DATE: 04/01/2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Community Services Department
2026-121
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
COUNCILMEMBER RICHINS’S REQUEST TO EXPAND THE 2026 SUMMER LUNCH
AT THE LIBRARY PROGRAM TO FIVE DAYS A WEEK
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to provide direction regarding Councilmember Richin’s request to extend the summer 2026 Lunch at the Library Program from two days to five days per week.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council provide direction on:
a. Council Member Richin’s request to expand the Summer 2026 Lunch at the Library Program to five days per week.
i. If recommended, authorize a total appropriation in the amount of $15,140 from the General Fund to the Community Services Department’s operating budget ($7,570 for the remainder of FY 2026 and the remaining $7,570 to be included in the FY 2027 Proposed Budget).
b. That the City Council maintain the Lunch at the Library Program at two days per week for Summer 2026. Also, direct whether to explore expanding the program in subsequent years, contingent on additional funding and staffing capacity.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
In February 2026, the Corona Public Library was awarded a $12,600 grant from the California State Library to support the Lunch at the Library Program. The Library previously participated in this program from 2018 to 2021, during which approximately 8,000 meals were served, starting at 2 times a week and increasing to 4 times a week.
The program provides free meals to youth via the Corona-Norco Unified School District’s (CNUSD) lunch program. The grant pays for the supplies and materials, stipends to nonCity staff serving food, and enrichment programs. The program ended in 2021 due to COVID and because CNUSD could not provide hot lunches at the Library.
Lunch at the Library is returning this summer because CNUSD can provide hot lunches at the Library, and the City has received the grant funds. As a result, the program is currently integrated into the Summer at Your Library (SAYL) programming.
ANALYSIS:
Program Coordination
The SAYL program is the Library’s largest and most attended annual initiative. In 2025, the program served 1,690 participants and recorded over 1.6 million minutes read, reflecting continued growth.
Each lunch offered to participants includes a hot meal and an enrichment activity (movies on Tuesdays and a live performance on Thursdays), both provided in the Frances Aldama Martinez Community Room (FAM Room). This translates to approximately 3.5 hours of staff time and includes setup, table maintenance during lunch, facilitating the accompanying enrichment activity, and teardown. Additionally, after lunch distribution at the library, staff are tasked with delivering any remaining food to Mercy House. With a planned attendance of approximately 100 lunches, the Library will require six personnel (two library staff and four volunteers) to assist with serving food during the program. This staffing will help ensure meals are distributed in a timely manner and support service throughout the meal and post-program cleanup.
Staffing Impact
Planning for Lunch at the Library and SAYL began in November, and program schedules and staffing assignments for Summer 2026 are now finalized, which includes operating the Lunch at the Library Program two days per week. Two staff members and four volunteers will support Lunch at the Library on a rotating basis, and each staff member will work approximately 3.5 hours per day. Staff responsibilities include:
Supervising and training volunteers
Coordinating enrichment activities
Serving meals
Managing food deliveries and distribution
Marketing and outreach
Under City policy, volunteers must be supervised by staff, limiting the ability to expand services without additional personnel.
Expanding Lunch at the Library to five days per week at this time would require canceling or reducing existing and planned library programs due to staffing and space constraints.
During the week, staff involved in Lunch at the Library and trained in food handling also participate in other SAYL and library activities. The FAM Room is also the library’s biggest room, where the largest activities are reserved, and this room is programmed with other popular activities throughout the week.
Expanding the Lunch at the Library to five days per week would require reallocating staff and space that are currently allocated for the following planned programs:
Library On the Go services
Storytimes
MakerExchange programs and activities
Guided Storywalks at Mountain Gate Park
Additionally, if enrichment programming is desired to accompany three added days of lunch service weekly, staff anticipates challenges coordinating programs and performances on short notice, as our existing performers were booked several months ago and may not be available.
Community Access to Services
Additional meal service sites are available throughout the City through the Corona-Norco Unified School District (CNUSD), including the City’s Kid’s Club program. At this lunch site, children from 0-18 are allowed to receive lunch five days a week, regardless of being enrolled in the Kid’s Club program. Several of these sites operate five days per week.
CNUSD's Child Nutrition Services will provide a list of these sites to the library in late May.
Library staff will provide information and referrals to these locations to ensure continued access to meal services for residents.
Future Planning
Based on Summer 2026 program outcomes, staff may pursue additional grant funding to support potential program expansion in future years. This approach would minimize impacts on the City’s General Fund and enable proper program planning and staffing.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Approval of the recommended action to expand the Summer 2026 Lunch at the Library Program to five days per week will require a total of $15,140 in additional direct costs.
The program is scheduled to run from June 8 through July 31, with approximately 50% of total costs to be incurred in FY 2026. An appropriation of $7,570 from the General Fund to the Community Services Department’s operating budget is requested for the remainder of FY 2026, with the remaining $7,570 to be included in the FY 2027 Proposed Budget.
The current $12,600 grant supports the existing two-day program and does not cover expansion costs.
Expanding the program to five days per week includes:
$8,640 for teen volunteer stipends. As noted previously, teen volunteers receive stipends for their hours worked during the summer. To retain the current four teen volunteers and provide the additional support needed to ensure the program operates smoothly, additional funding for stipends would be required. These teens would already be trained in food handling as required by CNUSD. $1,500 for supplies and materials, including paper goods, serving utensils, and other program-related materials.
(Optional) $5,000 for additional enrichment programming to maintain consistency with programs planned on the two existing Lunch at the Library days.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This staff report is intended to provide a response to Council Member Richins's request regarding expanding the Summer Lunch Program at the Library to five days a week and there is no possibility that approving this agreement will have a significant effect on the environment.
Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: DANIELL WHITTINGTON, LIBRARY MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: DONNA FINCH, COMMUNITY SERVICES DIRECTOR
ATTACHMENT:
1. Presentation: Lunch at the Library Extension Request City Council