State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson recently sent a letter to school district and county office of education superintendents and to administrators of publicly-funded charter schools, urging them to support summer meal programs. In his letter (View PDF), Superintendent Torlakson highlighted the invaluable role that schools play in helping students access healthy food when school is out–and school leaders can lead this charge.

Opportunities include:

• Becoming a summer meal sponsor
• Using eligible schools as summer meal sites
• Vending to other summer meal providers in the community
• Promoting summer meal programs
• Encouraging teachers and staff to volunteer at summer meal sites

As school leaders embark on summer planning, now is the time to also consider how to advance districts’ efforts to support students in summer so that students may return to school healthy and ready to learn.