New fund to expand school breakfast, summer meals

Great news! The Nourishing Young Minds Fund was signed into law last month by Gov. Chris Christie, creating a pool of dollars to help expand school breakfast and summer meals so more children have the nutrition they need to be healthy, thrive and succeed in school. The exact use of the funds is still being developed, but it will likely include competitive grants to schools and communities for start-up costs and other expenses associated with expanding these vital federal child nutrition programs. Stay tuned for more details.

Summer meals still in full swing

School may be just around the corner but communities across New Jersey are still serving up summer meals. Many summer meals programs operate through August and fill the summertime nutrition gap, especially for children who rely on school meals during the academic year. So please keep spreading the word in your communities.

Check out our easy-to-use outreach resources and start spreading the word!  

Help for breakfast start-ups

Thinking about implementing breakfast after the bell? Here’s a great new resource from the Food Research and Action Center and the American Federation of Teachers. The Breakfast Blueprint: Breakfast After the Bell Programs Support Learning is a complete guide for planning, implementing and evaluating breakfast after the bell programs. 

Download The Breakfast Blueprint.

Helpful Free Webinars from FRAC

Back to School: Start Serving Afterschool Meals 
Aug. 17, 1 p.m. | Register Now.

The Afterschool Meal Program helps fill the nutrition gap for millions of low-income children when the school day ends. Through this program, federal funds are provided to afterschool programs operating in low-income areas to serve nutritious meals and snacks to children 18 and under after school, on weekends and during school holidays. Join FRAC, the Afterschool Alliance and afterschool meal champions for this informative webinar on program basics, how to get started and best practices for operating a successful program this school year.