About Lunch at the Library

Lunch at the Library provides grants, training, resources, and technical assistance to help libraries establish successful summer meal sites or take programming to other community meal sites.

Libraries may participate in Lunch at the Library as library USDA meal sites, as pop-up libraries to community USDA meal sites, or a combination of the two. Lunch at the Library grantees develop Farm to Summer programming focused on connecting children, teens, and families with locally sourced, sustainable food. Libraries do this by providing hands-on food education and enrichment activities. Participating libraries may also incorporate Youth Development programs into their Lunch at the Library programs to create opportunities for teens to support summer meals in either or both settings.

Applications for the Core Program are non-competitive. All libraries that take part in Lunch at the Library and submit approved applications will receive Core Program funds. These funds can support the following Lunch at the Library activities:

Library Meal Sites

Five kids in a library eating food at a small table.

For many families, the stability, nutrition, and education provided during the school year end when school lets out for summer. During the summer months, children and teens in low-income families often have reduced or limited access to healthy food. The Lunch at the Library program exists to meet this need while sharing information about other resources available at the library and in the community.

Libraries who will serve summer meals at library sites can apply for Lunch at the Library Core Program Funds. Funds can be used for: 

  • Books to build home libraries, which include literature connecting families to summer reading
  • Operational supplies (e.g. refrigeration supplies)
  • Materials for outreach and promotion (via social media, traditional media, lawn signs, etc.)
  • Supplies for on-site programming
  • Materials to create a welcoming and enriching space for families
  • Presentations offering enrichment
  • Staffing costs
  • Any other reasonable idea that promotes your library resources and literacy with families at library meal sites

For information on becoming a library meal site for the first time, visit the Getting Started page.

Photo of a child and mother spinning a prize wheel at a booth under a tent in a field.

Each summer, public libraries bring pop-up library learning and enrichment programs to children and teens at community meal sites.  Community meal sites include local schools, neighborhood parks, and community centers.  For a comprehensive list of potential community locations, view last year’s summer meal sites.

Libraries that will take pop-up libraries to community meal sites can apply for Lunch at the Library Core Program Funds. Funds can be used for: 

  • Books to build home libraries, which include literature connecting families to summer reading
  • Materials for outreach and promotion of your summer reading programs
  • Operational supplies (refrigeration supplies, table coverings, shade tents, etc.)
  • Supplies for programming at community meal sites
  • Presentations offering enrichment
  • Staffing costs for support outreach
  • Any other reasonable idea that promotes library resources and literacy with families at community meal sites

Farm to Summer

Photo of a child watering a garden with a green gardening can.

Participation in Lunch at the Library includes the expectation of providing Farm to Summer activities.  This means all participating libraries support efforts to connect children, teens, and families with locally sourced, sustainable food. Libraries do this by providing hands-on food education and enrichment activities.

Activities might include but are not limited to the following:

  • Farm and/or gardening story time
  • Building a garden
  • Planting activities with vegetable starts or seeds
  • Cooking/nutrition education
  • Hosting a local farmer
  • Visit to local farms (u-pick, stories at the farm, etc.)
  • Composting and other sustainability activities
  • Food education programs in settings that celebrate traditional foodways and cultivate food sovereignty.

For more program ideas, review the fact sheet Farm to Summer: Why Summer Meals Programs are Ripe for Local Foods and Agriculture-Based Activities from the USDA, learn from our partners at the California Department of Education, and see our Farm to Summer resources.

Youth Development

Teens receiving certificates.

Library summer meal programs can be an opportunity to provide teens with leadership development and workforce readiness skills as they assist with the work involved with providing meals at the library or taking pop-up library programming to community meal sites. 

Providing Youth Development activities for teens is an optional but beneficial component of Core Program services.  Some libraries use Core Program grant funds to create scholarship opportunities for teens while others hire teens to the library staff as summer employees. Others have partnered with an outside agency that provides youth workers to support Lunch at the Library activities. Please be sure to review the list of Unallowable Expenditures on the Lunch at the Library Manage Your Grant page for more information on scholarships.

Libraries that will incorporate Youth Development programs into their summer meal programs can apply for Lunch at the Library Core Program Funds. Funds can be used for:  

  • Food handling courses/certificates for teens 
  • Programming supplies
  • Trainings and/or training materials to help teens develop workforce readiness skills, team building, and leadership skills, program facilitation skills, social and emotional skills
  • Resume writing workshops to help teens highlight the skills they acquire over the summer
  • Staffing costs to support youth development programs
  • Any other reasonable idea that supports youth development programs

For more ideas, please review the following resources: