History of the Summer Food Service Program

Home

CACFP

SFSP

Forms

	History of the Summer Food Service Program
1968	Special Food Service Program for Children was created. The 3-year pilot provided grants to States to help provide meals for children when school was not in session. There were two components--Child Care and Summer. In 1969, about 99,000 children participated in the summer program, at 1,200 sites.
1975	Separate Child Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) were authorized. Residential summer camps and sites serving areas of poor economic conditions, where at least one-third of the children who qualify for free and reduced price meals, were eligible to participate in SFSP. All meals served to participating children would be reimbursed at a single reimbursement rate. Start-up and advance payments were made available for sponsors to help defray costs of planning and organization and to help with cash flow. Summer meals were served to more than 1.75 million children, at 12,000 sites.
1977	Program participation reached an all-time peak of nearly 2.8 million children, at 23,700 sites. In addition to growth, however several provisions contributing to abuse and inefficiency were identified. Public Law 95-166, enacted in November 1977, attempted to address these issues. The law required sponsors to provide year-round service, demonstrate the adequacy of their administrative and financial management, and submit complete budgets. Residential camps could only claim meals served to children eligible for free and reduced price meals. Registration for food service management companies was required.
1979	Public Law 96-108 placed limitations on the size of some private nonprofit organization sponsors which purchased meals from food service management companies.
1981	Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (Public Law 97-35) made major changes to the program. The law eliminated private nonprofit organization sponsors, except for schools and camps. The law also redefined "area of poor economic conditions" to mean areas where 50 percent of children would be eligible for free and reduced price meals, rather than one-third. Participation dropped from 1.9 million children at more than 20,500 sites in 1981, to less than 1.4 million children at approximately 14,400 sites in 1982.
1986	Public Laws 99-500 and 99-501 provided for categorical eligibility for food stamp and AFDC children.
1989	The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 1989 (Public Law 101-147) readmitted private nonprofit organization sponsors (other than schools and camps), with certain conditions. The law expanded State agency outreach, training and monitoring of these organizations. It also authorized participation by meal providers serving primarily homeless children and year-round participation by National Youth Sports Program sponsors. Through the 1980s and early 1990s, several pieces of legislation were passed to address the reduced participation. Due in part to these initiatives, participation rose gradually, from just over 1.4 million children at 14,600 sites in 1983, until finally topping 2 million in 1993. Since 1993, participation has remained relatively stable at slightly more than 2 million children.
1994	The Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans Act (Public Law 103-448) raised priority for private nonprofit sponsors with program experience, and removed the one-year waiting period for nonprofit sponsors operating in areas formerly served by school or government sites. The law also authorized operation of the SFSP at non-school sites at times other than the summer due to emergency school closure. It established start-up and expansion grants.
1996	The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-193) included more than a dozen amendments designed generally to streamline program operations and reduce costs. The law removed expansion as a stated program goal; lowered reimbursement rates for operating costs; limited the number of reimbursable meal services for certain sponsors; eliminated participation of "academic year" National Youth Sports Program sites; and eliminated start-up and expansion grants.
1998	The William F. Goodling Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 1998 adjusted program reimbursement rates to allow higher payment rates in Alaska and Hawaii. The law removed the remaining restrictions on participation private nonprofit organization sponsors; expanded the availability of the "offer versus serve" option; moved homeless sites into the Child and Adult Care Food Program; and eliminated Federal requirements for registering commercial vendors.

FAQ | NutritionNC.com| NC DHHS | USDA Child Nutrition Programs

Site Map | Disclaimer | Nondiscrimination Statement