serve the meals to the children • Count and record each distributed meal using an attendance roster • Monitor the meal program • Complete reimbursement forms and paperwork to receive proper reimbursement • Hire food service staff for roughly 3 hours a day • 1 – 1 ½ hours to cook the meals and hand them out • ½ an hour to count each distributed meal • 1 hour of clean up time • Hire staff at minimum wages • Each staff member should work at minimum wage. Hiring staff at high wages or for too many hours a day can be expensive and leaves little funding for purchasing food BUDGETING IS KEY!

15. Grow New Mexico’s children while growing your afterschool program! • Improves the quality of your program! • Families and Schools will choose YOU to host their children • Organizations that offer an afterschool meal can actually profit if they budget diligently. • Each afterschool program is reimbursed for each meal they serve, so as the funding increases, the afterschool program grows!

16. More resources… • Feeding America surveyed parents nationwide and found that most twice as likely to choose afterschool programs with a full meal, over those that did not • Parents are also now choosing programs that offer tutoring and homework help afterschool • Most parents are preferring outreach by mail over internet, calls, and texts • There is NO CAP on how may sites you can serve • There is NO CAP on how many years you can serve • USDA has new easy to follow guidelines for sponsors who are transitioning from afterschool meals to summer meals

17. Questions…? Completing the nutrition program readiness worksheet and Mapping our community…

18. Completing the Meal Program Worksheet • Complete this worksheet today and take it with you. It lays out the Next Steps to applying for Nutrition Programs

19. Mapping the community • Resources in Your Community • Taking a look at the Google map • Discussion Points • Who is already serving meals? • Do they have multiple sites they sponsor and provide meals for? • Do they have the capacity to take on other organizations as unaffiliated sites? • Who has a large kitchen that can prepare 30+ meals a day? • How will those meals be transported? • Who is already providing snacks and can switch to meals? • Which Food Service Providers are currently serving organizations in this community? • What are some best practices for providing meals here? • What are some barriers that the community and/or specific organizations are facing?

20. Apply Today! • The CYFD Afterschool Meals Program: Newmexicokids.org orLoren Miller, Program Manager, at (505) 827-9961 • The PED Afterschool Snack Program: Dawn Garcia, Health Educator, at (505) 827-1823 • For technical assistance, support, and questions: -Teila Theisen, AmeriCorps VISTA for NMASA, at (505) 827-1462 or teila.theisen@state.nm.us