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NJ Organizations Provide Free Nutritious Meals to Children in Need During Summer Months
New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Encourages Organizations to Provide Nutritious Meals to Children in Need During Summer
As summer approaches, New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher is encouraging organizations to join the Department’s Summer Food Service Program and help provide nutritious meals to children in economically disadvantaged areas.
The Summer Food Program was created in 1976 as an extension of the National School Lunch Program and aims to provide free meals to children under the age of 18. The program is also open to individuals over 18 with intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities who participate in public or nonprofit private programs for individuals with disabilities.
In the previous school year (2021-2022), the National School Lunch Program’s Seamless Summer Option saw 717 School Food Authorities with a total of 2,617 sites providing over 147 million lunches and 81 million breakfasts free to all children aged 18 and under. Last year, 158 organizations participated in the Summer Food Service Program and provided more than 11 million nutritious meals including breakfast, lunches, dinners, and snacks to over 1,200 summer meal sites.
The federally funded program reimburses participating organizations for meals served to children who live in areas where at least 50 percent of the children qualify for free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program. Public or private nonprofit school food authorities, units of local, municipal, county or state governments, public or private nonprofit organizations, residential summer camps or national youth sports programs may apply.
Those approved to sponsor the Summer Food Service Program are responsible for managing the feeding sites that provide the meals to young children. Most participating organizations can be reimbursed for up to two meals a day, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Meals may also be reimbursed for nights and weekends. For organizations serving primarily migrant children, up to three meals a day can be reimbursed.
Residential camps can serve up to three meals a day but are only reimbursed for meals served to children eligible for free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program.
The deadline for completed applications is March 20, 2023, and more information can be found at https://bit.ly/3eCQygp.
Aside from the Summer Food Program, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s Division of Food and Nutrition is responsible for administering various programs that improve the quality and provision of food to New Jersey residents in need, including School Nutrition Programs and the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
The Division of Food and Nutrition also runs The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which distributes federally donated commodities to six emergency feeding organizations across the state. These federally donated foods are distributed to over 800 soup kitchens, food pantries, and public feeding sites that serve New Jersey's most vulnerable citizens.
To obtain an application for the Summer Food Service Program or to learn more, call (609) 292-4498. By joining the program, organizations can play a vital role in ensuring that children in need have access to nutritious meals during the summer months.
