An Opportunity for School Districts 

Are there hungry kids in your district when school is out? It’s now even easier to feed those kids! You can apply to operate the Seamless Summer Option in the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program. 

What is it?

The Seamless Summer Option combines features of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).  This option reduces paperwork and administrative burden, making it easier for schools to feed children from low-income areas during the traditional summer vacation periods and, for year-round schools, long school vacation periods (generally periods of 2-3 weeks). 

Why Should Schools Do This?

• Your community needs it – kids still need good food, even when school is out.

• It’s easy – continue the same meal service rules and claiming procedures used during the regular school year.

• There’s reduced paperwork and monitoring rules, compared to running different child nutrition programs at the same time.

• Although the traditional SFSP is still available to schools, the Seamless Summer Option offers a streamlined approach to feeding hungry children in your community.

 How Does it Work?

School districts participating in the NSLP or SBP are eligible to apply for the Seamless Summer Option.  Once approved through their governing State agency, school districts serve meals free of charge to children, 18 years and under, from low-income areas.

The same NSLP and SBP rules apply for meal service.  Meals served are reimbursed at the NSLP and/or SBP “free” rates. 

The types of sites allowed to participate in this option include: 

• Open sites:  all children eat free in communities where at least 50% of the children are eligible for free/reduced price school meals.

• Restricted open sites:  sites that meet the open site criteria, explained above, but are later restricted for safety, control, or security reasons.

• Closed enrolled sites:  may be in any community for an enrolled group of low-income children and meets the 50% criteria explained above. This excludes academic summer schools.

• Migrant sites:  serving children of migrant families.

• Camps:  residential or non-residential camps.

Want to Know More?

Review the FY 2007 Seamless Summer Option Question and Answer Guidance or contact your NSLP State agency for more information on how to apply for the Seamless Summer Option.