Across Central Florida, students eagerly look forward to summer vacation, but for many children from low income families, summertime means losing access to school cafeterias and the nutritious well-balanced meals they regularly receive.
During summer, many struggling families have to spend more money on food and make tougher household budgetary decisions.
The Summer Food Program is designed to help children and families by providing a seamless nutritional continuum bridging the seasonal gap in the National School Lunch Program.
For the eighth consecutive year, Second Harvest Food Bank will seamlessly transition from its Kids Cafe Afternoon Meal Program (AMP) to The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).
The summer program allows us to provide free, nutritious, prepared meals to children ages 18 and under while school cafeterias are closed.
Community centers, summer camps, churches and other nonprofit organizations may participate. Additionally, for-profit, low income residential complexes may also host sites.
Last summer’s mobile feeding pilot program will now be expanded to cover seven distinct routes, serving children in hard to reach areas and dishing out hot meals from the retrofitted trailer’s drop down, side window
The program will operate for a total of 46 days and serve approximately 90 locations.
Since becoming sponsors in 2008, Second Harvest Food Bank, in partnership with over 100 sites, has served more than 580,000 meals. This summer, breakfasts, lunches and healthy snacks will be available daily at approximately 90 locations in four counties.
We are still accepting applications. If you’d like to be considered as a potential site, please click here to download an application and view requirements for participation.
School districts are the largest sponsors. You can reach them by following these links.
Orange County Summer Food
Seminole School District
Osceola District Campus Grille
To learn more about the Summer Food Program: http://www.summerfoodflorida.org/
Video: USDA Summer Food Overview
If you are a parent or guardian wishing to locate a serving location for children, click on the links below.
Second Harvest Summer Sites 2016 (This site will be updated as sites are added.)
Search For All Florida Sites
Second Harvest’s locations primarily operate as “open sites”. All children 18 and under in the surrounding community are welcome.
Santos Maldonado
Childhood Hunger Programs Manager