Help Ensure Children Receive Healthy Meals During Summer Months

Be a Summer Food Service Program Sponsor or Site

• Dennison Rivera
• January 31 2022

HELENA — As we go into a healthy summer, join the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) in serving our Montana children. The USDA’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) ensures that children who depend on school meals have nutritious food when school is not in session. Meals are available to children 18 years old or younger during school closures, no questions asked. All kids need to do is show up and eat! 

Sponsor participation and meal sites are needed to ensure Montana’s children in low-income areas have continued access to healthy meals and snacks. The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) is accepting applications for the 2022 summer from public and private nonprofit schools, local government agencies, and private nonprofit organizations interested in sponsoring the SFSP. 

How can you help your community?

1. Become a SFSP site. Reach out to existing Summer Food Service Program sponsors to add open sites at schools, community centers, parks, pools, or other eligible locations kids gather in the summer months. Check out the USDA Capacity Builder Map to find where sponsors and sites operated in 2021.

1. Become a SFSP sponsor. Eligible sponsors include public and private nonprofit schools, local government agencies, and private nonprofit organizations. Program sponsors operate sites at eligible locations in their community during the summer months.  Sponsors of the SFSP handle the financial, administrative and food service responsibilities of SFSP sites. Sponsors are reimbursed at a set rate for meals served to eligible children.
2. Help publicize local SFSP sites. Here are some tools for advertising 2022 Montana SFSP sites:

• Advertise the SFSP at your neighborhood, workplace, school, community center, daycare, or wherever you see fit. Visit our website for flyers.
• Spread the word and use the SFSP text line. Starting in late May, anyone can text summer meals to 914-342-7744 to learn the locations of your nearest SFSP site.
• Visit the SFSP Map. This map is updated in late spring/early summer when sites begin operating for the year.  

Summer should be a time for fun and relaxation; however, some kids lack access to the nutrition they need to grow and thrive during the summer that they rely on during the school year.  Help us balance the scales and ensure all kids have access to meals for success year-round.  You can learn more about the Summer Food Service Program by visiting the Montana OPI School Nutrition Programs website or start the application to sponsor a Summer Food Service Program site by calling (406) 444-2501. 

New sponsors can apply to the OPI beginning March 1 and through April 29, 2022.  Existing sponsors can add sites at any point throughout the summer.

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (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.

To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: How to File a Complaint, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

1. mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights  1400 Independence Avenue, SW  Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; 
2. fax: (202) 690-7442; or
3. email: intake@usda.gov.

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