5.2 Million Summer Meals Served as Part of a Rural Non-Congregate Summer Food Service Cooperative

August 2026

Earlier this year, a group of Louisiana School Nutrition Programs from: Avoyelles, Allen, Jefferson Davis, Beauregard, Vermillion, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, Diocese of Lafayette, Lafayette, Calcasieu, Claiborne, Acadia, Webster, and St. Landry Parish teamed up to form a Summer Food Box Co-op. The Co-op awarded a bid to Forecomm Solutions, LLC out of Prairieville, LA to help procure and assemble non-congregate meal boxes. Each food box included a variety of breakfast items, snacks, shelf-stable meals, fruits, vegetables and beverages; the equivalent of seven breakfasts and seven lunches. During week 5 of the program, the meal box included a package of tortillas manufactured by Mission especially for the summer meal program. Add some beans, corn, and cheese to the tortillas for a tasty summer lunch!

Rain or shine, the weekly meal boxes were distributed by school food service staff, school employees, and volunteers! As a Cooperative, the programs involved served over 5.2 million meals!

Alternate summer food service models such as the Summer Food Box Co-op tailored to meet the needs of children and communities are highly effective when programs work together! Kudos to our Louisiana School Nutrition Directors for bridging the hunger gap for kids so they can play, grow and learn all summer long.