Connecticut State Department of Education 2025 Summer Meal Program

Press Releases

01/31/2025

Connecticut State Department of Education 2025 Summer Meal Program

Sponsoring Organizations Provide Nutritious Meals to Connecticut’s Children

(HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) is now inviting organizations to become sponsors for the 2025 Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), which provides nutritious meals to children in qualifying communities across Connecticut during the summer months.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the SFSP acts as an extension of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP), ensuring children continue to receive healthy meals even when schools are closed. Meals must be eaten onsite, unless specifically authorized in certain rural areas.

During the summer months, more than 1.5 million meals are provided to approximately 36,000 children aged 18 and younger at over 580 locations statewide.

The CSDE partners with schools, community organizations, and other eligible entities to establish SFSP meal sites in areas that meet federal eligibility requirements. To qualify, areas must have at least 50 percent of households with children at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level.

Organizations eligible to sponsor SFSP sites include:

• Public or private nonprofit school food authorities
• State, local, municipal, tribal, or county government entities
• Public or private nonprofit day and residential summer camps
• Public or private nonprofit colleges and universities participating in the National Youth Sports Program
• Private nonprofit organizations

All SFSP sponsors must ensure that meals are available to any eligible child regardless of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), age, or disability. Sponsors are reimbursed for each meal served, based on USDA reimbursement rates, and all meals must meet USDA nutrition standards.

To learn more about becoming an SFSP sponsor, contact the CSDE Bureau of Child Nutrition Programs at 450 Columbus Boulevard, Suite 504, Hartford, CT 06103, or visit the program's webpage at CT Summer Food Service Program.

Families seeking summer meal sites can find locations through Connecticut’s 2-1-1 service or USDA’s Summer Meals Site Finder at https://www.fns.usda.gov/summer/sitefinder.

Together, we can ensure that every child in Connecticut has access to healthy, nutritious meals this summer.

Program Contact: Caroline Cooke
Bureau of Child Nutrition Programs
Connecticut State Department of Education
E-mail: Caroline.Cooke@ct.gov

 

State Department of Education Seeking Foodservice Management Companies to Register as Summer Meals Vendors

This release serves as notification of the mandatory registration of food service management companies to participate in the 2025 Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in Connecticut. Sponsors of the SFSP may only contract with food service management companies that have registered with the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE).

On or before February 15, 2025, each food service management company that desires to provide meals to a sponsoring organization must submit an application or renewal for registration to the CSDE. The application form for registration can be requested by contacting Andrew Paul at 860-807-2048 or andrew.paul@ct.gov.

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA.

The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

1. mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture
   Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
   1400 Independence Avenue, SW
   Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
2. fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
3. email:program.intake@usda.gov

This institution and the Connecticut State Department of Education is an equal opportunity employer.

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For Immediate Release: Jan. 31, 2025

Matthew Cerrone
CONNECTICUT Education
matthew.cerrone@ct.gov

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