AFTERSCHOOL AND SUMMER MEALS IN ROCHESTER Aaron Lattanzio Summer Meals Coordinator Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency

Need for Year-Round Meal Access 5 th poorest city in the U.S (among top 75) 7 th highest child poverty rate in the nation – 55% 18% of children in our County deemed food insecure (~30K) 38,000 Rochester City School District Students (RCSD) In % of RCSD students were eligible for free or reduced priced meals Community-wide eligible district since school year Summer meals need / gap Less than one quarter of students participating in free and reduced price meal program are accessing summer meals

Collaborative Approach Meals Reimbursement State Administrator: NY State Education Department (NYSED) Local Sponsors: The City of Rochester Foodlink (Freshwise) The Rochester City School District Summer Meals Planning Committee Led by local Community Foundation and Healthi Kids Coalition Other Stakeholders Youth advocacy organizations, provider orgs. (Horizons), youth serving orgs. (YMCA), family resource coordinators, faith community

Why Collaborate? Sponsors and member sites are part of a connected community-focused network Sponsors shift from competitors to partners in serving youth in our community One of few communities to engage libraries, YMCA, Parks and Rec departments Unified message and materials Coordinated efforts & Increased efficiencies Shared resources

SMPC GOALS 1. Increase access to afterschool and summer meals options 2. Raise Summer Meals Brand Awareness in our community 3. Increased number of participating sites, where youth already attend

Unified Summer Meals Messaging Dial or visit HealthiKids.org

Promotional /Marketing Mix 1. Print Media 2. Outdoor Advertising 3. Radio 4. Digital 5. Public Relations 6. Grassroots community outreach 7. Media Appearances 8. Kick-Off Event 1.Community Events and Presentations 2.Arm trusted influencers – Outreach tools 3.Target affinity groups for wholesale approach – Faith Community / Health Care - Fact Sheet and Key Messages 4.Press Releases - tied to key events and progress reports 5.Media Appearances - local radio and community TV

Site Recruitment Strategy Summer Meals Target high need neighborhoods Map existing sites to identify gaps in coverage Identify locations where youth are already attending Lower barriers to becoming a site Reduces challenge of attracting youth and developing programs Afterschool Meals Work closely with RCSD to identify schools with highest need Focus on expanded learning sites as target CACFP sites

Afterschool Challenges Staffing Meal Reimbursement District foodservice unions made staffing difficult Need to provide outside staffing Solution: Local Sponsor – Foodlink helped alleviate some staffing issues Older youth volunteers help serve meals School sites already providing reimbursed snacks through National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Solution: SMPC supported serving full meals versus a snack RCSD was willing to forgo their reimbursement

Afterschool Challenges Multiple Feeding Locations Who is the Gatekeeper For profit and Nonprofit providers in the same building Sites being rejected because of existing sites Solution: Advocacy w/CACFP School-wide sponsor expands to cover entire building Afterschool programs not always linked to identifiable school staff Educators have so much on their plate meals aren’t top of mind Solution: Leverage district partnership to help identify and connect to program directors

Successes – CACFP and Summer Meals Afterschool / CACFP Strengthened partnership with school district for planning and recruitment Simplified CACFP application process Averaging 27,500 CACFP Afterschool Meals and 11,650 Snacks per month 41 active sites 15% increase over meals served from the 4 th Quarter of 2014 Summer Meals – 2014 Strengthened Summer Meals brand awareness 71 Open sites and 33 Closed sites Total Meals – Increase by 18K meals in July and August Estimated Lunch Average Daily Participation July – 5,500, +2% Estimated Breakfast ADP July – 4,800, +13%

Rochester Next Steps 1. Continue to focus on expanding sites at existing youth programs 2. Drive youth to existing sites 3. Improving customer experience

CONTACT: AARON LATTANZIO SUMMER MEALS COORDINATOR E: Questions?