The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) was instituted to provide nutritious meals to children during the summer months when school is not in session. The program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
Sponsoring organizations include:
- Public or private non-profit local education agencies;
- Entities of state, local, municipal, or county government;
- Residential camps; and
- Private nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status.
An alternative to the SFSP for providing meals to your children in the summer months is the Seamless Summer Option. This program is available to local education agencies that already participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and/or School Breakfast Program (SBP). Some school food service authorities feel the Seamless Summer Option better meets their needs and requires less paperwork and monitoring requirements than the SFSP. For more information visit the
Seamless Summer Option page. Please remember that schools who are offering academic summer school in buildings which have 50 percent or more of the students eligible for free or reduced-price school meals must serve breakfast and/or lunch at each school(s) that meets this criteria and must serve the meals to the children in their summer school program along with opening their doors to the community.
