Program Description

Your library can be part of the solution to childhood hunger. Learn how public libraries can participate as meal sites, snack sites, or provide programming to nearby feeding sites. Besides the obvious benefits of addressing hunger and supporting vulnerable youth, participation can benefit libraries in many ways, including:

• Access to new user groups, especially underserved and marginalized populations
• Increased visibility of the library as a community asset
• Opportunities for new partnerships
• Positioning of the library as an important stakeholder in community well-being and positive child outcomes
• Support for summer library programming through increased attendance 

Presenter Bios

As a Library Services Consultant at the Arizona State Library, Donna Throckmorton supports statewide and national literacy initiatives through grants and collaborations. With over 25 years of library experience in both rural and urban libraries Donna has worked as a paraprofessional in a large city library, as a children’s librarian in a rural library and as a small school library manager, before earning her MLIS from the University of Arizona. Her current work in Library Development at the Arizona State Library, Archives & Public Records focuses in the areas of supporting libraries in offering early literacy, summer reading, community engagement and youth services.

Adri Koslan is the Health and Nutrition Services Specialist at Arizona Department of Education. She has been at ADE for the last 7 years and has worked with the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) the entire length of time.

Rayel Starling is the current director of Globe Public Library.She earned her (Master of Information Resources and Library Science (MIRLS) from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. While working on her degree, she was a technical services library assistant focusing on periodicals, bindery, book repair, and special collections. She started at Globe Public Library as a volunteer for teen programming, then became the Programming Assistant for the Friends of the Globe Public Library and part-time Circulation Clerk for Globe Public Library. 

jennifer Wong-Ortiz

is the Community Engagement and Outreach Coordinator with Scottsdale Public Library. She received her MLIS from the University of Arizona in 2010 and has been with Scottsdale Public Library for 15 years. Currently, she oversees much of the marketing, communication, and outreach initiatives for the library system.