Nutrition and Wellness Programs

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) was instituted to provide nutritious meals to children during the summer months when school is not in session. The program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

An alternative to the SFSP for providing meals to your children in the summer months is the Seamless Summer Option, formerly Seamless Summer Waiver. This program is available to local education agencies that already participate in the National School Lunch (NSLP) and/or School Breakfast Program (SBP). Some school food service authorities feel the Seamless Summer Option better meets their needs and requires less paperwork and monitoring requirements than the SFSP. Click below on Seamless Summer Option for more information. Please remember that schools who offer academic summer school only will not be able to participate in either program unless they open their doors to the community; otherwise, the schools must extend their NSLP/SBP to include these months.

For Sponsors who participated in the Summer Food Service Program in summer 2012 please note, Sponsor applications will be accepted from March 4, 2013 through June 15, 2013 in IWAS. New Sponsor applications will be accepted from March 4, 2013 through June 15, 2013. New Sponsors must attend a New Sponsor Orientation, dates and locations of the workshopsare posted on the Workshop Information page.