FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ted Fisher, ted.fisher@vermont.gov, 802-479-1170
Barre, Vt. – The Vermont Agency of Education Child Nutrition Programs announces the availability of funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to participate in the 2019 Summer Food Service Program. The USDA Summer Food Service Program, also known as Summer Meals, is federally funded by the USDA and state-administered by the Vermont Agency of Education Child Nutrition Programs.
Interested sponsors should contact Jamie Curley.
This program bridges the gap between school years, giving children 18 and under the fuel they need to play and grow throughout the summer months and return to school ready to learn. In Summer 2018, 59 sponsors served 427,758 meals at almost 300 sites throughout the state.
The program consists of sponsors and sites. Sponsors can be supervisory unions or school districts, private non-profit organizations, government entities, and non-profit residential camps. Sponsors enter into an agreement with the Agency of Education Child Nutrition Programs to provide meals and file claims for reimbursement. Sponsors are reimbursed on a per meal basis for meals served to eligible children. Sites are the physical location where meals are served and consumed. Examples of sites include schools, parks, housing complexes, and libraries. Sponsors often have more than one site.
Sites established in low-income areas are “open” sites, where any child can eat a meal, no questions asked. Other types of sites must use individual child data to determine eligibility. Children who are members of 3SquaresVT or Reach Up households or meet the income guidelines below are automatically eligible to receive free meals at these other sites.