Iowa Department of Education seeks sponsors for summer meal and snack sites

Program provides over 3 million nutritious meals and snacks to children, teens in low-income areas across the state during summer months

The Iowa Department of Education today announced it is seeking sponsors for a federally funded program that provides nutritious meals and snacks to children in low-income areas of the state during the summer months.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), administered by the Iowa Department of Education, helps ensure that children ages 18 and younger have access to nutritious meals and snacks during summer break. Persons with mental and physical disabilities who are over age 18 and participate in school programs are also eligible to participate.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires all state agencies participating in the SFSP to announce the program's purpose and eligibility criteria, and to seek local sponsors by Feb. 1 of each year. The program uses local sponsors and partner organizations to manage summer meal services. Typical sponsors include public or nonpublic schools, public or private non-profit colleges and universities, private non-profit organizations and camps, and local, county, municipal, state or federal agencies. Last year, more than 500 locations across Iowa served over 3 million nutritious meals and snacks to children and teens through the SFSP.

Meals provided as part of the summer nutrition programs, also known as SUN Meals, are served at a wide variety of sites, including schools, churches, community centers, parks, libraries, housing complexes or camps. Additionally, sites may be selected to coincide with locations children will be spending their time, such as summer enrichment programs, parks and recreation programs, library programming or a site near the local swimming pool, park or splash pad. Sponsors can also offer mobile meal sites to make access easier for families. Although many sites offer meals to be consumed on-site at the location itself, some rural communities may offer meals for pick up or delivery, known as SUN Meals To-Go. SUN Meals and SUN Meals To-Go complement the SUN Bucks program (Summer EBT) administered by Iowa Health and Human Services to ensure children receive adequate nutrition during summer break.

In most cases, to qualify as a site, the meal service must be either located in a low-income neighborhood where at least 50 percent of the children are eligible for free and reduced price meals or must serve primarily low-income children and not duplicate services already being provided by another organization. Once an open site location is established, all children 18 and under are welcome to participate.

Organizations can also get involved by partnering with existing sponsors to promote site locations or to provide activities for children, volunteers, transportation assistance and more.

Organizations interested in learning how to get involved are invited to visit the Department’s Summer Food Service Program webpage, visit the USDA Summer Nutrition Programs webpage or contact Stephanie Dross at 515-281-4760 or stephanie.dross@iowa.gov.

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