March 10, 2010
In response to the competition announced in a February eNews, we are pleased to announce the first round of prize-winning photos of Community Economic Development activities. Cash prizes will be mailed to these Community Action Agencies, and their photos will be used on our new partnershipCED.org web site, in The Promise magazine, and for other purposes associated with the Partnership's training, technical assistance, and advocacy work. Our heartfelt appreciation to all the CAAs that sent in photos. We will be sponsoring future contests and offering cash and other prizes. Again, these cash awards are NOT paid for with federal funds.The two first place winners - $200 to each agency:
• Community Action Partnership of Ramsey & Washington Counties, St. Paul, MN, showing apprentice Ryan Orvis performing a blower door test. This photo is also being used by the U.S. Department of Energy in its power point presentation on the Weatherization Assistance Program.
• Community Renewal Team, Inc., Hartford, CT showing Capital City Youthbuild participants Myeshia Gaither and Debra Jones sharpening their carpentry skills with a circular saw.
The five second place winners - $100 to each agency:
• Hawkeye Area Community Action Program, Hiawatha, IA showing one of its weatherization team members insulating a household attic.
• Community Action Duluth, Duluth, MN showing how it uses ARRA funds for its "Green Team" that does a variety of environmental/conservation projects like community gardens while also showing residents how to save energy and participate in their weatherization program.
• Community Action of Laramie County, Cheyenne, WY showing volunteers from Warren Air Force Base installing gutters, building handrails, and refurbishing housing for homeless veterans.
• Westbay Community Action, Warwick, RI showing a portion of its 10,000 pounds of produce, harvested from its community garden, which helped feed 3,000 households and also was sold at the CAA's farm stand business. This photo is especially relevant to the item below about the Partnership's new collaborative work with USDA.
• Community Action Partnership of Ramsey & Washington Counties, St. Paul, MN showing journeyman Ken Roath and apprentice Ryan Orvis repairing the roof vent after the insulation work was completed.
Congratulations to CAP of Ramsey & Washington Counties for having two winning entries.
Checks will be mailed to the winners on Friday, March 12th and we encourage you all to publicize that the great work you do in your community helps people/families in need and has garnered some national attention. Thanks again to everyone who submitted photos...watch for our next chance for your agency to win and capture national fame!
Below is a link from the Spokesman Review (Spokane, Wash.) newspaper’s Down to Earth magazine to a cool article on Ryan Arnold, who is a Weatherization Technical Monitor at the Community Action Partnership Association of Idaho and a 2007graduate of the University of Idaho. The article was written by Donna Emert, a writer for the university, who pursued Ryan’s story because he is an alum doing great things in his community!
Down to Earth magazine features “local and national news about conservation, sustainability efforts, organic techniques and general ‘green’ living,” and was launched by the Spokesman Review in 2006. Click on the folowing link to read the article: http://www.downtoearthnw.com/stories/2010/mar/05/weatherization-man/
Here’s a great opportunity to get some TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) funds for four-month, emergency services projects. This is part of the Recovery Act (AARA) funding for the Emergency Contingency Fund for State TANF Programs. CAAs can apply for and use these funds to support feeding low-income children during the summer. Allowable costs include start-up grants for agencies that want to participate in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), funding for transportation services to distribute the food and or transport children to the feeding sites, paying for staff to provide oversight and programming at the summer feeding sites, and other general administrative costs. The 20% match requirement can be met with in-kind resources.Carmen Nazario, the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, HHS, and Kevin Concannon, Under Secretary; Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, USDA have sent a letter to your state TANF officials. Nearly $4 billion is available for these summer-only projects. Information and guidance on the Emergency Fund is on the HHS web site http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa Information about USDA’s Summer Feeding Program appears on their web site http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/summerguidance on the Emergency Fund is on the HHS web site http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa Information about USDA’s Summer Feeding Program appears on their web site
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/summer
Partnership President/CEO Don Mathis, right, with Max Finberg, Director of USDA's Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and Tasha Askew, National Hunger Fellow
Food That’s In When School Is Out
By Julie Paradis, USDA Food and Nutrition Service AdministratorEach summer, children wait for the last bell of the school year. Summer is an exciting time for children to enjoy playtime with friends, a week at camp, a family vacation, or time at the pool. But for many children who receive free and reduced-price meals at school, summer can mean hunger. Just as learning does not end when school lets out, neither does a child's need for good nutrition.
The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) provides free, nutritious meals and snacks to help children in low-income areas get the nutrition they need to learn, play, and grow, throughout the summer months when they are out of school. While SFSP is funded and supported by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, it is administered by each State through schools and local community organizations. Meals are free to any child under age 18, and the sponsor is reimbursed for the cost of each meal served. The backbone of SFSP consists of two groups: sponsors who fund and manage feeding sites and the feeding sites where children come to eat.
As a sponsor, your organization not only provides free, nutritious meals for children, but it also can provide a safe, supervised place for children to gather and participate in an enrichment activity. SFSP brings federal dollars back into the local community. It is flexible and can be included in many existing programs and resources. Your organization can make the summer better for families in your community.
One challenge that SFSP faces is recruiting sponsors to cover every area of the country where there are low-income children, especially in rural areas. Communities where at least 50 percent of the children qualify for free or reduced-price school lunch are eligible. If an area doesn’t meet the 50 percent requirement, a sponsor has to determine eligibility of each child through an application process. Rural areas often have challenges with transportation of both children and food, although many sponsors are partnering with organizations with transportation such as church vans. Besides providing transportation, successful sites offer recreational, educational, or enrichment activities. Your organization can help bridge this gap in coverage by becoming a sponsor, assisting feeding sites with transportation and promotion, and encouraging your partners to sponsor the program.
SFSP is an important part of the USDA’s initiative to end childhood hunger by 2015—and by becoming a sponsor, you can help end hunger in your community.
How To Become a Summer Food Sponsor:
The deadline for sponsor applications is approaching, so act now! Each State has its own application. To learn more about how to become a sponsor or to find contact information for your State’s office, visit http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/summer .
Sponsors must be organizations that are fully capable of managing a food service program. You must follow regulations and be responsible, financially and administratively, for running your program.
Types of eligible organizations:• public or private nonprofit schools
• units of local, municipal, county, tribal, or State government
• private nonprofit organizations
• public or private nonprofit camps
• public or private nonprofit universities or collegesAs a sponsor, you will:• attend your State agency's training
• locate eligible sites
• hire, train, and supervise staff
• arrange for meals to be prepared or delivered
• monitor your sites
• prepare claims for reimbursement
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U.S. Department of Agriculture
Food and Nutrition Service
Office of Strategic Initiatives, Partnerships, and Outreach
www.fns.usda.gov
Find hunger programs and social service resources in your community by contacting the USDA National Hunger Clearinghouse at 1-866-3-HUNGRY or online. If your organization is not registered, click here.
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