Purpose

Pittsylvania County Community Action sponsors the Summer Nutrition Program to help children obtain adequate nutrition during the summer months.

Description

Check out Great Resources Available to Help Organizations Become SFSP Sponsors

PCCA Summer Nutrition Program

Pittsylvania County Community Action (PCCA) administers the Summer Nutrition Program in conjunction with the Danville Redevelopment and Housing Authority (DRHA) and several other community organizations.  Nutritious lunches are provided to children age 18 and younger at a variety of community locations.  The program is designed to provide meals to children who are out of school during the summer.

Primary funding for the program is obtained through the USDA Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).  A partnership is established with DRHA to operate the program at two public housing locations.  Costs not covered by USDA reimbursement are split evenly between PCCA and DRHA.  Meals are provided through the Danville Public Schools.

The program is scheduled for 3 hours per day, 5 days a week for an 8-week period.  Workforce Investment Act participants provide arts and crafts and reading activities.  The Danville Parks and Recreation Department offer weekly recreation activities and various community resources conduct workshops on Making Right Choices, Health Issues, and Job Readiness and Soft Skills training.

PCCA also works with the Danville Public Schools to operate additional sites in the City of Danville, as well as a community-based organization (Youth in Action) to sponsor another site in a rural part of the agency’s service area.

USDA promotes SFSP as a program where everyone wins:

• Children in low-income areas have free nutritious meals and organized activities during the summer
• The parents of children stretch food dollars and have health, supervised recreation for their children
• Cafeteria workers have summer employment
• Organizations receive Federal funds to carry out the program
• Kids return to school in the Fall ready to learn

Resources to Support SFSP Expansion

Extensive information and materials are available through USDA to increase SFSP participation:

• A Guide to Starting the Summer Food Service Program in Your Community
• Tips to Make Your SFSP a Success
• SFSP Brochures
  • The Summer Food Service Program for Private Nonprofits
  • Food that's in when school is out! Schools can help!
  • Food that's in when school is out! Private nonprofits can help!
  • Helping Migrant Families Brochure (Spanish)
  • Helping Migrant Families Brochure (English)
• SFSP Handbooks
  • Administrative Guidance for Sponsors (pdf) – Word format
  • Summer Food Service Program Nutrition Guidance for Sponsors (pdf) with an extensive Reference Section – Word format
  • Site Supervisors Guide for 2009 (pdf – English) – Word format
  • Site Supervisors Guide for 2009 (pdf – Spanish) – Word format
  • Summer Food Service Program Monitors Guide (pdf) – Word format 

Additional tools to help become established as an SFSP sponsor are available through the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).  One item is the FairData Summer Food Target Mapper to help expand summer food efforts. This web-based tool can be used as a planning or advocacy tool to identify areas with unmet need, as well as to identify and qualify potential SFSP sites.  Only about 20 percent of students in the Free & Reduced Price School Lunch Program participate nationally in the Summer Nutrition Program.

Participation in SFSP is promoted in some States by providing information on the location of Summer Food Program sites, for example in Ohio.  This is useful for families seeking assistance, as well as organizations that could develop SFSP sites in unserved areas.  The possibility of forming partnerships with nearby SFSP sponsors could be explored as an option.  USDA promotes expansion of the SFSP through an Outreach Initiative and also by providing information on SFSP Best Practices: Program Access and Expansion.

Outcomes

PCCA sponsored seven (7) SFSP 2004 sites that provided meals for 450 students.