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ExpectMore.govExpectMore.gov home pageEXPECT FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PERFORM WELL, AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.
 
Program Assessment

Program

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Summer Food Service Program

The Summer Food Service Program aims to reduce hunger and improve diet by serving free, nutritious meals to low-income children during summer when school is out. Meals are served by local institutions, including schools, governments, and private nonprofits, often in concert with educational and recreational programs.

Rating

What This Rating Means

PERFORMING
Moderately Effective

In general, a program rated Moderately Effective has set ambitious goals and is well-managed. Moderately Effective programs likely need to improve their efficiency or address other problems in the programs' design or management in order to achieve better results.
  • The program is effectively providing nutritious meals to low income children. Program benefits are well targeted to low-income children, and meals provide the desired levels for most key nutrients and food energy.
  • After a substantial drop between 2001 and 2002, there has been a modest increase in the number of SFSP sites and sponsors. There has also been a small increase in the ratio of sites to sponsors between 2002 and 2005, reflecting a small improvement in the program's administrative efficiency.
  • Increases in the number of children served during the summer has kept pace with overall increases with in lunch participation during the school year.

Improvement Plan

About Improvement Plans

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

  • Examining program meal patterns to address consistency with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
  • Supporting greater use of optional alternative operating procedures designed to encourage summer meal service by schools

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