BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Louisiana Department of Education's Division of Nutrition Support is now accepting applications from eligible agencies and organizations to serve as sponsors and program sites for the 2021 Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), which provides healthy meals to children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, during the summer months when school is not in session. The federally-funded SFSP is administered on behalf of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the state’s education department. Any child aged 18 or younger, or anyone over the age of 18 who is determined by a state or local educational agency or a local public education agency to be mentally or physically disabled and who participates during the school year in a public or private non-profit school program established for the mentally or physically disabled, may receive meals through the SFSP. The program is held in economically disadvantaged areas or neighborhoods and communities in which half of the school children are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year. Eligibility may also be determined by census information, via use of site-level Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) information, or by use of individual eligibility of children. Approved sponsors receive financial assistance to help with the cost of obtaining, preparing and serving food under the program, including administrative costs. Sponsors must be able to provide a capable staff, managerial skills and food service capabilities. A sponsor may provide its own meals, purchase meals through an agreement with an area school or contract for meals with a food vendor. Examples of local organizations that often serve as sponsors include: public or private non-profit schools; local, municipal, parish, tribal or state governments; private non-profits; public or private non-profit camps; and private or non-profit universities or colleges. To find more information about upcoming training sessions provided by the Louisiana Department of Education,click here. From this link, click on “training” to view (and register for) an upcoming training session. Training must be completed by potential sponsors prior to application approval. Applicants will be notified once applications have been reviewed by staff. The program is also in need of agencies or organizations that are willing to serve as program sites. The sites are the physical locations where food is served. Each site location must work with an approved program sponsor that is financially and administratively responsible for meeting all program requirements for the applicable meal service type(s) at the site. Applications are being accepted now through May 15, 2021 from those who wish to participate in the 2021 Summer Food Service Program. For more information on this program, contact the Department’s Division of Nutrition Support at 1-877-453-2721 or 225-342-9661. | 
