Selection, Outreach, & Marketing
In this section we will be talking about summer site selection, outreach, and marketing.
Whether you are looking for your first site, or looking to expand your reach, there are several strategies that may also prove effective when looking for great summer sites in your community. Successful sites typically exhibit several of the following characteristics: The are located in a heavily residential neighborhood which may include multiple low income housing units with high family occupancy. The community is walkable. There is a high percentage of children that qualify for free or reduced meals during the school year. The site is located in an area where children or families would naturally congregate (such as at parks, libraries, community or recreation centers, pools or splash pads, etc.). Located in a community that has expressed the desire to see the program offered in their community and is willing to help support it. Locations should be safe for families and if possible not located in high crime areas. Although partnerships with local law enforcement can help make the location safer during meal service. People need to be able to find the site, so look for good places to place signs marketing the site.
One tool you may use when looking to see where sites are already located, or to virtually explore a community is the USDA Capacity Builder. It is a tool that allows users to see where SFSP sites are or have been in their communities, and add “layers” of information, such as poverty data, in absolute numbers and relative percentages. Potential site locations and partners can be added to the map, and previous site locations can also be highlighted, helping to prevent site overlap. You can also change the base map to satellite imagery to look for housing density, open areas like parks, as well as identify barriers such as highways or rivers that could impact families ability to walk to your site.
A media release and basic program outreach is a basic program requirement. Going beyond just minimally meeting this requirement and really reaching out to the community and children you are trying to serve is essential to achieving program objectives. Since marketing and outreach impacts your levels of participation it is also a key to ensuring your site is financially sustainable. When conducting your outreach and developing marketing materials be sure to think about the demographics of the community in which you will be operating. Use methodologies that will be effective in reaching all the members of your community and that promote a positive and inclusive message.
There are a lot of marketing materials already developed for you to use when reaching out the members of your community. The USDA has a host of items available as part of the Summer Meals toolkit and is available on their website. The State Agency also offers customizable graphics available in English and Spanish for a wide variety of marketing items.
Part of your marketing strategy may be to hang up posters, or have cards with basic program information on them at various locations throughout your community. Some locations may be better than others when attempting to reach low income families. Some locations to consider are listed here.
Successful sites typically exhibit the same characteristics you may look for when searching for a good restaurant. People know about it and would recommend it to others. Great value, low cost/no cost Just because it is free doesn't mean it is a great value. Many families might have to travel quiet a distance to access your site. Access to high quality foods at their peark of freshness. Great customer service. Comfortable atmosphere, convenient, choice/variety with the menu, safe healthy meals that kids really enjoy, offers both the children and parents socialization, and provides additional fun and entertaining activites. And maybe a little bit different than what a restuarant would provide, some sites provide great educational opportunities to children throughout the summer.
When seeking to provide a welcoming atmosphere it is important to recognize that due to where sites are located and that they are providing free meals to the community many people will look at the program as if it is soley intended for low income families. While it is true that sites must be located in an area where there is an economic need, once a site is operating in a community we want to encourage all children to participate at the site. During the summer all children need access to healthy and nutritious foods. We also want to encourage children to get out, socialize, and enjoy their summer. Many sites have began including educational activities to help combat summer learning loss. There are several idea and activities that will make your site seem more inviting to a broad range of participants. On this slide and on the next slide we have listed a few.
Next we will discuss the importance of partnerships. As previously stated sites are most successfully when supported by the community in which they are located. Think about how you mission may align with other organizations or even individual people’s mission. Who in your community has a vested interest in the positive outcome for children. The list in most communities is long and full of passionate and dedicated people. What opportunities exist for you to work together with your community partners to reach your goals and achieve your collective mission. One of the most important resources when developing partnerships is the phone. A simple conversation explaining what you are trying to do and how you think others may be able to help goes a long way in discovering and developing strong partnerships. Summer sites can offer children a lot more than just a free meal, but many sponsors are very busy and have limited resources as to what they can offer. Working with partners can allow you to do what you do best and let others do what they do best.
Another great way to expand your capacity is to utilize volunteers. The summer program offers many people a short term volunteer opportunity in a fun and rewarding atmosphere. Volunteers may help by providing assistance with tasks such as: Outreach, site supervision, meal preparation, meal service and clean up, as well as providing site activities.
If you have any questions or would like information on where to find additional training on any of the topics discussed in this section please contact our office.
Use the drop down below to translate the above course content into the language of your preference. You may want to refresh your browser after translating.
Warning: Google Translate is an automatic translation service utilized by USBE Child Nutrition Programs to provide training content that is accessible to our users. USBE is not responsible for the accuracy of the Google translations. This course was created in English and all audio was recorded in English. Utilize the closed captioning for translation of the English audio.