New option available in specified areas where transportation and other obstacles limit participation in Summer Meal Programs.

 

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller encouraged eligible organizations to help him increase access to healthy meals for children in specified rural areas using a new Summer Meal Program pilot. The pilot program allows Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) partners to establish non-congregate services such as grab-and-go and home delivery in rural counties and rural pockets of urban-designated counties where no congregate meal service exists.

“Rural communities should have the same access to summer meals afforded to other Texans,” Commissioner Miller said. “If making these meals available requires alternative means, I’m on board. We are preparing resources and guidance for eligible sponsors ready to participate.”

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 authorized non-congregate meal service in rural areas for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO). Commissioner Miler and TDA are using the discretion it provides and subsequent guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create a Non-Congregate Feeding Pilot Program for summer 2023 in rural areas where no congregate service exists. This pilot program will allow a limited number of TDA’s contracting entities to provide non-congregate service in summer 2023. TDA will gather data from the pilot program to develop a plan for implementing a permanent program in 2024.

Eligible operators must have previous Child Nutrition Program experience with no significant prior operational issues. Participation will be limited to new sites and a limited number of experienced school sites as determined by TDA. All proposed sites will be evaluated and approved based on proximity to existing congregate sites. The pilot program precedes permanent regulation changes coming at the end of this year. This pilot program will provide valuable data to USDA as it creates permanent policies related to non-congregate feeding in Summer 2024 and beyond.

For more information, visit https://squaremeals.org/Programs/Summer-Meal-Programs/Summer-2023-Non-Congregate-Feeding-Pilot-Program.

For more information about TDA’s Summer Meal Programs, visit www.summerfood.org or call TDA’s Food and Nutrition Division at (877) TEX-MEAL or (877) 839-6325.

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