Summer Funding

When school lets out, millions of low-income children lose access to the school breakfasts, lunches and afterschool snacks they receive during the regular school year. The summer nutrition programs are key to filling this gap.

Many summer nutrition sites provide not just meals, but educational enrichment and recreational activities that help children continue to learn and stay safe when school is not in session. The meals provided through summer nutrition programs act as a magnet to draw children to these activities.

Two federal nutrition programs exist to feed children during the summer months:

The Summer Food Service Program
SFSP works best for summer programs that are operated by a local government agency such as Parks and Recreation or nonprofit organization. SFSP is also good for schools that are especially concerned about reimbursement rates. The SFSP reimbursement is higher than the NSLP reimbursement which is the reason why some schools operate SFSP during the summer instead of NSLP. (learn more)

The National School Lunch Program
NSLP works best for summer programs that are school sponsored and have a school food service department that is willing to provide healthy snacks and meals. NSLP is also good for summer programs that do not have the capacity to administer the snack or meal service itself. (learn more)

Visit our toolkit page for outreach tips and helpful materials.