Summer Meals Grant Program

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Grant Description

The Summer Meals Grant Program will provide financial support to summer meal sponsors to assist with direct expenses related to providing meals to children in their community. This summer, the Grant Program will focus on sponsors committed to maintaining and expanding access to summer meals.

Grants will range from $500 to $10,000, with funding prioritized for initiatives aimed at providing the greatest access to meals for children during the summer months. While all proposals will be considered, we are particularly interested in supporting adoption of established and emerging best practices around protecting and increasing participation, including:

  • Opening new meal sites
  • Partnering with other community organizations or institution (such as summer school, camps, libraries, food pantries and food distribution centers)
  • Developing and implementing incentive programs
  • Transporting kids to meal sites

Eligibility Information

  • Grants available to school districts and organizations operating federal Child Nutrition Programs (SFSP, SSO, NSLP)
  • Strong preference given to sponsors operating open sites where meals are available to all children
  • Only one application per school administration unit or organization

Resources

 

Timeline

Grant Portal Opens for Applications March 25th, 2024
Application Deadline April 30th, 2024
Grantees Announced May 2024

Grants range from
$500-$10,000

For the following:

  • Expansion costs for new or existing sites, such as startup planning and labor, equipment, implementation, etc
  • Transportation costs associated with delivering meals to multiple locations or transporting kids to meal sites (vehicle, vehicle maintenance and repair, fuel costs for vehicles)
  • Equipment costs needed for the safe preparation, storage, and distribution of meals
  • Program incentives to increase participation, such as raffles, books, free back-to-school supplies
  • Outreach costs for enhanced marketing and advertising
  • Inflation-related expenses such as additional labor costs; increased cost of packaging to ensure safety of staff and safe production, handling, and distribution of meals; and increased food and ingredient costs
  • Implementing non-congregate meal service models in rural areas (such as meal pick-up, multi-day meal provision, transporting and delivering meals to children at home) that will be allowable based on new USDA guidance
  • And more!

Case Study

Summer Meals Grant:

Milo, Maine

Milo, Maine is a town plagued by child hunger. 92% of school-age children qualify for free meals at school and during the summer while school is out, these children struggle to access the nutrition they need. Summer meals have been historically served by the school during the two…

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Former Grant Recipients

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Box 3
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