Summer Food Service Program

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 vastly under-utilized.

USDA COVID-19 Waivers, Q&As, and Resources

USDA Nationwide Waivers for Service Institutions Operating the SFSP during Unanticipated School Closures

• Non-Congregate Meal Service
• Meal Times Requirements
• Parent and Guardian Pick Up
• Area Eligibility
• Service of Meals at School Sites 

• Child Nutrition Waivers - Collection of waivers issued by USDA during this public health emergency.
• Child Nutrition Q&As - Series of question and answers on flexibilities and waivers.
• Team Nutrition Resources - Provides an overview of child nutrition flexibilities.

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.

Iowa ​Submitted USDA Waiver Requests

The Iowa Department of Education is requesting a waiver of statutory or regulatory requirements for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) for summer 2022 operations, May 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022, and during unanticipated school closures between October 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023 for the following:

• Summer School Sessions under 7 CFR 225.14(d)(2) – for SFSP and SSO 

Submitted and Approved USDA Waiver Requests

• First Week Site Visits requirement at 7 CFR 225.15(d)(2) – for SFSP only
• Applications For Closed Enrolled Sites requirement at 42 U.S.C. 1761(a)(1)(A)(i)(lll) and 7 CFR 225.15(f) – for SFSP and SSO
• Offer Versus Serve requirement at 42 U.S.C. 176(f)(7) and 7 CFR 225.16(f)(1)(ii) – for SFSP
• Meal Service Time Restrictions requirements under 7 CFR 225.16(c)(1) and (c)(2) – for SFSP and SSO 
• Oversight and Review Requirements under 7 CFR 225.7(d)(2)(ii), 7 CFR 225.7(d)(6), and 7 CFR 225.15(d) – for SFSP

Trainings for Program Sponsors

• Summer Food Service Program Informational Webinar - Recorded on 2-19-20. This webinar provides an introduction to who can sponsor the SFSP, what is considered a site, who is eligible to participate, what meals can be served, how to obtain reimbursement for meals and allowable expenses.
• Summer Food Service Program Application Submission Webinar - Recorded on 4-5-22. This webinar provides information on applying to become a sponsor, required pre-approval documents, details of the permanent agreement, appeal rights and step by step instructions on how to complete the online application packet in the IowaCNP.
• Summer Food Service Program Sponsor Training Webinar Part 1 of 2 and Summer Food Service Program Sponsor Training Webinar Part 2 of 2 - Recorded on 5-5-20. This webinar provides details of sponsor responsibilities, including outreach, site determinations and oversight, internal monitoring, meal requirements, reimbursement, civil rights and program renewals and deadlines.

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.
• 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:

• USDA Area Eligibility Mapper
• USDA SFSP Capacity Builder
• FRAC Summer Food Mapper

Promotional Resources

• USDA Summer Meals Toolkit - Designed for individuals and organizations interested in serving as Summer Meal champions in their communities at any level of program administration. The outreach materials can be utilized to promote summer food service program sites in and/or around the communities you serve.
• USDA Raise Awareness - Resources include templates for flyers, postcards, bookmarks, and business cards.
• Summer Meals Outreach Toolkit - Share Our Strength has developed this toolkit to help your organization work with the media to promote summer meals programs as well as outreach materials that you can tailor with tips to use in your community.

USDA Resources

• USDA Summer Food Service Program
• USDA Summer Food Service Program Legislation
• USDA Summer Food Service Program Policy
• USDA Summer Food Service Program Guides
  • Administrative Guidance for Sponsors
  • Monitor's Guide
  • Nutrition Guidance for Sponsors
  • Site Supervisor's Guide (English and Spanish)