Summer Food Service Program: Why Isn't It Reaching More Kids?

Using playgrounds, schools, and other locations throughout the country, Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sponsors serve meals in the summertime to children in low-income neighborhoods. The sponsors include local school districts, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. A study conducted by Mathematica 15 years ago determined that the meals generally provide the right proportions of key nutrients and reach the target audience—children from low- to moderate-income households. However, participation rates are low compared to the free and reduced-price components of the National School Lunch Program.

To update information on the SFSP program and to gain insight into why participation rates are so low, Mathematica conducted a national study of program implementation in 2001. Researchers focused on:

• Operations at the state, sponsor, and site levels
• Promotional efforts aimed at sponsors and families
• Foods offered, nutritional quality, and amounts eaten 
• Other activities for children at program sites

The final report summarizes SFSP operations at the state and local levels. The findings showed that about half the meal sites are run by schools, raising important implications for how the program is aligned with other school-based nutrition programs.

The study was sponsored by the USDA's Economic Research Service in cooperation with the Food and Nutrition Service. Data were collected from 126 sponsors, 131 former sponsors, and 162 sites nationwide in summer and fall 2001. Click here for the study's design report.

On a related note, a recent issue brief takes a look at the Seamless Summer Food Waiver, a federal initiative to help feed a larger number of low-income children during the summer months. The brief notes that sponsors found the seamless waiver to be an attractive option. It helped simplify operations, increased flexibility, and allowed some sponsors to feed more children. The brief is based on "The Seamless Summer Feeding Waiver: Survey Report" and "An Evaluation of the Seamless Waiver in Five School Districts."

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