Making the Most of Child Nutrition Funding:
A Guide for After School Education and Safety Grantees

Two programs provide funding for food during the summer months. Although the new universal ASES funding does not support summer programs, it is important for ASES grantees to meet the needs of low-income children during the summer months. In fact, many grantees already operate summer programs or summer school, which can benefit from federal nutrition funding.

The school food service department can participate in either program, so it—not the ASES grantee—would assess the pros and cons of each program to choose which program it operates. The National School Lunch Program requires less administrative work, but it offers a slightly lower reimbursement. The Summer Food Service Program provides a higher reimbursement, but it requires more administrative work. In California, the difference between the two reimbursements, including the value of commodities, equals about 5 cents per lunch.

If the ASES grantee—not the school food service department—is operating the nutrition program, its only option is SFSP.

NSLP Summer Basics

 

Program Administration

The school food service department administers this program during the summer as a continuation of the National School Lunch Program (commonly called the Seamless Summer Option), which significantly decreases paperwork and red tape. Schools may serve children at locations on or off school grounds. These sites can be run by the school or by another organization such as a police athletic league. There is no requirement that any particular type of activities occur at a site, which means there does not have to be organized programming. For example, a local park, a swimming pool, or a housing complex could participate.

Reimbursement and Funding

Most of the ASES grantees are located in low-income areasdefined as areas where 50 percent or more of the children are eligible for free or reduced-price school mealswhich means they can participate in NSLP as an open or an enrolled site. The school district can provide the data to show that the summer program is in a low-income area, and an online tool is available at www.fairdata2000.com/SummerFood/index.html to determine whether the program qualifies based on census tract data. (If an ASES grantee is not located in a low-income area, it can still participate by showing that half of the children in the summer program have low household income.)

Open and enrolled sites can both serve up to two meals per day. In determining whether to operate as an open or enrolled site, it is important to consider the needs of the community and the capacity of the program. For example, are there other Summer Food Service Program sites in the area where the children can eat? Could the summer program serve more children? Opening the site to the community is a good way to recruit new children to the program. Moreover, because there often are few sites, the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) recommends that ASES programs be open to the entire community whenever possible.

In addition to operating as an open or enrolled site, any ASES programs that serve primarily migrant children can provide up to three meals per day. To qualify, the program just has to submit information from a migrant organization certifying that the program serves primarily migrant children.

All the meals are reimbursed at the free school breakfast or lunch reimbursement rate. The school meal reimbursement rates are slightly lower than the reimbursement rates for SFSP. The California Department of Education supplements the federal reimbursement rate. From July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008, the California Department of Education provides schools with an additional reimbursement for each free or reduced-price breakfast or lunch. Visit the California Department of Education's website to view the federal and state reimbursement rates.

Age Requirement

Children ages 18 and younger can participate.

Days of Service

The National School Lunch Program can operate during summer vacation or during year-round schools' extended breaks.

How to Get Started

To receive meals during the summer through NSLP, ask the school food service department to provide them. Often, this is an easy conversation. For tips on how to engage the school food service department, a href="http://www.frac.org/CA_Guide/school_food.html">click here.

If the school food service department is unwilling to provide snacks through NSLP, the County Office of Education may be able to sponsor NSLP. In many areas, the County Office of Education participates in NSLP to provide meals to children in the programs it operates, such as its Special Education Programs. The County Office of Education is administratively and financially responsible for operating NSLP in the same way that the school food service department is, but it usually contracts with a vendor to provide the meals and snacks. Often the school food service department is the vendor that prepares the food. Contact the County Office of Education to find out if it would be willing to sponsor NSLP for your program.

Summer Food Service Program Basics

 

Program Administration

Schools, private nonprofit organizations, and local government agencies can all sponsor the Summer Food Service Program. The sponsor is administratively and fiscally responsible for operating the program. This includes completing the application, developing menus, determining where the food will come from, and submitting counts of the number of children eating meals. The California Department of Education provides training and technical assistance on running the program.

A sponsor (including a school district) can serve one or multiple sites throughout the community, and the sites can then be operated by the sponsor or by other organizations, such as a community group or parks and recreation department. Therefore, a school district receiving ASES funds could serve as an umbrella sponsor for multiple schools and community sites. There is no requirement that any particular activities occur at a summer food site, which means there does not have to be organized programming. For example, a local park, a swimming pool, or a housing complex could participate in SFSP.

Reimbursement and Funding

• "Open sites" can feed the children who participate in the summer program as well as any child in the community.
• "Enrolled sites" only serve children enrolled in the summer program.

Children ages 18 and younger can participate.

Days of Service

The program can operate during summer vacation or during year-round schools' extended breaks.

The few ASES programs that are not run by schools (i.e., those operated by nonprofit organizations or local government agencies) and that run year-round can participate in the California Community Child Nutrition Pilot Project. This project provides reimbursement for meals and snacks served during summer vacation or extended breaks of year-round schools as well as snacks during the school year through SFSP. All other summer food rules applyeligibility for sites, age requirements, and reimbursement rates. The pilot aims to make it easier to feed children year-round so sponsors do not have to switch back and forth between SFSP and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

How to Get Started

To receive meals during the summer through SFSP, ask the school food service department to provide them. Often, this is an easy conversation. For tips on how to engage the school food service department, click here.

If the school food service department is unwilling to sponsor the nutrition program, or if you want to sponsor it yourself, contact the California Department of Education at 1-800-952-5609 or visit www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/sf/.