Summer Break Café

Who does the program serve?

Children age 18 and under may receive meals through the Summer Break Café. A person 19 years of age and over who is determined by a state or local educational agency to have a mental or physical disability, and who participates during the school year in a public or private nonprofit school program established for the mentally or physically disabled, is also eligible to receive meals.

How does the program operate?

There are three main players involved: State agencies, sponsors, and sites.

State Agency - SCDE:

• Provides guidance, support and training for program sponsors;
• Monitor the program operation to make sure sponsors are in compliance;
• Distributes funds from USDA to reimburse sponsors for eligible meals served; and
• Identifies areas of need to help sponsors determine site locations.

Interested in learning more? Join us by registering for our Virtual Informational Meeting.
Registration ends January 21, 2022.

Summer Break Café - Informational Meeting (PDF)

Sponsor

• Sponsors enter into agreements with State agencies to run the program;
• Manage multiple sites and program operation;
• Maintain program integrity; and
• Receive reimbursement for eligible meals served.

Sites

• Sites are approved locations to serve meals; and
• Receive meals from approved sponsor approved sponsors.

How Can Organizations Help?

• Become a Summer sponsor and serve nutritious meals to children;
• Volunteer at sites to help serve meals in your community;
• Offer your facilities as a site location for other organizations to provide the meals;
• Organizations with kitchens and food service staff can participate in the SBC as vendors. Instead of administering or supervising a meal service site, vendors sell prepared meals under an agreement or contract with an approved SBC sponsor; and
• Help promote the program to families with newsletters, mailings and through digital communications.

If you are interested in becoming a summer meal sponsor or site, complete the form or email us at summerbreakcafequestions@ed.sc.gov.

Become a Summer Meal Sponsor

Sponsor Eligibility

Sponsors are eligible organizations that assume total responsibility for the administration of the SBC. Sites are the locations where meals are served to children in a supervised setting. For sites to be eligible sites, they must serve children in low-income areas or serve specific groups of low-income children.

Who can sponsor the Summer Break Café?

• Public or private non-profit school food authorities
• Public or private non-profit colleges or universities
• Public or private non-profit residential summer camps
• Units of local, county, municipal, state or federal government
• Any other type of private non-profit organization

All sponsors must also be tax exempt and demonstrate the administrative and financial ability to manage a food service effectively. Most sponsors must provide a year round public service to the area in which they intend to serve meals.

Specific Eligibility Requirements for Sponsors

To be deemed eligible, sponsors must:

Demonstrate Financial and Administrative Capability
All sponsors must submit a budget with the SBC application annually and accept final financial and administrative responsibility for all sites.

Not Be Seriously Deficient
Applicants must not have been declared seriously deficient or terminated from the SBC or any other Child Nutrition Program. If the State Agency determines a sponsor has taken corrective action to permanently correct the deficiencies and/or the debt has been paid, the Sponsor may be approved to participate once again.

Serve Low-Income Children
Sponsors must agree to provide a regularly scheduled meal service for children in designated low-income areas or they must agree to serve low-income children (except camps).

Conduct a Non-profit Food Service
The food service operation must be for the benefit of participating children and all the Program reimbursement funds are used solely for the operation or improvement of the food service.

Provide Year-round Service
Sponsors must provide a year-round public service to the area in which they intend to provide free meals. Exceptions may be granted for sponsors of residential camps, migrant sites, and in certain other limited circumstances.

Have Management Control Over Sites
Sponsors must demonstrate in their applications that they will exercise management control over the meal service at all of their sites. This means that the sponsor is responsible for maintaining contact with meal service staff, ensuring that they are trained, and will monitor the sites throughout Program participation.

Conduct Pre-Operational Visits
Prior to approval, sponsors must visit new sites and sites that had operational problems the previous year.

Sign Written Agreements
Approved sponsors must sign a permanent written agreement with the State Agency.

Which Meals Are Reimbursable?

The following meals are eligible for federal reimbursement:

• All meals served to children 18 years of age or younger who attend an approved open site, closed enrolled site, or migrant site.
• Meals served to enrolled children at camps who are individually eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.
• Meals served to individuals over age 18 who are enrolled in school programs for persons with disabilities.

Summer Break Café Meal Patterns

Most sponsors may be approved to receive reimbursement for up to two meals per day. Eligible meals are breakfast, lunch, snack (morning and/or evening), and supper. The only combination not eligible for reimbursement is lunch and supper. If your site primarily serves migrant children or you run a residential or day camp, you may be eligible to serve up to three reimbursable meals each.

Summer Break Café Sites and Site Eligibility

There are many organizations in South Carolina that are providing free healthy meals to children throughout the summer months. Please use one or more of the following resources to find a location near you:

• Locate a site on the USDA Summer Meals Map
• Call 1-866-3-HUNGRY (348-6479)
• Text 'FOOD' to 877-877

The following lists the different types of sites and how they qualify:

• Open Sites:
  An open site serves meals to any child 18 years of age and younger. Children participating in the meal service are not required to be enrolled in a program. Open sites may be qualified by any of the following: School data, Census data, Housing Authority data, and Bureau of Indian affairs and Children of Migrant Workers data.
• Closed Enrolled Sites:
  A closed enrolled site offers meals to a specific group of low income children. The children must be enrolled in the program in order to receive a meal. Closed enrolled sites may be qualified by one of the following methods: Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application, Certified Roster, and Area Eligibility data.
• Residential/Nonresidential Camps:
  Residential nonresidential day camps must collect confidential income statements from each household sending a child to camp. Camps are reimbursed for meals served only to those children that qualify for free and reduced-price meals. Camps must check enrollment status for each camp session prior to the session starting. Meals must be recorded daily at the point of meal service by the name of each camper eating a meal.

Using Data

Data is a powerful advocacy tool and, when used correctly, helpful in targeted program expansion. For example, you can use data to identify service gaps in your community, locate new sites, and boost the credibility and reach of Summer Meal marketing efforts. This toolkit page is designed to provide guidance to partners, State agencies, and Regional Offices interested in using data to build capacity for Summer Meals.

Mapping Tools

Mapping tools, available from USDA and partner organizations, can be used to visualize and locate areas of need and to determine summer feeding gaps in your community. Many maps also provide information around poverty and food insecurity that will be helpful in promoting Summer Break Cafés. USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)

• Capacity Builder
  This tool allows users to see where Summer Meal sites are or have been in their communities, and add “layers” of information, such as poverty data, in absolute numbers and relative percentages. Potential site locations and partners (Rural Development multi-family housing units, libraries, museums, and schools) can be added to the map, and previous site locations can also be highlighted, helping to prevent site overlap. Capacity Builder
• Area Eligibility Mapper
  This map shows the locations of areas served by schools where at least 50 percent of enrolled children are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Area Eligibility
• Rural Designation Tool
  State agencies and sponsors may use this tool to determine if a proposed site may be designated as rural for purposes of SFSP. Rural Designation

Contact Information

SC Department of Education
Office of Health and Nutrition
1429 Senate Street
Columbia, SC 29201
summerfood@ed.sc.gov