Summertime Means...Healthy Meals and Snacks!
It is almost time for summer and that means many afterschool programs will transition to summer learning programs. Just as a nutritious afterschool snack is a critical part of a quality afterschool programs, meals and snacks play an important role in summer learning as well. Hunger is one of the most severe roadblocks to the learning process. Research shows that children gain weight during the summer months when they typically do not have regular meals and activity routines. Hunger also may make children more prone to illness and other health issues.
The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) provides free, nutritious meals and snacks to help children in low-income areas get the nutrition they need to learn, play and grow throughout the summer months when they are out of school. The Food and Nutrition Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, administers SFSP at the federal level. In New Jersey, the state Department of Agriculture is the administering agency. Organizations can be either sponsors or feeding locations.
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture is looking for organizations interested in providing meals for needy children this year under this federally funded program.
Sponsors
Locally, approved sponsors, including school districts, local government agencies, camps or private nonprofit organizations, run SFSP. Sponsors provide free meals to a group of children at a central site such as a school or a community center. They receive payments from USDA through their state agencies for the meals they serve and for their documented operating costs.
Feeding Locations
There are three types of feeding locations in New Jersey to include open, enrolled or campsites. Open sites operate in low-income areas where at least half of the children come from families with incomes at or below 185 percent of the Federal poverty level, making them eligible for free and reduced price school meals. Meals are served free to any child at the open site.
At most sites, children receive either one or two reimbursable meals each day. Camps and sites that primarily serve migrant children may be approved to serve up to three meals to each child, each day.
Eligibility
Children 18 and younger may receive free meals and snacks through SFSP. Meals and snacks are also available to persons with disabilities, over age 18, who participate in school programs for people who are mentally or physically disabled.
Enrolled sites provide free meals to children enrolled in an activity program at the site where at least half of them are eligible for free and reduced price meals. Camps may also participate in SFSP. They receive payments only for the meals served to children who are eligible for free and reduced price meals.
