August 27, 2020
Summer Meals for Children: An Overview of Federal Aid
Introduction
Eligible Sites
Since the late 1960s, the federal government has provided
Eligibility rules differ for different types of meal sites. The
assistance for summer meals served to children. The
most common types of meal sites are open sites, closed
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) provides funding
sites, and camps.
for meals served by nonprofit organizations, school
districts, and public agencies to children during the
 Open sites (open to any child in the community) must
summer. Another program, the Seamless Summer Option
be located in an area in which at least 50% of area
(SSO), allows school districts to operate a modified version
children qualify for free or reduced-price school meals.
of the school meals programs (the National School Lunch
They serve free meals to all children and receive
Program [NSLP] and School Breakfast Program [SBP])
reimbursement for all meals served.
into the summer.
 Closed sites (open only to enrolled children) must
demonstrate, through household applications, that at
Traditionally, summer meals must be consumed on-site
least 50% of enrolled children qualify for free or
with other participants (referred to as congregate feeding).
reduced-price school meals. They serve free meals to all
In recent years, USDA has tested alternative food service
enrolled children and receive reimbursement for all
models, including the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer
meals served.
Program for Children (SEBTC, or Summer EBT) and the
Summer Meals-to-You demonstration projects.
 Camps (residential and day camps that provide
organized programs for enrolled children) do not need to
The summer meal programs and demonstration projects are
have a certain proportion of free/reduced-price eligible
administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
children. Instead, they administer household
(USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).
applications and are only required to serve free meals to
children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals,
Summer Meals Programs
and they receive reimbursement only for such meals.
SFSP and SSO are authorized under Section 13 of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. They
Reimbursement
provide federal reimburs ement for meals served by
Both SFSP and SSO provide cash reimbursements for up to
participating institutions to children ages 18 and under
two meals (or one meal and one snack) per child daily, with
during summer vacation periods in May through September
exceptions for camps and sites serving migrant children,
(except for schools with continuous school calendars). They
which may serve up to three meals (or two meals and one
may also operate during unanticipated school closures
snack) per child daily. Sponsors may use reimbursements
between October and April. Federal funding is provided to
for allowable operational and administrative expenses.
state agencies, which oversee and distribute
reimbursements to eligible institutions.
In order to receive reimbursement, SFSP meals must meet
SFSP nutritional requirements and SSO meals must meet
Eligible Institutions
NSLP/SBP nutritional requirements.
In SFSP, eligible institutions (sponsors) include nonprofit
Table 1. Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)
organizations, school food authorities, and government
Participation and Expenditures, FY2010-FY2019
agencies (including tribal governments).
Fiscal
Meal Sites
Meals Served
Expenditure
In SSO, school food authorities (typically food service
Year
(thousands)
(millions)
($ in millions)
departments of school districts) that participate in NSLP
and SBP during the school year are the only type of eligible
2010
38.5
133.7
358.8
sponsor. School food authorities have the option to
2011
38.9
137.3
372.9
participate in SFSP or SSO (or neither). School food
authorities may find SSO easier to administer, but they
2012
39.8
143.7
398.0
receive larger reimbursements under SFSP.
2013
42.7
150.9
427.2
In both programs, sponsors operate meal sites at various
2014
45.4
160.5
465.6
locations, including schools, recreation centers, and parks.
2015
47.7
163.4
487.8
2016
48.2
154.2
477.4
2017
50.1
152.2
482.7
2018
49.5
145.8
473.4
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Summer Meals for Children: An Overview of Federal Aid
Fiscal
Meal Sites
Meals Served
Expenditure
meal sites experiencing excessive heat. Exempted sites
Year
(thousands)
(millions)
($ in millions)
must continue to serve children in congregate settings on
days when heat is not excessive, and provide meals in
2019
47.5
142.1
476.4
another form (e.g., take-home) on days of excessive heat.
Source: CRS, using USDA FNS, “Child Nutrition Tables,” July 10,
USDA has also offered exemptions on a case-by-case basis
2020, https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/child-nutrition-tables.
for extreme weather and other exceptional circumstances.
Notes: Seamless Summer Option (SSO) data are not available.
Funding
Funding for SFSP and SSO is open-ended, mandatory
Summer Meal Demonstrations
appropriated funding. Funding is provided as
Over the past decade, USDA has tested alternative models
reimbursements that are calculated based on the number of
to congregate feeding in summer meals programs. Current
meals served. Statute includes a per-meal reimbursement
demonstration projects include the Summer EBT
rate that is adjusted annually for inflation (a maximum rate
demonstration, the Summer Meals -to-You demonstration,
of $3.75 per lunch in SSO and $4.15 per lunch/supper in
and the demonstration project for sites experiencing
SFSP in 2020). Because statute guarantees reimbursement
excessive heat. Summer meal demonstration projects were
but does not provide funding directly, it requires an
originally authorized by the 2010 agriculture appropriations
appropriation. In FY2020, P.L. 116-94 provided $526
act (§749(g) of P.L. 111-80) and have received subsequent
million for SFSP reimbursements, considering USDA’s
funding in appropriations acts; most recently (as of the date
forecast of summer 2020 needs. SSO data are not available.
of this In Focus), $35 million was provided by the Further
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-94).
A smaller amount of mandatory appropriated funding is
provided for USDA-purchased foods and state
Summer EBT
administrative costs. Funding for summer meal
The Summer EBT demonstration has operated each
demonstrations is discretionary.
summer since 2011 in selected states and tribal
organizations. The project provides an EBT card (loaded
Recent Developments
with $30 or $60 per child monthly) to households with
children eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.
Federal Studies
Summer EBT relies on the infrastructure of two other
In 2018, GAO published a study of SFSP that found
federal nutrition assistance programs: the Supplemental
challenges with availability and awareness of meal sites,
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special
including a lack of sites in rural areas, and issues with state
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
agencies’ and local organizations’ capacities to operate the
Children (WIC). Participants in jurisdictions participating
program. The USDA Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
in the Summer EBT SNAP model can redeem benefits for
also published an audit in 2018 that found that USDA had
SNAP-eligible foods at any SNAP-authorized retailer,
waived certain SFSP requirements without the proper legal
while participants under the WIC model are limited to a
authority. USDA subsequently revoked the waivers.
smaller set of WIC-eligible foods at WIC-authorized
retailers.
Proposed Rulemaking
On January 23, 2020, FNS published a proposed rule (85
In FY2019, FNS announced a new process for determining
Federal Register 4064) that would make changes to certain
Summer EBT grant recipients. Four jurisdictions were
program requirements in SFSP. Some of the changes in the
awarded funds: the Chickasaw Nation and Michigan (prior
proposed rule would reinstate policies that USDA rescinded
grantees) were funded for summers 2019-2021, and
following the 2018 OIG audit. For example, the proposed
Wisconsin and the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (new
rule would allow closed sites to use area data to establish
grantees) were funded for summers 2020-2022.
their eligibility for SFSP (like open sites). A final rule has
not yet been published (as of the date of this In Focus).
Summer Meals-to-You
USDA launched the Summer Meals-to-You demonstration
Summer Meals During COVID-19
in summer 2019 in Texas. The project, administered
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many school districts
through a partnership with Baylor University’s
transitioned from operating the school meal programs to the
Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, delivers food boxes
summer meal programs , which are allowed to operate
to children in rural communities. The project is scheduled
during unanticipated school closures. USDA also waived
to run each summer through 2021, and as of summer 2020,
certain SFSP and SSO requirements during the pandemic,
includes New Mexico.
partially using waiver authorities provided by the Families
First Coronavirus Response Act (P.L. 116-127). For
The Summer Meals -to-You demonstration became a model
example, USDA waived congregate feeding rules,
for the Emergency Meals to You program (which is not a
nutritional requirements, and area eligibility rules for open
summer-specific program), launched by USDA in March
sites—enabling sites in any area to serve free meals. In
2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
addition, the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136) provided an $8.8
billion emergency supplemental appropriation for child
Sites Experiencing Excessive Heat
nutrition programs, including summer meal programs.
Each summer since 2015, USDA has provided exemptions
from the congregate feeding requirement for SFSP and SSO
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Summer Meals for Children: An Overview of Federal Aid
More Information
Kara Clifford Billings, Analyst in Social Policy
Further information on the summer meal programs can be
found in CRS Report R46234, School Meals and Other
IF11633
Child Nutrition Programs: Background and Funding.


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