Category: Health Resources

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Health Literacy & COVID19

The pandemic has revealed some weaknesses in our Nation’s health care and proven without a doubt that the more unhealthy you are, the more at risk you are.

https://www.mdatl.com/2020/04/silent-killer-epidemic-of-low-health-literacy-makes-covid-19-worse/?fbclid=IwAR3L76pt0GtInrKreUFQw63Wz5_b1wXrdPqGA5RI2S7j0qGbL5mEv7i89YU

Even though our doors may remain closed to patrons, we can continue to promote health literacy in our communities. The National Library of Medicine offers excellent trainings and resources for free. https://nnlm.gov/

In addition to offering resources on your website and via other online methods, and hosting health talks or webinars via zoom with local professionals, what can you do to reach over the digital divide? Remaining cognizant of non-English speaking patrons, here are a few ideas:

Annotated-Mindful-Resource-List-1Download

Remember–FACTS not fear will stop COVID 19

If you are interested in participating in a group that works through the Palouse Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course available online for free together. https://palousemindfulness.com/ Sign up HERE

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Feeding Your Community: Summer Meals at Libraries in 2020

6/4/20 Update–Recording of webinar:

If you weren’t able to attend last week’s Feeding Your Community: Summer Meals at Libraries webinar co-produced by the Collaborative Summer Library Program and the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, the recording is available here: youtu.be/Q6Ig_zo1tj4<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://youtu.be/Q6Ig_zo1tj4__;!!Oai6dtTQULp8Sw!EiKfPgLzXruc37EWI05BCI69E25mq_QyEqP_q02DgEtXmGD4PesdXahW5j7EY5rb9jytci0J$>

It is not too late to become a Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) site for 2020. The USDA has extended temporary waivers that permit SFSP sites to provide grab-and-go meals/snacks and allow parents to pick meals up for their children. Other waivers are also in place to facilitate food distribution under social distancing guidelines. The need will be exceptionally great this year, and some previous SFSP sites may be unavailable for various reasons related to the public health emergency.

If your library is already an SFSP site, work with your current sponsor. If you want to become an SFSP site: contact your local school district, an SFSP sponsor in your area, or your state’s SFSP administering agency<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.fns.usda.gov/contacts?f*5B0*5D=program*3A28__;JSUl!!Oai6dtTQULp8Sw!EiKfPgLzXruc37EWI05BCI69E25mq_QyEqP_q02DgEtXmGD4PesdXahW5j7EY5rb9gcwUrUQ$>.

The Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) offers Libraries and Summer Food, a thorough, clear how-to guide for libraries: www.cslpreads.org/libraries-and-summer-food/<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.cslpreads.org/libraries-and-summer-food/__;!!Oai6dtTQULp8Sw!EiKfPgLzXruc37EWI05BCI69E25mq_QyEqP_q02DgEtXmGD4PesdXahW5j7EY5rb9nPbljfo$>

(please note this guide assumes ordinary circumstances and has not been revised for the current public health emergency).

Feeding Your Community: Summer Meals at Libraries in 2020

https://usda-fns.webex.com/usda-fns/onstage/g.php?MTID=ec550bb0e7098abb855f188ebdd635060

Thursday, May 28, 1:00 ET / Noon CT / 11:00 MT / 10:00 PT

Many libraries around the USA participate in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), a USDA-funded program that provides free meals and snacks to children ages 0-18 in communities with high levels of need. Libraries and SFSP are a great fit! Libraries are free and open to all. Libraries are accessible. Children and teens are always welcome. The library is a stigma-free community center where community members traditionally get things for free. Libraries also gain a lot from participating as SFSP sites. They directly support vulnerable community members and directly address food insecurity. They attract new user groups and increase their visibility and importance as a stakeholder in community well-being.

Summer meals will look quite different this year as USDA has made temporary changes so that meals may be taken home, and parents or guardians may pick up meals for their children if the state allows.

Join Penny Weaver and Maged Hanafi from the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service to learn the basics of SFSP, what will be different in 2020, and how your library can support child and community well-being by being a new or returning SFSP site, or by supporting other SFSP sites in your community.

Speakers:

  • Penny Weaver, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA Food and Nutrition Service
  • Maged Hanafi, Team Lead, Community Nutrition, Midwest, USDA Food and Nutrition Service
  • Luke Kralik, Organizational Coordinator, Collaborative Summer Library Program

Register for the May 28 webinar here:

https://usda-fns.webex.com/usda-fns/onstage/g.php?MTID=ec550bb0e7098abb855f188ebdd635060 and click on the “Register” link

Resources:

  • The SFSP is a federally-funded, state-administered program. The SFSP reimburses providers who serve free healthy meals to children and teens in low-income areas during the summer months when school is not in session. Check out our video to learn more: https://youtu.be/U_93W0U3E8U
  • Since the outset of the coronavirus outbreak, USDA has provided states with broad flexibilities to ensure the continuation of meal service during COVID-19 related school closures. USDA is committed to using all the options available to us to help people get the food they need.  To learn more about the USDA Food and Nutrition service and our response to COVID-19, visit www.fns.usda.gov/coronavirus and follow us on Twitter at @USDANutrition.

Register for the May 28 webinar here:

https://usda-fns.webex.com/usda-fns/onstage/g.php?MTID=ec550bb0e7098abb855f188ebdd635060 and click on the “Register” link

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CSLP Child and Community Well-Being Committee shares their new mini-manual

The CSLP Child and Community Well-Being Committee (CCWB) is pleased to share  “Read Up!”, a mini-manual for non-library summer feeding sites, is now available for download on the CSLP website:

https://www.cslpreads.org/libraries-and-summer-food/#resource<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.cslpreads.org/libraries-and-summer-food/*resource__;Iw!!Oai6dtTQULp8Sw!BuF-ecZ_L2j8e5SkKnSZh0ZniOzxOClNK2AoMR35GmIqWtt8RQT5AGtWtAyCDRJ3mBON7qkv$>

Read Up! is a free 26-page resource for Summer Food Service Program sites and other feeding sites outside of libraries, featuring easy-to-implement enrichment activities that support reading, creativity, and fun. The activities are adapted from the 2020 CSLP manual. A section on Reading and Literacy Basics, written by the team, guides such sites on how they can organize literacy-supportive activities even with no books on hand, and how they can partner with libraries, involve teens, and collaborate with other community entities.

MANY thanks to the CCWB team responsible for this project:

Linda Bartley

Ally Doliboa

Stacy Hill

Janet Ingraham Dwyer

Danielle Margarida

Jennifer McNeal

Janet Reynolds

Lisa Valerio-Nowc

And to Cathy Lancaster, the Library of Michigan, and LM’s contract designer who turned our Google doc into a crisp, appealing, professional publication. And to Luke Kralik for support and encouragement throughout.

When this resource was envisioned last spring, and through the fall and winter when they worked on selecting and adapting CSLP manual programs and writing the Reading and Literacy Basics content, no one could have had any idea the committee would be releasing this resource into a world without congregate settings such as summer camps and sit-down lunches at parks, rec centers, and churches. Though states are starting to “open up,” there is of course so much unknown about the future and about the duration of the public health emergency. However the mini-manuel was written to be “evergreen”, not specifically tied to the 2020 Summer Library Program (though it takes its activities from the current program), and will be helpful and encouraging whenever sites are safely permitted to feed and engage young people in congregate settings. Please share, however and whenever appropriate, with your communities SFSP administering agency and other partners in child nutrition.

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DrugRehab.com

In a 2014 study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, nearly 25 percent of youths aged 12 to 17 admitted trying illicit drugs, and 32 percent reported alcohol use. Our hope is that families can visit our website and leave with the knowledge to prevent teen drug/alcohol abuse.

DrugRehab.com, is a web resource that provides information and support to people fighting addiction and substance abuse.
https://www.drugrehab.com/teens/
https://www.drugrehab.com/guides/parents/