Summer Food Service Program

The Summer Food Service Program is designed to fill the nutrition gap and make sure children can get the nutritious meals they need.

During the school year, many children receive free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch through the School Breakfast and National School Lunch Programs. What happens when school lets out? Hunger is one of the most severe roadblocks to the learning process. Lack of nutrition during the summer months may set up a cycle for poor performance once school begins again. Hunger also may make children more prone to illness and other health issues. The Summer Food Service Program is designed to fill the nutrition gap and make sure children can get the nutritious meals they need.

How to Get Started

• Am I eligible to sponsor a program?

• If my organization is eligible, what next?

• What things do I need?

• What other responsibilities do sponsors have?

Am I eligible to sponsor a program?

Organizations that can serve as sponsors must be:

• A public school food authority
• A public or nonprofit private residential summer camp
• Units of a local, city, county, tribal or state government
• A public or private nonprofit college or university that participates in the National Youth Sports Program
• A private, non-profit (501(c)(3) organization
   

If my organization is eligible, what next?

• Contact the Oklahoma State Department of Education Child Nutrition Programs’ (OSDE-CNP) office at 405-521-3327 and speak with the Summer Food Service Program Coordinator.
• You must attend a state-mandated Summer Food Service Program training.
• Ensure that your sites are located in an area in which at least 50 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.  Your local school district or the OSDE-CNP office can help you with this. 
   

What else do I need to get started?

• Kids
  Children 18 years old and under, along with people up to 21 years old participating in state education programs for the mentally or physically disabled, can receive summer meals.
• Meal sites
  Sites are usually parks, schools, playgrounds, gymnasiums, community centers, churches, apartment complexes, or day camps.  They will be approved as “eligible” during the application process. 
• Staff
  Employees are needed to manage meal sites, prepare meals, and administer the Summer Food Program.  Employees can be volunteers or paid with funds left over after food is purchased.  Among the employees needed is a bookkeeper to compile financial and administrative records, a manager to ensure the sites are well organized and easy to manage, and staff willing to coordinate and communicate with Summer Food Program staff to receive technical assistance and needed support. 
   

What other responsibilities do sponsors have?

For a sponsor, there are program regulations and policies (both at the federal and state agency level) to ensure the program is run accordingly.  The most important of these includes:

• Serving meals that meet USDA standards as well as state policies and procedures,
• Training all personnel working at a meal site,
• Maintaining records related to meal production, meal counts, sponsor finances and nutrition education, and
• Adhering to all contractual agreements made with the OSDE.  

Farm to Summer Resources

Content provided by the USDA to educate you on Farm to School, Tribal foods, and Local meat. For more information from the Food and Nutrition Service’s Office of Community Food Systems, please visit www.usda.gov/farmtoschool. Questions? Email us at farmtoschool@fns.usda.gov.

• Food & Nutrition Service - Farm to School
• Farm to Summer Fact Sheet
• Tribal Foods Fact Sheet
• Local Meat Fact Sheet

USDA 2017 Food Buying Guide