Summer is the hungriest time of year for many kids, as many lose access to the meals they rely on during the school year. Non-congregate summer meal programs help bridge this gap by offering flexible meal options—such as grab-and-go or delivered meals—so children in rural and hard-to-reach areas can get the nutrition they need. Unlike traditional meal sites that require kids to eat on-site at designated times, non-congregate programs allow families to pick up multiple meals at once, reducing the need for frequent trips and saving time, gas, and effort. This makes summer meals more accessible for families with limited transportation or busy schedules.
No Kid Hungry Texas is committed to supporting organizations in implementing and expanding non-congregate meal sites through funding, outreach resources, and technical assistance. From staffing guidance to best practices for distribution, we provide the tools needed to ensure more kids have access to healthy meals all summer long. Together, we can fight summer hunger and make sure every child has the food they need to thrive.
This document guides sponsors in operating rural non-congregate summer meal sites under updated federal regulations. It outlines meal distribution models, key program benefits, and best practices for planning, staffing, and menu development. Designed to help sponsors expand access and improve efficiency, this resource supports effective summer meal program implementation.
This summer we are offering grants to schools and community organizations that are serving rural communities by expanding non-congregate feeding models as part of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) or Seamless Summer Option (SSO).
To support your dedication to ensuring there is No Kid Hungry this summer, we’ve created this toolkit, filled with resources, templates, and images that can be used to promote and celebrate your non-congregate summer meal program. Please use these marketing materials to share the benefits of your program, including supporting the well-being of our children and saving families time and money. Together, we can make a lasting impact!
One of the best ways to sustain, strengthen and expand your summer meals program is to approach planning as a year-round endeavor. The following guidance is a road map to help identify activities that most benefit your program at different times throughout the year. This year-round planning calendar is designed to support a program planning and implementation timeline that maximizes sponsor capacity to operate a sustainable summer meals program.
No Kid Hungry awarded five summer non-congregate meal sponsors across the country funding to hire high school and college student workers for their summer 2024 operations. The sponsors utilized these workers to prep, pack, and distribute meals; survey families in person during pick-up; develop online surveys; create marketing materials; and help manage operations. Overall, grantees reported that employing students was beneficial to their summer non-congregate programs. They noted that the impacts of hiring student workers included reduced stigma, improved outreach, expanded capacity, relationship building, and student growth.
This resource includes advice from summer nutrition heroes who have found innovative ways to ensure that their programs stay afloat in the summertime with passionate and dedicated staff.
Use this case study to understand and showcase the importance of flexible summer meals for rural families.
Don’t miss out on our Center for Best Practices for many other valuable resources and upcoming webinars!