Summer Food for Children: An Overview of Federal Aid




Updated August 15, 2023
Summer Food for Children: An Overview of Federal Aid
Introduction
SFSP and one-quarter operated SSO, many preferring
Since the late 1960s, the federal government has provided
SFSP’s nutrition standards and higher reimbursement rates.
assistance for summer meals served to children through the
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), which provides
In both programs, sponsors operate meal sites at various
funding for meals served by nonprofit organizations, school
locations, including schools, recreation centers, and parks.
districts, and public agencies to children during the
As a result of P.L. 117-328, starting in summer 2023
summer. The Seamless Summer Option (SSO), which was
sponsors are allowed to provide meals for off-site
authorized in 2004, allows school districts to operate a
consumption (i.e., pick-up or delivery) to children living in
modified version of the school meals programs (the
rural areas without access to congregate meal sites. Other
National School Lunch Program [NSLP] and School
sponsors must serve meals on-site unless they obtain a
Breakfast Program [SBP]) into the summer.
waiver (e.g., for severe weather, such as excessive heat).
Eligible Sites
Traditionally, summer meals have been consumed on-site
Sponsors may only operate SFSP/SSO when certain
with other participants (referred to as congregate feeding).
eligibility criteria are met. These criteria for the most
In December 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
common types of meal sites—open sites and closed
2023 (P.L. 117-328) enabled off-site consumption of
enrolled sites—are as follows:
summer meals for children living in rural areas. It also
authorized a permanent, nationwide Summer Electronic
Open sites (open to any child in the community on a
Benefits Transfer (Summer EBT) Program for Children to
first-come, first-serve basis) must be located in an area
provide eligible households with benefits over the summer
in which at least 50% of children qualify for free or
that can be redeemed for groceries. Summer EBT has
reduced-price school meals (area eligibility). They serve
operated as a demonstration project since 2011.
free meals to all children and receive reimbursement for
all meals served.
The summer meal and Summer EBT programs are
administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Closed enrolled sites (open only to enrolled children)
(USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).
must establish, using area eligibility data or individual
eligibility information for enrolled children, that at least
Summer Meal Programs
50% of such children qualify for free or reduced-price
The summer meal programs (SFSP and SSO) are authorized
school meals. They serve free meals to all enrolled
under Section 13 of the Richard B. Russell National School
children and receive reimbursement for all meals served.
Lunch Act. They provide federal reimbursement for meals
In contrast, any public or nonprofit camp (a residential or
served by participating institutions to children during
day camp that provides organized programs for enrolled
summer vacation periods in May through September
children) may operate SFSP. However, camps are only
(except for schools with continuous calendars). They may
required to serve free meals to children who qualify for free
also operate during unanticipated school closures between
or reduced-price meals, and they receive reimbursement
October and April. Federal funding is provided to state
only for such meals.
agencies, which oversee and distribute reimbursements to
eligible institutions.
Table 1. Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)
Eligible Institutions
Participation and Expenditures in July, 2018-2022
In SFSP, eligible institutions (sponsors) are nonprofit
Meal Sites
Participation Expenditures
organizations, school food authorities, and government
(thousands)
(millions)
($ in millions)
agencies (including tribal governments) that provide a year-

round service to the community.
July 2018
49.5
2.7
197.1
July 2019
47.5
2.7
204.9
In SSO, school food authorities (typically food service
departments of school districts) that participate in NSLP
July 2020
37.8
5.6
561.3
and SBP during the school year are the only type of eligible
July 2021
48.9
5.1
484.4
sponsor. School food authorities have the option to
participate in SFSP or SSO (or neither). School food
July 2022
36.3
2.7
217.8
authorities may find SSO easier to administer, but they
Source: CRS, using USDA FNS, “Keydata” for 2018-2022,
receive larger reimbursements under SFSP. A 2018 study
https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/child-nutrition-tables.
by USDA found that three-quarters of sponsors operated
Notes: Seamless Summer Option (SSO) data are not available. SFSP
operations in summers 2020-2022 were affected by COVID-19
response policies.
https://crsreports.congress.gov

Summer Food for Children: An Overview of Federal Aid
Reimbursement
to administer the program, which it operated in Texas in
Both SFSP and SSO provide cash reimbursements for up to
summers 2019-2022 and Alaska and New Mexico in
two meals (or one meal and one snack) per child daily, with
summers 2020-2022.
exceptions for camps and sites serving migrant children,
which may serve up to three meals (or two meals and one
Funding
snack) per child daily. Sponsors may use reimbursements
Funding for SFSP and SSO is open-ended, appropriated
for allowable operational and administrative expenses.
mandatory funding. Funding is provided as reimbursements
that are calculated based on the number of meals served.
In order to receive reimbursement, SFSP meals must meet
Statute includes a per-meal reimbursement rate that is
SFSP nutritional requirements and SSO meals must meet
adjusted annually for inflation (a maximum rate of $4.58
NSLP/SBP nutritional requirements.
per lunch in SSO and $4.95 per lunch/supper in SFSP in
Summer EBT
2023). Because statute guarantees reimbursement but does
not provide funding directly, it requires an appropriation.
Summer EBT provides electronic benefits that can be
For FY2023, appropriators designated $655.3 million for
redeemed for groceries to households with eligible children
SFSP reimbursements considering USDA’s forecast of
over the summer months. Summer EBT operated as a
summer 2023 needs. SSO data are not available. A smaller
demonstration project from summers 2011-2023 in selected
amount of appropriated mandatory funding is provided for
states and tribal organizations, and was permanently
USDA-purchased foods and state administrative costs.
authorized by P.L. 117-328, which allows for nationwide
operation of the program beginning in summer 2024. Many
Like SFSP and SSO, Summer EBT is an entitlement that
states and territories already offered a similar benefit to
requires an annual appropriation. For FY2024, USDA
households with children under the Pandemic Electronic
requested in the President’s Budget a $1.87 billion
Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program, which was available
appropriation, including $170 million in administrative
from approximately spring 2020 through summer 2023.
costs, to serve an estimated 27 million children.
(Authority to operate P-EBT over the summer was not
available until 2021.)
Recent Developments
P.L. 117-328 gives all states and territories, and some
Summer Meal Programs During COVID-19
Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOS), the option to operate
In summers 2020-2022, USDA used pandemic authorities
Summer EBT starting in summer 2024. Eligible households
to allow SFSP and SSO operators to operate open and
in participating jurisdictions are to receive a $40 per child,
closed enrolled meal sites in any area. USDA also provided
per month grocery benefit that they can redeem at
increased reimbursements, waived certain nutritional
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-
requirements, and allowed for parent pickup of meals,
authorized retailers. Children who receive free or reduced-
among other changes. In addition, USDA enabled school
price (F/RP) meals during the school year are to be
districts to operate SFSP in school year 2020-2021 and SSO
automatically enrolled in the program (though families may
in school years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 with similar
opt out). States participating in the program must also
flexibilities in place of the school meals programs. Waiver
establish an application process, using the same eligibility
authorities were provided by the Families First Coronavirus
criteria as F/RP school meals, for other children.
Response Act (P.L. 116-127) and supplemental funding
was provided by the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136).
P.L. 117-328 establishes separate program options for ITOs
participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program
Federal Studies and Rulemaking
for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) (some of whom
The USDA Summer Meals Study was published in 2021.
previously operated the Summer EBT demonstration
Among other findings, it reported that 83% of households
through WIC); territories that do not operate SNAP
with school-age children did not use nearby meal sites in
(American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana
summer 2018, largely due to a lack of awareness. Prior to
Islands); and children who attend year-round schools.
that, in 2018, GAO published a study of SFSP that found
challenges with availability and awareness of meal sites,
Grantees must cover at least half of the administrative costs.
including a lack of sites in rural areas, and issues with state
and local capacity to operate the program.
Summer Meal Demonstrations
In September 2022, FNS finalized a rule (87 Federal
The 2010 agriculture appropriations act (P.L. 111-80,
Register 57304) that altered certain requirements in SFSP.
§749(g)) authorized demonstration projects to test
Some of the changes reinstated policies that USDA
alternatives to traditional summer feeding methods. Using
rescinded following a 2018 Office of the Inspector General
this authority and subsequent funding provided in
audit. For example, the rule allows closed sites to use area
appropriations acts, USDA carried out several
data to establish eligibility for SFSP (like open sites).
demonstration projects, including Summer EBT.
One recent demonstration project, Summer Meals-to-You,
More Information
mailed weekly meal boxes to children in rural communities.
Further information on the summer meal programs can be
Households were eligible to receive the boxes if they
found in CRS Report R46234, School Meals and Other
attended a participating school district and had a child who
Child Nutrition Programs: Background and Funding.
qualified for F/RP school meals. USDA awarded funding to
Baylor University’s Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty
Kara Clifford Billings, Analyst in Social Policy
https://crsreports.congress.gov

Summer Food for Children: An Overview of Federal Aid

IF11633


Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF11633 · VERSION 5 · UPDATED