Help Feed Kids This Summer: Schools and Community Organizations Needed to Offer Meals Through the Summer Food Service Program​

NEWS RELEASE
Date: January 26, 2026
Media Contact:Liz Merah

Grant funds of up to $20,000 are available to start up or expand summer meal programs for children and teens. Eligibility assessments are due by March 1, 2026.

(Salem, OR) - The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) is seeking more schools, community organizations and Tribes to be sponsors for the USDA Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) this year. The SFSP helps ensure that children and teens receive the nutritious meals they need during the summer months. As an incentive, state grant funds of up to $20,000 per sponsor are available to start up or expand summer meal programs.

The SFSP works to ensure children 18 and younger, who benefit from meal programs during the school year, continue to have that same access to nutritious meals when schools are closed, or when students are unable to attend school in person.

"During the summer months, when school is not in session, children often lose vital access to school nutrition programs. Summer meal sites ensure that children continue to receive the nutrition they need to learn and grow," ODE Summer Food Service Program Outreach Coordinator Cathy Brock said. "Expanding access to the program is an important step to close the hunger gap in all areas of the state. ODE's Child Nutrition Program is seeking sponsors to ensure that children continue to receive meals throughout the summer."

Schools, non-profit community organizations, local government agencies, camps and faith-based organizations that have the ability to manage a food service program may be SFSP sponsors.

Sponsoring organizations must enter into an agreement with ODE to operate the SFSP and are then reimbursed for serving healthy meals and snacks to children at approved sites. Sponsors may be approved to oversee and/or operate multiple sites.

Sites are places in the community where children receive meals in a safe and supervised environment. Sites may be located in a variety of settings, including schools, parks, community centers, health clinics, hospitals, libraries, migrant centers, apartment complexes and faith-based locations.

For more information about how your organization can become an SFSP sponsor, please contact [email protected]. The deadline to submit an eligibility assessment is March 1, 2026.

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In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf , from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant's name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

• mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
• fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
• email: [email protected]

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.