Providing Summer Meals To Your Community
4 WAYS TO PARTICIPATE | ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS
Children in your community do not need to go hungry this summer. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Summer Food Service Program helps fill the hunger gap by paying reimbursements to local public and private non-profits that provide nutritious meals to their communities in the summer months.
For full details on the following points, view our Abridged Guide to Starting an SFSP.
Sponsors handle the administrative and financial responsibilities for the program. Make an investment in the children in your community. If your organization already provides services to the community, and has capable staff and good management practices to run a food service, you can administer SFSP. Contact Florida DOE at 1-800-504-6609 to be notified about trainings for sponsors.
Sites actually serve the meals to children and keep track of (and report) the number of meals served. Some organizations do not have the financial or administrative ability to run the program, but they can supervise a food service for children, along with recreational or enrichment activities, at a site. Contact Us or Florida DOE (1-800-504-6609) for more information on sponsors in your area.
Instead of administering or supervising a meal service site, a vendor sells prepared meals under an agreement or a contract with an approved SFSP sponsor. Organizations with kitchens and food service staff, including schools, commercial companies, or public or nonprofit institutions, can participate in SFSP as vendors.
Even if your organization cannot take on the responsibilities of a sponsor or a site, you can team up with a sponsor to provide TIME, SPACE, RESOURCES, FINANCIAL SUPPORT, AND POLITICAL VOICE for existing programs. The following links will give your more information on volunteer ideas:
For Community Members | For Churches
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Please see the Abridged Guide to Starting SFSP for more details on these ways to participate.
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Steps to Starting Your Own Summer Food Service Program can also provide you with valuable information on plugging in to your local SFSP.
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Click to find out where sites already exist in your area.
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(More information is also available at Florida DOE's Q&A page and FRAC's Q&A page)
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Just as learning does not end when school lets out, neither does a child's need for good nutrition. The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) provides free, nutritious meals and snacks to help children in low-income areas get the nutrition they need to learn, play, and grow, throughout the summer months when they are out of school.
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The Food and Nutrition Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, administers SFSP at the Federal level. State education agencies administer the program in most States. In some areas, the State health or social service department or an FNS regional office may be designated. Locally, SFSP is run by approved sponsors, including school districts, local government agencies, camps, or private nonprofit organizations. Sponsors provide free meals to a group of children at a central site, such as a school or a community center. They receive payments from USDA, through their State agencies, for the meals they serve.
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States approve SFSP meal sites as open, enrolled, or camp sites. Open sites operate in low-income areas where at least half of the children come from families with incomes at or below 185 percent of the Federal poverty level, making them eligible for free and reduced-price school meals. Meals are served free to any child at the open site. Enrolled sites provide free meals to children enrolled in an activity program at the site where at least half of them are eligible for free and reduced-price meals. Camps may also participate in SFSP. They receive payments only for the meals served to children who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals.
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Children 18 and younger may receive free meals and snacks through SFSP. Meals and snacks are also available to persons with disabilities, over age 18, who participate in school programs for people who are mentally or physically disabled.
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At most sites, children receive either one or two reimbursable meals each day. Camps and sites that primarily serve migrant children may be approved to serve up to three meals to each child, each day.
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SFSP reimbursements are now based on the number of reimbursable meals served multiplied by the combined operating and administrative rate for that meal. For summer 2009, the maximum reimbursement rate per meal in most States is:
- Self Preparation-Rural Sites
Breakfast: $1.815
Lunch/supper: $3.1825
Snack: $.7525
- Other Types of Sites (Vended-Urban)
Breakfast: $1.78
Lunch/supper: $3.13
Snack: $.735
Payment rates are higher in Alaska and Hawaii to reflect the higher cost of providing meals in those States.
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SFSP was first created as part of a larger pilot program in 1968. It became a separate program in 1975. By 1980, 1.9 million children were participating. Participation dropped to 1.5 million in 1985, and grew to 1.7 million again by 1990. Almost 2 million children participated at almost 31,000 sites in the summer of 2005.
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Congress appropriated $357.9 million for SFSP in FY 2009 and $312.2 million for the Program in FY 2008. By comparison, the program cost $110.1 million in 1980; $163.3 million in 1990; $267.2 million in 2000; and $327.4 million in 2008.
For More Information:
To learn more about SFSP in Florida, contact Florida DOE at 1-800-504-6609.
You may also contact the USDA Food and Nutrition Service Public Information Staff at 703-305-2286, or by mail at 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 640, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.
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