Sponsors, meal sites needed for summer food program

A program that targets children in low-income areas to ensure they have access to healthy meals during the summer is seeking sponsors and meal sites. 

The Summer Food Service Program is a federally funded initiative operated nationally by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered in Delaware by the Department of Education. Sponsors are reimbursed for all eligible meals served at approved meal sites in eligible areas to children ages 18 years and under at no cost. 

Units of local government, camps, schools and private nonprofit organizations are eligible to operate SFSP as sponsors.

Individual sites, such as camps, housing complexes, community centers, parks and homes are eligible to operate as a program site under a sponsor. The sponsor would prepare and deliver the meals to the site, and some locations may be served by a food truck, depending on availability. An adult at the site is required to be the site supervisor to oversee the meals being served.

Children 18 and under may receive free meals and snacks through the SFSP. Meals and snacks also are available to individuals with disabilities who are over age 18 and participate in school programs.  

Sponsors and sites will receive training and continued support from DDOE throughout the course of the program to help them operate a successfully. 

For details on becoming a Summer Food Service Program sponsor or site, or to locate a sponsored site in a specific area, call 302-857-3356 or go to tinyurl.com/2asup8te.