Summer Break Spot

Kids and summer activities

For many low-income families with children who rely on school-provided meals, in a few months the summer vacation will arrive with uncertainty. It will mean families separated during several months because the parents can't feed their kids and have to ask relatives to keep them. At HUD, we are partnering with USDA to help stop this.

USDA's Summer Food Service Program, known in Florida as Summer BreakSpot (www.summerfoodflorida.org/), provides meals to low-income children and teens under 18 years of age during the summer, when they are no longer able to receive meals provided by the schools.

HUD offices in Florida are working along with USDA to identify sites suitable for delivery of the program, which has set a goal of serving 200 million meals to children in need nationwide. The success of the program relies heavily on the ability of sponsors to run the program in their communities, as well as the establishment of a variety of sites where the food can be served.

The HUD and USDA offices believe that our multifamily and public housing developments are an important, untapped resource that can play a critical role due to their detailed knowledge of their tenants, community ties, and their deep concern and care for their residents and communities. Experienced owners and management teams are uniquely suited to host successful program sites. By opening their doors and providing a location that is close to the children and teens that need it most, HUD-insured and assisted developments can help sponsors in their local communities close the nutrition gap and provide meals throughout the summer months.

If you want to be involved, please visit USDA's website (www.fns.usda.gov/sfsp/summer-food-service-program-sfsp) to learn all the details to set your site. If you are familiar with it, here is the toolkit (www.fns.usda.gov/sfsp/summer-meals-toolkit) to start now and be ready for this summer. In Florida, the program is coordinated by the Florida Department of Agriculture.

Please join us (www.summerfoodflorida.org/Resources), this will help Florida families stay together and raise healthy kids. If you would like to set up a site now, these are your contacts (www.flimpact.org/1staff.html) around Florida.

To find the closest summer food program site, please call 1-866-3-hungry or visit: www.whyhunger.org/findfood

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