Frequently Asked Questions - Summer Nutrition

What meals should I serve?
FRAC recommends that, if appropriate, sponsors serve the maximum number of meals allowed, which is two meals per day. This decreases the likelihood that the children in your program will go hungry and allows your organization to receive the maximum reimbursements possible, creating economies of scale and making the overall program more economically feasible. Sites can provide either breakfast and lunch or breakfast and supper. (Note: Under USDA guidelines, sites cannot serve both lunch and supper.) Camps and migrant sites can serve up to three meals a day.

Should I use a vendor or prepare the meals on-site?
One of the first decisions Summer Food sponsors must make is whether or not they will prepare their own meals or have them vended. If you have the facilities to produce the food and your program is relatively small, it may be easier and more cost effective to prepare the food on-site. Preparing your own meals also can allow you to have control over the quality of the food and the variety in the menu.

Sponsors also can choose to have the food provided by a vendor. This can make it easier to run the Summer Food Program since you do not have to worry about food preparation. Your decision on this may depend upon whether or not there is an entity in your area that is interested in vending the food and doing so at an affordable price. In many places, the school food service department, a community kitchen, or the local anti-hunger organization may be interested in vending the food. The school food service department already has the infrastructure to provide the food and may be interested in providing additional work opportunities for its employees. Some community kitchens and anti-hunger organizations have become vendors because providing meals through the child nutrition programs is a natural outgrowth of their mission. If none of these entities are available, most communities have traditional for-profit vendors you can utilize.

Will the Summer Food reimbursement cover all of my costs?
Many summer programs find that the SFSP or NSLP reimbursements cover the entire cost of the meals and snacks they serve.

For strategies to ensure that your Summer Food program stays in the black, check out FRAC’s tips for operating a cost effective summer food program.

Even if the entire cost of the meal service is not covered, many summer programs still decide to participate because they feel that feeding the children in their program is important and SFSP and NSLP provide substantial funding for the snacks whose cost would otherwise be entirely covered by program dollars.

How do I know if my summer program is located in a low-income area?
You can use either school meal eligibility information or census data to determine whether or not your summer program is located in a low-income area (i.e. where at least 50 percent of the children are eligible for free and reduced-price meals) and therefore qualifies as an SFSP site. To qualify a site using school data, contact your school food service department for further assistance.

It is important to note that even if your summer program is located at a middle school or high school, you can use nearby elementary school data to qualify your site. Often times, elementary schools have higher rates of free and reduced-price students so it is advantageous to use them to qualify your site.

To qualify a site using census data, contact your state child nutrition agency. Additionally, you can use FRAC’s Summer Food Mapper (LINK) to find census data for your area. You simply enter the address of the site in the Summer Food Mapper and it will tell you whether or not the program qualifies.

Does my program need to be licensed to qualify for either SPSP or NSLP?
No. Licensure is not required for either the Summer Food Service Program or the National School Lunch Program.

What support can my state agency provide?
The state child nutrition agency, which is usually located in your state’s department of education, health or social services, administers the summer nutrition programs. It is required to train sponsors each year and will provide you with the materials you need to sponsor the program. Often times, staff can help you with menu planning and provide you with outreach materials. The state agency also will collect all of your paperwork and process your reimbursement.