Summer Meals

Summer Nutrition Programs for Kids

USDA now has more flexible strategies for providing kids with food and nutrition support so they can thrive in the summertime and beyond. They are calling these enhanced offerings SUN Programs: USDA’s Summer Nutrition Programs for Kids and promoting them in 2026 with the "More Summer Smiles" campaign. Through SUN Meals, kids of all ages can eat meals and snacks during the summer at no cost at schools, parks, and other neighborhood locations.

SUN - More Summer Food Options for More Summer Smiles Graphic

Every Louisiana child aged 18 and under can enjoy SUN Meals, some rural communities now offer SUN Meals To-Go, and eligible school-aged children can also receive SUN Bucks.

For more SUN promotional materials, view the More Summer Smiles Promotional Toolkit.

How Does the Summer Food Service Program Work?

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is funded by the USDA and administered by the Louisiana Department of Education Child Nutrition Program.
Sponsors communicate with the Louisiana Department of Education to run the programs. Louisiana’s more than 100 sponsoring organizations include schools, local government agencies, camps, and faith-based and other non-profit community organizations that have the ability to manage a food service program. While responsible for the operation of Summer Meal sites, sponsors also must ensure access to meals is available and known to eligible children in their communities.
Louisiana has nearly 900 meal summer sites--the places in the community where children receive meals. Sites may be located in a variety of safe and supervised settings, including schools, parks, community centers, churches, camps, and migrant centers. More than 45 summer meal sites are at public libraries in Louisiana.
A smoothly run site is something that every sponsor and site operator hopes to achieve. The key is an organized, well-supervised program that meets the goal of providing fresh, well-balanced meals that are appealing to children.

Find a Summer Meals Site!

Check out the Online Summer Meals Site Finder! Type in an address or zip code to find the nearest summer meals site.

Call 1-866-348-6479 and ask for the nearest place serving summer meals.

USDA created a free texting number that families can use to find Summer Meals sites near them. Families can text Summer Meals to 97779 to find summer sites near them.

Spanish speakers can text Verano to 97779.

What Does a Summer Meal Look Like?

All meals served in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) must meet certain requirements in order to receive reimbursement. These requirements, including the meal patterns and recordkeeping, help the menu planner to provide well-balanced, nutritious meals that meet the nutritional and energy needs of children. The SFSP Meal Patterns are practical, flexible and allow sponsors to create recipes and menus that are nutritious and consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The Louisiana Cycle Menus are local examples that use these guidelines. Check out the Summer Food Service Program Nutrition Guide for detailed information on meal pattern requirements.

Summer Feeding Menus

Breakfast

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

Lunch

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

SUN Meal of the Week Campaign

The SUN Meal of the Week Campaign is an eight-week initiative (June 1 – July 25) celebrating high-quality summer meals and the dedicated work of Summer Meal Program Staff from across the state. The campaign promotes excellence and inclusivity for all programs, regardless of size, location, or type of SUN Program.

Each week, selected meal photos will be featured on Louisiana Fit Kids’ social media platforms. Featured images may also appear on the Louisiana Fit Kids website in our Weekly Winners Gallery, as well as on official Louisiana Department of Education platforms.

Photos from any of the SUN programs are eligible:
SUN Meals: Group meal sites for kids
SUN Meals to Go: To-go or delivery meals in rural communities
SUN Bucks: Food benefits for purchasing groceries

USDA's SUN Programs: More Choices, Better Nutrition, and More Summer Smiles for Kids

Summer Meals Program Resources

Summer Food, Summer Moves is a fun, hands-on resource kit designed to get kids and families excited about healthy eating and physical activity during the summer months. The kit is designed for use by summer meal site operators and focuses on using music, games, art, and movement to motivate kids and families to choose more fruits and vegetables, choose water instead of sugary drinks, get enough physical activity every day, and to limit screen time.

The FNS Capacity Builder Mapping Tool allows users to visualize "layers" of information, such as the area eligibility data, existing sites and potential site locations (multi-family housing units, libraries, museums, and schools and more). The Capacity Builder is a powerful tool for sponsors to evaluate previous summer’s performance as well as identify areas where there are gaps in summer meal access.

	SUN Meal of the Week Campaign Information
	SUN Bucks Factsheet
	SUN Programs Factsheet
	SUN Programs Flyer
	SUN Program Rack Cards
	SUN Programs Posters

The Summer Nutrition Wave! Sign at McKinley Middle School

Summer Meals Program Outreach

February is the perfect time to develop a summer meals outreach plan using No Kid Hungry's Summer Meals Outreach Toolkit.

Request printed materials for your Summer Meals Program from Team Nutrition!

Use USDA resources, including flyers and door hangers to advertise your sites. They are available for you to download and customize at the Summer Meals Toolkit site.

Distribute banners to all your Summer Meal sites and display them in strategic locations to best publicize to the community that your sites are open.