O14 - Supporting Summer Nutrition Programs in North Carolina Through Regional SummerPalooza! Summits

Abstract

Objective: To increase participation in the North Carolina (NC) Summer Nutrition Program (SNP) by assisting SNP sponsors and sites with marketing and program planning. Target Audience: SNP sponsors and sites. Theory, Prior Research, Rationale: The SNP provides free meals to children in low-income areas during the summer; however, only 15 children participate in the SNP for every 100 low-income children who receive free and reduced price lunch during the school year. One of the challenges faced by SNP sponsors and sites is marketing the program. Description: In the fall of 2017, the NC Department of Public Instruction, in partnership with No Kid Hungry NC, focused their annual four regional SummerPalooza! Summits on assisting organizations involved with the SNP on developing a year-long marketing and program plan. Participants received a variety of resources, including a SNP planning calendar. The calendar and presentations walked participants through the steps that should be taken each month to successfully market and implement a SNP. Presentations from local media and communications experts, such as local reporters and school public information officers, were included. Awards and success stories from the prior summer illustrated outstanding efforts. Evaluation: A retrospective pre/post evaluation was administered at the end of each summit and completed by 104 participants among approximately 200 attendees. The evaluation assessed changes in confidence in skills taught during the summits. The results indicate a significant increase in confidence for all skills taught, including an increase in confidence of 38% for developing a marketing plan, 34% for contacting news media, and 29% for working with school district public information officers. Conclusions and Implications: The SummerPalooza! Summits were successful at increasing participants' confidence for all skills covered and are a strategy to assist SNP sponsors and sites in preparing for the SNP that can be adopted by other states. Funding: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—Education.