Description:

The Summer Food Service Program provides free, nutritious meals to low-income children during school vacations.

The Summer Food Service Program operates in low-income areas where half or more of the children are from households with income at or below 185 percent of the Federal poverty guideline. Residential camps also may get reimbursement for eligible children through the SFSP.

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Benefits:

At most sites, participants receive either one or two meals a day. Residential camps and sites that primarily serve children from migrant households may be approved to serve up to three meals per day.

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Eligibility:

Children 18 and under and people over 18, who are determined by a State educational agency to be mentally or physically handicapped and who participate in a school program for the mentally or physically handicapped, may receive meals through the Summer Food Service Program.

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Application:

You do not have to apply for most Summer Food Programs in Massachusetts. All children from the community who go to a Summer Food site can get free meals and snacks. To find out more about the summer program, you should call your local school department or the FoodSource Hotline at 1-800-645-8333.

A list of Summer Food Program sites with free food is announced at the end of each school year. For a list of sites in your area, select your city or town from the list of Summer Food Service Programs on the Meals4Kids web site.

Now No Kid Hungry, with the USDA, has developed an easy way to find local participating free summer meals programs. Just text “food” to 877-877 (or “comida” for a reply in Spanish).

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Useful Links:

Massachusetts NSLP, CACFP, SFSP
Administrator
School Nutrition Safety and Climate
Massachusetts Department of Education
350 Main Street
Malden, Massachusetts 02148-5023
Phone: 781-338-6479
Fax: 781-338-3399