CBPL Receives National Grant, June 4

$3,000 Grant Will Help the Library Work with Residents to Increase Food Security and Literacy – CBPL release = COOS BAY — Coos Bay Public Library has been selected as one of 300 libraries to participate in Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries, an American Library Association (ALA) initiative that helps library workers better serve their small and rural communities. The competitive award comes with a $3,000 grant to help us increase food security, provide food literacy, and mitigate barriers that prevent individuals and families in Coos Bay from being food secure. “We are so proud to be chosen for this opportunity to work with our community” said Reference Librarian, Paul Addis. “This grant will allow our library to get to know our residents better and help us build a happier and healthier community for our citizens by providing more access to healthy food and nutritional learning opportunities.” As part of the grant, Coos Bay Public Library staff will take an online course in how to lead conversations, a skill vital to library work today. Staff will then host conversations with residents about Food Security and Literacy, using the grant funds to increase access to our Community Cooking with the Co-op program, a collaboration with Coos Head Food Co-op and their Outreach Coordinator, Jamar Ruff. Fifty community members will receive $20 vouchers to obtain the ingredients needed to participate in our July and August programs on Zoom. In September, we will hold two community conversations with participants and community partners to discuss these and other grant-related activities. Coos County’s most recent Community Food Assessment (CFA) stated that “In terms of nutritional health and eating habits of a community, it is evident that poverty and lack of education are serious contributors to the problem.” If you are interested in getting involved or taking part in the conversation, please contact Paul Addis at paddis@coosbaylibrary.org or (541) 269-1101 x222.