State Seeking Partners To Provide Summer Meals

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) is calling on non-profit organizations across the state to help provide meals for children who lack access to nutritious food during the summer months and times of public emergencies.

Through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), organizations can receive reimbursement for meals served to children under 18 who face food insecurity while school is out. 

Crawford County R-1 School District is typically the only local entity that participates in the program. Meals are provided during summer school in June.

The initiative is part of Missouri’s broader efforts to combat childhood hunger and ensure that children in underserved areas continue receiving proper nutrition.

This year, DHSS is seeking both congregate feeding sites, where children gather to eat, and rural non-congregate feeding sites. The Rural Non-Congregate Option is designed to assist areas where transportation barriers have previously made it difficult for children to access meal programs.

Eligible organizations include schools, faith-based groups, camps, private non-profits, and local government entities. Sites qualify if they are located in areas where at least 50 percent of children are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.

The SFSP is federally funded and administered by DHSS. Applications from new non-profit organizations will be accepted from March 1 through May 15. 

Training on program requirements will be provided to all participating organizations.

For more information, visit www.health.mo.gov/sfsp or call 888-435-1464. Hearing and speech-impaired individuals can dial 711. Interested organizations can also email sfsp@health.mo.gov or write to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Summer Food Service Program, P.O. Box 570, Jefferson City, MO 65102.