Summer Food Service Program

boy on swing

Contact: Sally Eliason

Child Nutrition Outreach Specialist

Email, (503) 595-5501, ext. 301

Jun. 22

Press Release: Lunch is served!

Summer meals are in when school is out.

Jun. 14

Oregonian: Child hunger game clock ticking down

On Sunday, June 13th, David Sarasohn from the The Oregonian wrote about the importance of adequate funding and a strong child nutrition reauthorization bill in "Child hunger game clock ticking down."

Return to Child Nutrition Reauthorization page

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 Meals: Project Summer Website

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.

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.

RESOURCES & TOOLS

Reports

Apr. 1

Business Hunger Initiative Report: Summer Food 2009 PDF, 862 KB

 This summer, childhood hunger took a vacation!

Dec. 30

Summer Food Participation Report (2008) PDF, 61 KB

2008 Summer Food Service Program participation data by county.

Oct. 22

Summer Food Program Report 2003–2007

Highlighting program growth in Oregon, 2003 to 2007, current gaps and the need to continue expanding the program.

Jul. 2

Summer Food Service Program Participation Report 2009

New report shows Oregon kids missing out on summer meals