Students can count on weekday meals during the school year, but once summer hits, consistent meals are not a reality for some children.
More than 19% of children in Nebraska face food insecurity, but two statewide programs work to combat that during the summer.
The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (S-EBT) both aim to provide free, nutritious meals and snacks for children during the summer. While the programs have a similar goal, they serve children, their families and the community differently.
Children can participate in both programs. While SFSP works to provide breakfast and lunch meals to kids, S-EBT is there to bridge the gap of what those congregate meal programs cannot provide.
“Some families don't know where their next meal is coming from” said Eric Savaiano, Program Manager of Food & Nutrition Access and Economic Justice for Nebraska Appleseed. “It's worse in summertime, because families don't have access to the school meals that they're used to getting for nine months of the year. Families are struggling, and it's important to have these kind of supports to help families make ends meet.”
Summer Food Service Program
SFSP is funded and organized by the Nebraska Department of Education, providing breakfast, lunch and snacks to children. Any child 18 or under in Nebraska is eligible for SFSP.
This year’s program sites were announced on June 12 and include schools, education centers and summer camps. The sites are in need-based communities, and there are approximately 250 sites throughout the state. The Department of Education uses Census data collected by schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program to determine where program sites are needed.
“90% of those sites are open sites where any child can go to the site to get a meal,” said Kayte Partch, Director of Nutrition Services at Nebraska Department of Education. “[Kids] don't have to sign up in advance, they don't have to enroll in any programming to be able to participate.”
Program sites partner with the Food Bank of Lincoln, Food Bank of Heartland and grocery stores. They select and purchase the food needed for the program upfront but are reimbursed by the state.
“The program has required meal components and minimum serving sizes,” Partch said. “There is a significant difference between rural versus urban and the types of things that they serve. I think the biggest factor is the type of meal services sites hold.”
To receive reimbursement, program sites must meet nutritional guidelines. The meal requirements differ depending on whether it’s breakfast or lunch. For breakfast that could look like toast, fruit and milk. For lunch, it's the same ingredients with a meat or meat alternative.
“It’s a really good option for kids to come and get high-quality meals, again, high nutritional value, and it’s consistent,” said Mikayla Higgins, early childhood education director at Trinity Lutheran School. “When we're able to provide lunch and breakfast, it limits another add on cost for a lot of our families, which is nice, especially in our area and the families that we serve the other programs that we've seen.”
Trinity Lutheran School in Lincoln participates in SFSP. Kids who live near the school can access these meals at the same time and location daily.
According to Partch, only 15-20% of eligible children in the state take advantage of SFSP. The dates and sites for the program vary by area and are available here.
“Some of that is just the rural nature of Nebraska,” Higgins said. “There are parts of the state that are hard to reach a large number of kids because they live so far from an available program.
Some communities only offer congregate meals, meaning kids must eat on site, while others offer a grab-and-go design. The latter can look different depending on many factors, including the offered summer programming and transportation needs for the area.
Partch, of the Nebraska Department of Education, said some programs send home two days of meals every other day, and some send home a lunch with kids at summer camps or classes.
Two schools outside the metropolitan areas of the state said they serve an average of over 100 kids daily.
At Ainsworth Public Schools in northeast Nebraska, administrative assistant Lacey Marbry said the grab-and-go program attendance is helped by summer school attendance. Each student leaving for the day is sent home with a meal. Additionally, kids can go to the school to pick up food without summer school enrollment.
In Valentine, the grab-and-go program runs on a drive-through model, according to administrative assistant Jamie Seipel. People stopping by for meals don’t need to leave their vehicle to get their food.
“We’ve just had a few (people) that are really just driving through, saying how much they appreciate it, and they love that we do this,” Seipel said. “The first couple of years we did it, our numbers were much less. So, the word’s definitely getting out, I think people are appreciating it.”
Awareness of the programming and reliable transportation are key barriers players in the program’s reach, Partch said.
At the Food Bank of Lincoln, SFSP is constantly evolving.
“We are not landing on perfection here, service is a moving target,” said Michaella Kumke, President and CEO at Food Bank of Lincoln. “The whole point is to allow children to thrive during summer, to support their mindset about food, to support their mental growth and their learning.”
Summer Electronic Benefits Program
The S-EBT program launched this summer. Gov. Jim Pillen did not initially enroll the state in S-EBT last December; after hearing from constituents, he reversed his decision earlier this year. Now, low-income children have access to $40 per month to purchase food through the summer months.
“We're one of the inaugural states adopting it, which is a very good thing for Nebraska,” Savaiano said. “Every student in the state who participates in the free and reduced-price meal program during school receives a card that they can use to buy groceries with $120 on it.”
Students must be eligible for free and reduced lunch to be automatically enrolled in S-EBT. Last year, the National Center for Education Statistics released that nearly half of Nebraska’s students were eligible for free and reduced lunch.
“It's important because it can provide a lot of support and help to those who are lacking abilities and resources to get enough food,” said Jordan Simonsen, one of the five young Nebraskans who advocated for the S-EBT program.
S-EBT cards were automatically issued to households with children who qualify, but families can still apply for S-EBT benefits. The Department of Health and Human Services oversees the EBT program.
“When families have those dollars in their own wallet, they can make those purchases according to what their food budget is,” Kumke said. “It gives that sense of independence to get the supplies that they need versus what is available at any given location.”
Rural areas might see higher participation rates with S-EBT compared to SFSP, because of factors such as limited transportation, said Savaiano.
“[Summer Food Service Program] has a lot more participants [and] sponsors to serve more meals in urban areas,” Savaiano said. “I think it’s beneficial for everybody, but I’d say rural areas that don’t have access to those summer meals may have even better results, better access.”
Savaiano said refugee and immigrant communities might be more wary of using the S-EBT card because of their immigration status. He said any data shared with the state for the food program is not sent anywhere else.
“It’s important to keep families informed on what this automatic enrollment means,” Savaiano said. “A lot of families are receiving a card in the mail without much understanding of what it is. We need to make sure that they’re aware of these benefits and that it’s safe to use them.”
Looking forward
Kumke emphasized that people should have access to nutritional and consistent meals, and that the Food Bank of Lincoln tries to listen to the people it serves, as well as learn from other organizations to improve their work.
“These programs in concert really reflect what we’re trying to do for children and their families, which is to provide these options that are most meaningful,” Kumke said. “My hope would be that we continue to do our best to work to ensure that every child gets the food and the meals that they need to be a child, to experience the joy of childhood and also to have the nourishment that they need to thrive.”
These programs are available throughout the summer, information about both is available online.
"These programs work together to help provide nutrition and independence for people in the state," Kumke said. “Food is not a political issue. It's not a partisan issue. It is a basic human need. When you go to the source and understand that this need is real, and it truly does provide a relief.”