Summer Food Service Program

About the Program

Thousands of Oregon children depend on free or reduced priced meals during the school year. The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) provides funds for organizations to serve meals to low-income children during the summer when school is not in session. Funding is provided by the USDA. Meal sites are hosted at a variety of locations, including parks, schools and churches.

Start a Program: Contact Barbara Cracknell, Oregon Department of Education, or read our Fact Sheet and Summer Food Guide

Find Free Summer Meal sites: www.summerfoodOregon.org

Support Summer Programs: Donate, volunteer or spread the word. Here's how.

What We Do

Outreach and Program Assistance

Through our Summer Food Outreach Project, we work with the Oregon Department of Education and other partners to identify communities that lack summer food programs, help get programs up and running, and increase awareness of meal sites among the public. We document and share best practices through publications like our Summer Food Guide, a comprehensive resource for operators of summer food programs, our annual Roadshow and our new webinar based workshops. We also provide small grants to help expand programs.

Partners outreach includes technical assistance and support for organizations wishing to host Summer Food Service Program kickoff events, to engage and inform local communities about the benefits of eating a nutritious lunch in the summer time. Here is a short video of the exciting 2012 Summer Tip Off Event, hosted at McCoy Park by Portland Parks and Recreation, PHFO, and several other local organizations.

Advocacy

We identify opportunities for Summer Food Service improvement through our work with providers here in Oregon, and monitoring efforts of other states. We advocate for these improvements through state and federal policy change, like Federal Child Nutrition Reauthorization.