Summer FAQ

Should programs apply for funding through SFSP or NSLP?

How many meals and snacks can a site provide each day?

What’s the difference between “Open” and “Enrolled” sites?

How does a summer program know it’s located in a low-income area?

Does summer nutrition reimbursement cover all costs?

Should programs have food provided by a private vendor, or prepare it on site?

What are some private vendors that could provide the food?

Is a site required to provide an education or recreation program?

Does a program need to be licensed to qualify for either SPSP or NSLP?

What support can state agencies provide?

Should programs apply for funding through SFSP or NSLP?

Use SFSP:
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, since SFSP provides higher reimbursements than NSLP.

Use NSLP:
for school sponsored programs that have a school food service department 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.

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How many meals and snacks can a site provide each day?
FRAC recommends sponsors serve two meals per day, which is the maximum number of meals allowed. This decreases the likelihood that the children in the program will go hungry and allows the organization to receive the maximum reimbursements possible, creating economies of scale and making the overall program more economically feasible.

Sites can serve a maximum of two meals per day or a meal and a snack. USDA guidelines state that sites cannot serve both lunch and supper.

Summer camps (both residential and non-residential) and summer food sites that serve primarily migrant children can serve up to three meals a day. Although they operate similarly to an enrolled site, there are slightly different rules.

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What’s the difference between “Open” and “Enrolled” sites?
Summer food sites can either operate as “open” or “enrolled” sites. An “open” site is one located in a low-income area where at least fifty percent of the children are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. The site is then open to all children in the community ages 18 and under. At an “enrolled” site, only children enrolled in the summer program can participate. The site qualifies if it is located in a low-income area or if 50 percent or more of the children enrolled in the program are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.

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How does a summer program know it’s 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 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.

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Does summer nutrition reimbursement cover all 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 Staying in the Black: Tips for Operating a Cost-Effective Simplified Summer Food Program (pdf).

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.

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Should programs have food provided by a private vendor, or prepare it on site?
Relatively small summer programs that have the facilities to produce the food may find it easier and more cost effective to prepare the food on site. Preparing food on site allows programs to have control over the quality of the food and the variety of the menus.

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What are some private vendors that could provide the food?
School food service departments, community kitchens, or local anti-hunger organizations may be interested in vending the food.

School food service departments already have the infrastructure to provide food and may be interested in providing additional work opportunities for their employees.

Community kitchens and anti-hunger organizations are possibilities, as 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 that can provide food.

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Is a site required to provide an education or recreation program?
Summer food sites do not need to provide enrichment or educational activities (although many do). Children can simply gather at a school, park or other community site to eat their meal or snack without any type of programming taking place at the site.

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Does a program need to be licensed to qualify for either SPSP or NSLP?
No. Licensure is not required for reimbursements from SFSP or NSLP.

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What support can state agencies 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.