Summer Nutrition Insights:

2014 National Summer Meals Sponsor Survey Findings

Download Survey results

Introduction

Increasing participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs is a top priority in the effort to end childhood hunger. The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) and Share Our Strength, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, have supported the expansion of local programs across the country to ensure more communities have summer meal programs in place. This summary gives an overview of the results from a national survey of summer meal sponsors conducted by FRAC and Share Our Strength. It provides insight into how they operate their programs, the challenges they face, and the opportunities for helping them grow their programs.

These findings can help even more communities close the summer hunger gap, which is critically important for low-income children who rely on school breakfast and lunch during the school year but lose access to this critical nutrition when school lets out for summer vacation. Schools, nonprofits, local government agencies and camps across the country provide free summer meals to children through the federally-funded Summer Nutrition Programs- the Summer Food Service Program. Schools have the additional option of providing meals through the Seamless Summer Option of the National School Lunch Program. These sponsors of the Summer Nutrition Programs are critical stakeholders for maintaining and increasing children's access to nutritious meals over the summer months.

Survey Background

FRAC and Share Our Strength developed and piloted the survey in Fall 2013 in Arkansas and Virginia. Based on the pilot, FRAC and Share Our Strength launched a revised survey in February 2014. The survey was distributed to sponsors via email by state agencies, the USDA national and regional offices, statewide advocacy organizations and additional national partners. The survey remained open for six weeks and received 2,294 completed responses, representing sponsors from all 50 states.

Respondent Information

• Responses came from all states (highest number of respondents: Texas, New York, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan)
• Types of sponsors: 56 percent Schools, 23 percent Nonprofit, 6 percent Camp, 6 percent Local Government, 8 percent Other
• 37 percent had more than 10 years of experience with the operating the program, while 8 percent were new sponsors in 2013
• 28 percent of all respondents also sponsored the Afterschool Meal Program available through the Child and Adult Care Food Program
• 71 percent had five or fewer sites, 16 percent had 6-15 sites, 6 percent had 15-25 sites, 4 percent had 26-50 sites, 3 percent had more than 50 sites
• 45 percent served 40 or more days, 34 percent served 26 to 29 days, 19 percent served 11 to 25 days, 2 percent 10 or fewer

Schools as Sponsors

• 26 percent of school respondents administered the Seamless Summer Option offered through the National School Lunch Program
• 38 percent of school respondents reported that the Superintendent/Board of Education was responsible for making the decision of whether or not to sponsor summer meals; 26 percent reported the District Nutrition Staff was responsible for the decision
• 27 percent of school respondents also sponsored the Afterschool Meal Program available through the Child and Adult Care Food Program during the school year

Sponsor Experience with the Program

• 40 percent were satisfied, 30 percent were very satisfied; 18 percent were very unsatisfied
• Trainings and technical assistance by the state agency were most frequently reported as positive/helpful aspects of their experience
• The application process was reported as the least helpful/negative aspect of their experience
• Most common challenges identified by respondents as either a major or minor challenge included: low participation by children (19 percent major; 39 percent minor), insufficient funds through reimbursement to cover the cost of meals (11 percent major; 29 percent minor), insufficient staff or volunteer capacity to manage the paperwork (8 percent major; 25 percent minor), and insufficient staff or volunteer capacity to serve meals (6 percent major; 20 percent minor)

Site Level Information

• 69 percent offered activities at all of their sites, 14 percent at most of their sites, 9 percent at a few of their sites
• 72 percent served breakfast, 8 percent served an AM snack, 94 percent served lunch, 21 percent served a PM snack, and 16 percent
• 36 percent offered meals to parents that they could pay for at all of their sites, 3 percent at most of their sites, 6 percent at a few of thier sites

Program Growth for Sponsors in 2013

• 24 percent increased their number of sites in 2013 from 2012 and 58 percent maintained the same number of sites
• Non-profits in particular planned to serve more children at their existing sites (73%) or planned to grow their number of sites (35%)
• 38 percent used additional funds to grow or enhance their program, most often to support staffing costs, purchase supplies to safely prepare, store, or deliver food, cover food costs (if costs were above the federal reimbursement), and to support activities for children
• 53 percent reported that covering the cost of meals with the reimbursement was not a challenge; 30 percent reported that it was a minor challenge, 10 percent that it was a major challenge

Program Growth for Future Summers

• 94 percent planned to return for 2014, 5 percent were uncertain, 1 percent did not plan on returning
• 21 percent planned to increase their number of sites in 2014
• 64 percent planned to increase the number of children served at their current sites, most frequently reporting increasing advertising to families and increasing enrollment in scheduled activities or programming as the tactics they would use
• With additional funds or capacity, increasing the number of children served through current sites was the most frequently reported area sponsors wanted to work on to expand their program
• Funding for activities for children and access to more children were the most frequently reported types of support sponsors thought would help them grow their program

Serving Meals Year-Round

Sponsors of both the Summer and Afterschool Nutrition Programs were more likely to have a greater number of sites, to have grown their number of sites since the previous year, to have served 40 or more days during the summer, to have planned to return to the program and increase their number of sites to grow their program, and to have reported minor challenges across the board

Conclusion

Sponsors of the Summer Nutrition Programs are dedicated to creating a healthy and enriching environment for children of low-incomecommunities when school is out for summer vacation, many of whom face increased risk for food insecurity and childhood obesity during thesummer months. By learning more about the experience of sponsoring organizations operating summer meal programs, we can beginto support areas in which growth of the program is possible and enable administrators to better serve their sponsors implementing the programs locally.

Resources

The Food Research and Action Center offers tools, guides, and monthly tips to help sponsors and advocates of both the Summer and Afterschool Nutrition Programs start up and maintain successful meal programs. FRAC's Summer Food Year-Round Implementation Calendar and Afterschool Meals Guide can help groups operate programs throughout the year. FRAC's annual "Hunger Doesn't Take a Vacation" report is the go-to source of national and state data on participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs. Sponsors and advocates can get more tips and strategies through FRAC's Summer and Afterschool Meal Expansion Network and Newsletter and its monthly Summer and Afterschool Meals Matter calls.

The No Kid Hungry Center for Best Practices provides information and resources for advocates and state agencies looking to increase access to Summer and Afterschool meals. There is also a Nutrition Programs Sponsor Center dedicated to helping sponsors access the resources to help grow their programs.

Acknowledgements

Share Our Strength would like to recognize the Arby's Foundation for their generous support. The Food Research and Action Center would like to recognize the ConAgra Foods Foundation, Hillshire Brands, and the Walmart Foundation. Thank you also to USDA Headquarters and Regional Offices, state agencies around the country, and FRAC and No Kid Hungry partner organizations for helping to promote participation in the survey. And finally, thank you to all of the sponsors who not only serve kids in their community, but took the time to share their experience.

This report was written by Kate Sims with the Food Research and Action Center and Kim Caldwell with Share Our Strength with support from Crystal FitzSimons and Courtney Smith.