SFSP

Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), funded by the United State’s Department of Agriculture and administered by the Colorado Department of Education, provides breakfast, lunch and snacks to low-income children in the summer when access to free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch feeding programs are not available.

In Colorado, more than 235,000 children rely on these school-nutrition programs as their main source of healthy meals – when school ends for the summer so does breakfast and lunch for many. Only 7 percent of eligible children have taken advantage of the summer feeding program.

To help bridge the nutrition gap during the summer months, Care and Share provides nutritious meals for 14 sites that feed hungry children in El Paso, Pueblo, Teller, Crowley, and Montezuma counties. During Summer 2010 Care and Share provided over 15,000 snacks and meals to children.

To qualify for free meals, sites must operate in low-income areas where at least half of the children are eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program. Organizations interested in becoming a summer food site can contact Jennifer Mariano, Director of Programs at (719) 434-4676 or Jennifer@careandshare.org 

If your child is in need of food this summer or you know a child that would benefit from participating in the summer food program, call 1-877-93-HUNGER or visit http://summerfoodcolorado.org to find a site near you!