The Minnesota Department of Education is looking for eligible schools and organizations to sponsor the Summer Food Service Program and provide free meals to Minnesota children 18 and younger during the summer.
There are many low-income areas in Minnesota that are underserved and in need of a sponsor to operate a summer feeding site, especially in Greater Minnesota. MDE provides sponsors with program training, on-site technical assistance and meal reimbursement funding for providing meals to children 18 and under in areas of economic need.
Program sites are often located at local schools, recreation and community centers, parks, family housing complexes and other locations operated by youth, cultural and faith-based organizations.
Last summer in Minnesota, more than 220 schools and organizations operated more than 1,000 SFSP meal sites and served 3.4 million meals. The summer meals program reaches 19 percent of children from low-income families that normally receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year, up from 18 percent the year before. The program continues to grow with 16 more sponsors operating in 2018 than the year before and 43 more sites than the previous year. MDE is looking to continue growing the program so all eligible children have access to meals over the summer months.
A sponsoring organization must be a public or private nonprofit school food authority; a public or private nonprofit college or university; a public or private nonprofit residential summer camp; a unit of local, county, municipal, state or federal government; or any other type of private nonprofit organization. All sponsors must be tax-exempt and demonstrate the administrative and financial ability to effectively manage a food service program.
Any organization interested in being a new sponsor or becoming a program site under an existing sponsor should call MDE’s Food and Nutrition Service at 651-582-8526, 800-366-8922, or e-mail mde.fns@state.mn.us. More information about the summer food program is available on MDE and USDA Summer Food Service Program websites.
Call MDE’s Food and Nutrition Service at 651-582-8526, 800-366-8922 or visit mde.fns@state.mn.us for information.
