To Be Well Read, Kids Must Be Well Fed

During the school year, more than 40 percent of Minnesota’s K-12 kids are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Fewer than 15 percent of those kids have the same access to food programs in the summer. This leaves many little bellies hungry. Bring summer nutrition to a community hub where kids learn and play in the summer: your public library.

Begin planning your summer 2018 participation by attending an informational webinar on Wednesday, March 14, at 11 a.m. Jenny Butcher, USDA Summer Food Service Program coordinator at MDE, will share how you can get involved. Add the webinar to your calendar. There is no need to pre-register; just please join the Summer and Afterschool Food Service Programs in Libraries WebEx meeting online (meeting number 599 928 018) or call in at 1-888-742-5095 (conference code 874 403 3672). Please contact Jen Verbrugge (651-582-8356) with questions or to request a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event. Note: MDE requires a two-week advance notice in order to provide the requested accommodation and requires a 48-hour notice in order to cancel a requested accommodation.

If you need more inspiration for serving summer meals at your library, check out this Food for Every Child video from Hunger Impact Partners. Grant funding may be available to support your library as a summer food site. Second Harvest Heartland serves the 7-county metro and surrounding counties. Their summer food grant opportunity opens in March, as long as funding is available. Additionally, libraries are eligible to apply for a Summer Meals Initiative grant from Hunger Impact Partners. We’ll share information about more grant opportunities as we learn about them. 

Thanks for Another Great 90-Second Newbery Film Festival!

The fourth annual Minnesota 90-Second Newbery Film Festival screening played to a full house on February 10 at Hennepin County Library – Minneapolis Central’s Pohlad Hall. Co-hosted by 90-Second Newbery founder/curator James Kennedy and middle grade author Pete Hautman, the best student-made films from Minnesota and across the country were highlighted at the event. Each film told the story of a Newbery-winning book in 90 seconds or less (give or take) and was written, directed, acted, filmed, and edited by kid filmmakers. Check out the recap of the screening to see snapshots from the day, as well as the dozen or so prize-winning Minnesota-made videos that were featured.

This year, nearly 100 films were submitted by more than 230 Minnesota kid filmmakers from across the state. If you’re inspired by this year’s movies, find out how you can participate next year by visiting the 90-Second Newbery website. Now’s a perfect time to get your students and community partners thinking about filming for next year. It’s a great project to promote media and digital literacy for kids in a creative, collaborative setting. If you started a movie but missed the entry deadline for this year’s festival screening, don’t give up. Finish your masterpiece and send it in. Mr. Kennedy accepts 90-Second Newbery films all year round. For more information, please contact Jen Verbrugge (651-582-8356).

Webinar for Your Patrons: Understanding and Estimating Health Care Costs

The University of Minnesota-Extension is leading a webinar—geared at reaching your patrons—about how they can make the best use of their health coverage.

In the webinar, Understanding and Estimating Health Care Costs, UM-Extension staff will help anyone enrolled in a health plan better understand potential costs and benefits.

The webinar will be offered on Wednesday, March 28, 2018, 1-2:30 p.m. If your library would like to set up a viewing for its patrons—or for more information—please contact Lori Hendrickson, Extension educator and Extension professor, Family Resiliency (218-327-5958 ext. 3007).