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Beginning in the 2017-18 school year, Illinois schools with 70% or more of the student population eligible for free or reduced-price meals will begin offering Breakfast After the Bell.

Rise & Shine Illinois School Breakfast Grants brought to you by No Kid Hungry will support schools implementing or preparing to implement a Breakfast After the Bell delivery model (Breakfast in the Classroom, Grab ‘N’ Go, or Second Chance Breakfast) with the purchase of approved equipment, supplies, or materials to facilitate increased student participation in school breakfast. Maximum request amount is $5,000. Applications submitted July 10th thru August 20th will be reviewed and awarded by September 8, 2017. For grant guidelines and to apply: School Breakfast Grant Application 

Join us for our annual Chicago Summer Meals Kickoff  event that promotes and brings awareness to the Summer Meals program. The USDA’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP); also known as the Summer Meals program is administered by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and provides nutritious meals to kids, age 18 and younger during the summer months. The Summer Meals program ensures children’s bodies and minds are healthy, strong and ready for the next school year.

In Illinois 1 in 5 children do not know where their next meal will come from. Many children struggle with food insecurity when school is out during the summer as they no longer have access to free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). To help close this gap, the Summer Meals program serves meals to children in the summer who rely on free and reduced-price meals during the school year.

In 2016, at over 1,200 summer meal sites, Chicago served approximately 2.8 million meals of the 5.4 million meals served statewide to children. Despite these numbers, the Summer Meals program is severely underutilized. According to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) for every 100 children who eat a meal in NSLP, only 14 receive a meal during the summer months in Illinois. The Summer Meals Kickoff event is one opportunity to help reach more children. Kickoff the summer with us at Horner Park, Friday June 23rd!

The At-Risk After-School Meals Summit is for Sponsors of At-Risk After-School sites to come together with organizations and resources that can help enhance meal programs. At the summit best practices, challenges, and successes will be discussed along with brainstorming new techniques of implementation and outreach to increase participation at At-Risk After-School Meal sites.

Attendees will have the opportunity to:

• Learn about the new CACFP Meal Pattern from the USDA
• Participate in a Q&A session with the USDA and ISBE
• Be a part of a focus group for new sponsor and site specific outreach flyer Rise & Shine Illinois is working on to help promote At-Risk After-School Meals
• Receive new outreach materials

 Register for the At-Risk After-School Summit TODAY!

School Nutrition Departments can apply to receive funding to purchase equipment for up to three schools per district to begin or enhance a breakfast in the classroom or grab and go school breakfast program.  Equipment may include items such as coolers to keep milk cold at remote locations, grab and go service carts or remote point of sale equipment.

Fuel Up to Play 60 School Nutrition Grants are offered up to $5,000 per school.  The grant application can be found at https://www.fueluptoplay60.com/funding/nutrition-equipment-grant .

Applications are due April 28^th, 2017. If you have any questions, please contact MidwestDairyCouncil@midwestdairy.com .

From Right to Left: Kate Maehr, Executive Director and CEO of the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD), Lt. Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti, Matt Coatar, Executive Director of Feeding Illinois, and Nicole Robinson, VP of Community Impact (GCFD)

3/10/17 – In accordance with School Breakfast Week, Lt. Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti teamed up with No Kid Hungry Illinois, and the Illinois State Board of Education for an event to raise awareness for the Breakfast After the Bell and Summer Meals Program. Legislators gathered over breakfast in the State Capitol Rotunda to learn how they can help increase access to and provide children with nutritious meals year-round. Legislators were asked to encourage schools to implement Breakfast After the Bell Programs by hosting a breakfast round-table and to identify potential Summer Meal sites in their districts.

Starting in the 2017-18 school year the new Breakfast After the Bell law will help connect thousands of Illinois students with a healthy breakfast. The law will make breakfast an official part of the school day for every public school in which at least 70% of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.

The Summer Meals Program is a federally-funded program that provides healthy nutritious meals to kids, age 18 and younger during the summer months so their bodies and minds are healthy, strong and ready for the next school year.

The event was covered by the Journal Courier . The 2017 Illinois School Breakfast Report was also officially released at the event!

Kendall County NOW  highlights the Breakfast After the Bell law ahead of National School Breakfast Week. The news article talks about the Breakfast After the Bell legislation, the importance of breakfast to student learning, and the partnership between Rise & Shine IL and the U of I Extension to help schools implement Breakfast After the Bell programs so schools will be ready when the Breakfast After the Bell law takes effect in the 2017-18 school year. Read the full story HERE.

5 things you can do during breakfast week to bring awareness:

1. Change your profile picture on Facebook to the above to support school breakfast week
2. Copy and paste the following message on Facebook:
“I SUPPORT SCHOOL BREAKFAST FOR IL STUDENTS.” #TimeForBreakfast
3.  Scroll down to the bottom of this page and sign-up to receive the Rise & Shine IL Newsletter
4. Start your school breakfast grant application
5. Tell one colleague or friend to visit the Rise & Shine IL website

School Breakfast Grant

School Breakfast Grants will support schools implementing or preparing to implement a Breakfast After the Bell delivery model (Breakfast in the Classroom, Grab ‘N’ Go, or Second Chance Breakfast) with the purchase of approved equipment, supplies, or materials in an effort to increase student participation in school breakfast. Maximum request amount is $5,000. Deadline to apply is March 22. For more information: 2017 Breakfast Meals Grant Application-IL

Summer Meals Grant

Summer Meal Grants are funded from No Kid Hungry to help organizations expand access to and participation in USDA-supported summer meals programs. Eligible applicants must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization currently in good standing AND an SFSP or NSLP summer meal program sponsor for summer 2016. The goal is to increase the number of children participating in SFSP/NSLP summer meals programs. Maximum request amount is $5,000. Deadline to apply is April 7.  For more information: 2017 Summer Meals Grant Application-IL 

After-School Meals Grant

After-School Meal Grants are funded through No Kid Hungry to help At-Risk After-School Meal (aka “Supper”) sponsors expand participation in After-School meals and extended day meal programs that receive reimbursement through the USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The overall goal is to help ensure all children get the nutritious meals they need each day. Eligible applicants must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit currently in good standing, schools, local government agencies able to accept grants, or churches/tax-exempt religious organizations AND approved to provide CACFP At-Risk After-School Meals for the upcoming school year. The maximum request amount is $2,500. Deadline to apply is March 22. For more information: 2017 Afterschool Meals Grant Application-IL

Rise & Shine Illinois and be Powered by Breakfast

Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti and Rep. Will Davis joined school breakfast champions in Joliet, January 19, 2017 to celebrate the Breakfast After the Bell Program kick-off event. The new Breakfast After the Bell law will enable children at 890 schools in Illinois to access school breakfast. Starting in the 2017-18 school year breakfast will be provided after the instructional day begins by public schools in which at least 70% of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.

Rep. Will Davis, Lt. Gov. Sanguenetti, and Nicole Robinson, Greater Chicago Food Depository’s Vice President of Community Impact

Representative Will Davis received a School Breakfast Champion Appreciation Award from Rise and Shine Illinois for his leadership on the Breakfast After the Bell bill. Throughout the day School Breakfast Champions kept the breakfast bus moving full steam ahead discussing ideas and strategies to empower schools to successfully implement Breakfast After the Bell programs.

School Breakfast Champions

Summer Meals Program

Lt. Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti spoke at a Summer Meals Information Session Wednesday, January 18th in Joliet to urge more nonprofit organizations in Will County to serve as sites for the Summer Meals Program. Click here to read the Herald-News article.

The Illinois State Board of Education in partnership with No Kid Hungry, Illinois, seeks nonprofit organizations to serve as sponsors and sites for the Summer Meals Program. The federally funded program provides healthy nutritious meals to kids, age 18 and younger. Children need healthy food all year long in order to grow and learn. During the school year, many Illinois children receive free- and reduced-price meals through the School Breakfast and National School Lunch Programs. But, when school is out for the summer, these same children are at risk of hunger or poor nutrition.

The Summer Meals program is designed to ensure that children have access to the nutritious meals they need during the summer months so their bodies and minds are healthy, strong and ready for the next school year.

Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor, a feeding site or wanting to promote the program are welcome to attend.

Register Today!

Contact the Nutrition and Wellness Division at the Illinois State Board of Education, (800) 545-7892.

2017 Dates & Locations

Tuesday, January 31
2:00 p.m.
Champaign County Health Department
201 W. Kenyon, Champaign

Wednesday, February 1
2:00 p.m.
University of Illinois Extension
1 Regency Plaza, Suite 200, Collinsville

Wednesday, February 8
10:00 a.m.
Lincoln Elementary School District 27
304 8th Street, Lincoln

Wednesday, February 8
2:00 p.m.
Fondulac Library
400 Richland Street (City Hall Building), East Peoria

Thursday, February 16
2:00 p.m.
Addison Public Library
4 Friendship Plaza, Addison

Tuesday, February 21
2:00 p.m.
LaSalle County University of Illinois Extension Office
1689 N. 31st Road, Ottawa