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SFG Revised: Sustaining and Improving
Sustaining and Improving a Summer Food Program


Starting a program from scratch can be tough, but once you have started and gained some experience, it becomes much easier sustain and even grow your program in subsequent years. To help you, we’ve provided some suggestions on program evaluation, ongoing training, and documenting results. We have also given some tips on how to share your success with other sponsors.

Program Evaluation
So you’ve made it through at least one summer as a Summer Food sponsor, and you are planning to do it again?  You have made a wonderful decision!  This is a good time to look over your program in previous years and see what worked and what did not work.  Then, you can change your program for next year to make it even better than it was last year!  cherry.jpg

Some questions to ask yourself:
  • Were my sites easy for kids to get to?
  • Did my food preparation and delivery methods work well, or could they use some adjustment?
  • Was my training for staff and volunteers thorough, or did issues come up that I need to address next year?
  • Was my planning budget accurate and realistic? If not, what adjustments are needed?
  • Did you have enough activities planned to keep the kids coming back all summer long? (Or, if you haven’t provided activities in the past, are there ways to do so next summer?)
  • Are there underserved communities or areas that you could consider expanding to?
  • Were there low attendance sites that might do better if moved to another location?
  • Are there partners in the community who could be helping but aren’t, and how can you involve them?
  • If you were a school sponsoring the program using the Seamless Summer Option, would it be more cost effective for you to switch back to the Summer Food Service Program next year?
Training for Continuing Sponsors
As a continuing sponsor, you will be required to participate in yearly training. However, if your state agency representative has not identified any significant problems with your program you may be eligible to participate in a conference call session instead of the one-day training offered in Salem. 

Continuing Sponsor Documentation
In order to continue operating your Summer Food site, you do need to reapply to the program but you will only need to supply a few things to the Department of Education.  The list of required materials is much shorter and less intense as a continuing sponsor than as a new sponsor.  Oftentimes, continuing sponsors can use their staffing/monitoring plan, administrative and operating budgets, and the summary of how the meals are obtained from the previous year as long as they do not have any significant changes in running their program. 

Sharing Your Successes
Once your program is going strong, you might want to look for ways to share your success.

Successful programs may want to consider mentoring new or struggling programs in order to keep the Summer Food Program strong and healthy in Oregon. Mentoring a new Summer Food Program Sponsor will include helping a new sponsor through the process of getting a site up and running, or helping a struggling sponsors make their program better. 

You can talk with the potential new sponsor on a regular basis and assist them through the application process or you can have a one-time get together to discuss best practices and strategies, Here are several other options for helping:
  • Discuss with the potential new sponsor the benefits and challenges involved in creating a Summer Food Program. girl_with_milk_and_carrots.jpg
  • Guide the new sponsor on the options available to them for obtaining their meals (vending vs. preparing).
  • Help the new sponsor create a management plan and budget.
  • Suggest ideas for hiring staff and/or volunteers.
  • Talk about outreach strategies and possibly work together in your outreach plans to make them more financially viable.
  • Give the new sponsor ideas on how to make their Summer Food Site viable by having activities and share with them what activities and community partners you used last summer.
You can make your mentoring process as intensive as you’d like, depending on how much time you have to offer and how much help the new sponsor needs.  Helping to mentor a new program will help strengthen the Summer Food Program as a whole.  Not only will you be helping a new sponsor start a program, but you might get some new ideas and new partnerships out of your generosity as well!

Resources
  • Oregon Hunger Relief Task Force
    • Phone: 503-595-5502
    • Website: www.oregonhunger.org or 503-595-5502
 
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