For the second year in a row, Rowan Public Library and Rowan-Salisbury Schools - School Nutrition Summer Meals Program are bringing the weekly program "Books & Bites" to area students. The program, which began June 12th, runs through August 4th.

 

In this partnership, the "Books" work to stem the tide of "summer slide," which can negatively impact students' learning for months into the new school year. Meanwhile, the "Bites" meet a more immediate need, ensuring that students receive at least one nutritious meal every weekday while school is not in session.

 

According to RPL Library Services Manager Melissa Oleen, 165 children and teens participated last year and logged over 5,000 reading hours. "We're hoping to double the number of participants this year," Oleen said. Because of last year's strong response, "the library has added two additional sites and extended the program by another week," she said. This summer, "Books & Bites" operates five days a week, visiting 10 sites per week for seven weeks.

 

"Books & Bites" visits select RSS-School Nutrition Mobile Meal Sites. After the meal has been served, children and teens have the opportunity to attend a short program and check out books from RPL's bookmobile. They log reading hours and earn prizes just as other RPL Summer Reading participants do.

 

Outreach programs like "Books & Bites" are important because they give students unable to visit a physical library during the summer access to materials, which increases reading opportunities and provides positive, fun experiences, explained Oleen. "Our goal is the same as last year - to provide kids a variety of reading materials during the summer that they otherwise would not be able to access." The program also furthers a shared goal of RPL and RSS: to provide quality services that benefit Rowan County youth.