Kids Cafe Planning Checklist

Answer these 5 questions to Plan a Successful Kids Cafe

1. Can you meet Kids Cafe Goals?

¨         Provide meals for children who are at-risk for hunger.

¨         Help children with schoolwork.

¨         Teach children about nutrition.

¨         Give kids a safe, nurturing, supportive place to go after school.

¨         Encourage parents to be involved in their children’s lives.

¨         What other goals would you like to accomplish with your Kids Cafe?

        (See Troubleshooting section on Providing More than Meals.)

2. Do you have the basics?

¨         A clean, safe building with a kitchen (See Troubleshooting section on criteria for DHEC approval.)

¨         Resources to offer a FREE program; Families cannot be charged

3. Which kids will you serve?

¨      Which schools in your area will you recruit from?

¨         Are at least 50% of kids at these schools are on free/reduced lunch?

¨         How many children can you serve?

¨         How will you recruit children who need Kids Cafe most?

4.  What are your specific plans for running your kids cafe?

¨         How many paid staff will you have? How many volunteers?

¨         What is your transportation plan?

¨         Which days will your Kids Cafe be open? What hours?

¨         Do you have a daily schedule?

¨         Who is responsible for… Cooking? Tutoring? Shopping? Paperwork?

¨         How will you encourage parents to be involved in your Kids Cafe?  

5. Do you have sustainable support?

¨         Do you have a detailed budget?

¨         Are there community organizations (churches, civic groups, schools) you can partner with to help with volunteers, transportation, money, etc.?

¨         How will you sustain funding for your Kids Cafe? (See Troubleshooting section)

Back to Kid-e-Cafe Step 2 Page