Summer Food Service Program seeks sponsors to provide healthy meals to children

MADISON — The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction today announced it is seeking sponsors to provide meals to children living in economically disadvantaged areas in Wisconsin through its Summer Food Service Program.

 

Last year, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DPI applied for and received waivers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow the SFSP and its sponsors to provide nutritious meals to children year round and not only during the summer months. Those waivers were extended by the USDA to be effective through June 30, 2021. From March through December, 2020, 248 local sponsors served nearly 40 million free meals at 1,650 locations across Wisconsin to children, ages 18 and under.

 

“I applaud the sponsors of the Summer Food Service Program for stepping up and partnering with their local communities to deliver nutritious meals to children during this incredible time of need,” State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor said. “The SFSP and sponsors continue to fill an essential gap, and I am hopeful the momentum and team effort continue in communities across our state, and access to these meals is expanded during this pandemic.”

 

Sponsors can be public or private, nonprofit school food authorities or nonprofit summer camps, units of local, municipal, county, tribal, or state governments, private nonprofit organizations (special considerations and restrictions apply), and public or private colleges or universities currently participating in the National Youth Sports and Precollege Programs. If interested in applying to be a sponsor, individuals must contact the program coordinator and complete the SFSP application no later than May 7, 2021. For more information on the SFSP, visit the DPI’s website at https://dpi.wi.gov/community-nutrition/sfsp.

 

Local school districts combining meal programs with summer school sessions are among the most-common program sponsors. Through partnerships and creative collaboration, school districts work with area organizations to extend the SFSP beyond summer school programs to serve more children in need.

 

In accordance with federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the agency (state or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

 

For more information on filing a program complaint of discrimination, contact SFSP Coordinator Amy Kolano at amy.kolano@dpi.wi.gov.