Books @ Food Sites: Keeping Students Reading during COVID-19

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

When cases of the COVID-19 virus began appearing in Montgomery County, MD in March 2020, residents’ lives were deeply transformed. Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) moved its focus from in-person learning at its 207 schools with more than 160,000 students, to 100% online learning. Students who depended on meals provided through MCPS’ “Free and Reduced-Price Meals (FARMS)” lost access to this resource. Likewise, the Montgomery County Public Libraries system (MCPL) closed its 21 buildings, reinforced online services and resources and transferred in-person programs to virtual venues; the transition included the Summer Read & Learn (SR&L) program. In order to enroll young students in the SR&L program while meeting the sustenance needs of families, MCPL partnered with MCPS and the local non-profit Manna Food Center to distribute children’s books and SR&L activity logs at food distribution centers. This aim of MCPL’s initiative was three-fold: to ensure the right of individuals to learn and grow; to strategically identify and implement novel methods to address community needs; and to offer free and equal access to services and resources that connect residents to ideas and information which sustain and enrich their lives.