Summer Food Service Program

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Nutrition Programs

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Summer is an exciting time for children to enjoy time with friends, a week at camp, a family vacation, or time at the pool. But for many children, summer can mean hunger. Just as learning does not end when school lets out, neither does a child’s need for good nutrition.

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), administered by the Iowa Department of Education, provides nutritious meals and snacks to children in low-income areas during the summer months. There are many summer food service program meal and snack sites across the state of Iowa, however the program is still under-utilized.

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USDA Waiver Requests - Public Notification

The Iowa Department of Education Bureau of Nutrition and Health Services is seeking the following waivers from the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

Submitted USDA Waiver Requests

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Resources for Program Sponsors

USDA's "Meals for Kids"

Interactive map directs people to local sites where kids can get free meals or call 2-1-1 or 1-866-3-HUNGRY, or text “FOOD” or “COMIDA” to 304-304. Services are available in English and Spanish.

Meal Site Eligibility

Summer Food Service Program meal sites operate as "open," "closed enrolled," or "camp" sites.

  • Open sites operate in low-income areas where half or more of the children are from households with income at or below 185% of the Federal poverty guidelines. Meals are provided at no charge to all children at the open site.
  • Restricted Open sites meet the open site criteria, explained above, but overall attendance is restricted for security, safety or control reasons
  • Closed Enrolled sites provide meals only to children who are enrolled in an activity program, such as a day camp at the site. In order for an enrolled site to participate in the program, at least 50% of the children must be from households with incomes at or below 185% of the poverty level.
  • Residential camps and nonresidential camps may participate regardless of the location and are reimbursed only for eligible participants.

Utilize the following resources to help determine site eligibility:

Promotional Resource

  • Summer Meals Outreach Toolkit - No Kid Hungry has created a summer meals outreach toolkit to help you get the word out to families. A range of ready-made promotional materials are available to help publicize summer meals in your community. Use these resources to maximize the impact of outreach efforts in schools, faith communities, community organizations and online.

USDA Resources

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USDA Nondiscrimination Statement

See the USDA Nondiscrimination Statement.

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