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![handle is hein.crs/goveqao0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service
Informing the IecJisI9tive debate since 1914
0
Updated July 15, 2024
Summer Food for Children: An Overview of Federal Aid
Introduction
Since the late 1960s, the federal government has provided
assistance for summer meals served to children through the
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), which provides
funding for meals served by nonprofit organizations, school
districts, and public agencies to children during the
summer. The Seamless Summer Option (SSO), which was
authorized in 2004, allows school districts to operate a
modified version of the school meals programs (the
National School Lunch Program [NSLP] and School
Breakfast Program [SBP]) into the summer.
Traditionally, summer meals have been consumed on-site
with other participants (referred to as congregate feeding).
In December 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2023 (P.L. 117-328) enabled off-site consumption of
summer meals for children living in rural areas. It also
authorized a permanent, nationwide Summer Electronic
Benefits Transfer (Summer EBT) Program for Children to
provide eligible households with benefits over the summer
that can be redeemed for groceries starting in summer 2024.
Summer EBT previously operated as a demonstration
project.
The summer meal and Summer EBT programs are
administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).
Summer Meal Programs
The summer meal programs (SFSP and SSO) are authorized
under Section 13 of the Richard B. Russell National School
Lunch Act. They provide federal reimbursement for meals
served by participating institutions to children during
summer vacation periods in May through September
(except for schools with continuous calendars). They may
also operate during unanticipated school closures between
October and April. Federal funding is provided to state
agencies, which oversee and distribute reimbursements to
eligible institutions.
E ibe Institutions
In SFSP, eligible institutions (sponsors) are nonprofit
organizations, school food authorities, and government
agencies (including tribal governments) that provide a year-
round service to the community.
In SSO, school food authorities (typically food service
departments of school districts) that participate in NSLP
and SBP during the school year are the only type of eligible
sponsor. School food authorities have the option to
participate in SFSP or SSO (or neither). School food
authorities may find SSO easier to administer, but they
receive larger reimbursements under SFSP. A USDA study
found that less than one in five school food authority-
sponsored sites operated SSO in summer 2018, many
sponsors preferring SFSP's nutrition standards and higher
reimbursement rates.
In both programs, sponsors operate meal sites at various
locations, including schools, recreation centers, and parks.
As a result of P.L. 117-328, starting in summer 2023,
sponsors are allowed to provide meals for off-site
consumption (i.e., pick-up or delivery) to children living in
rural areas without access to congregate meal sites. Other
sponsors must serve meals on-site unless they obtain
permission from the state agency to serve meals off-site.
Eligible Sites
Sponsors may only operate SFSP/SSO when certain
eligibility criteria are met. These criteria for the most
common types of meal sites-open sites and closed
enrolled sites-are as follows:
* Open sites (open to any child in the community on a
first-come, first-serve basis) must be located in an area
in which at least 50% of children qualify for free or
reduced-price (F/RP) school meals (area eligibility).
They serve free meals to all children and receive
reimbursement for all meals served.
* Closed enrolled sites (open only to enrolled children)
must establish, using area eligibility data or individual
eligibility information for enrolled children, that at least
50% of children qualify for F/RP school meals. They
serve free meals to all enrolled children and receive
reimbursement for all meals served.
In contrast, any public or nonprofit camp (a residential or
day camp that provides organized programs for enrolled
children) may operate SFSP. However, camps are only
required to serve free meals to children who qualify for
F/RP meals, and they receive reimbursement only for such
meals.
Figure I. Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)
Participation and Expenditures in July (2018-2023)
7 a~on ofch~ren$ rn m ons 700
600
30
200
100
Ju ly July July July July July
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Source: CRS, using USDA FNS, Keydata for 2018-2023.
Notes: Participants are USDA estimates. SFSP operations in 2020-
2022 were affected by COVID-I19 response policies.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/goveqao0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)