Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) provides free breakfast, lunch, snack and/or supper to youth in Colorado all summer long. Anyone 18 years of age and younger is welcome to eat a meal with their friends at participating sites throughout the summer.

Free meals are provided to all children at approved SFSP sites in eligible areas across the state. SFSP sponsoring organizations are operated by public and private nonprofit school food authorities, public or private, nonprofit residential and nonresidential camps, local, municipal, county or state governments, public or private colleges or universities participating in the National Youth Sports Program and private, nonprofit organizations.

How to Apply

Application Instructions

Sponsors must complete a Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) application in the Colorado Nutrition Portal each year.

Use the following resources to assist with the application.

Download SFSP Application Instructions

Watch Application Training Video

*Please note you must have and login to a Moodle account to access the recording.

New Sponsor Forms and Site Links

New User Request Form - fill out this form to request access or modify users in the Colorado Nutrition Portal.
New Site Request Form - fill out this form to request new site additions to your application in the Colorado Nutrition Portal.
Mapping Tools - Use this tool to evaluate the previous summer's performance as well as plan for the next summer.

Application Deadlines

The application approval process can take up to two weeks to complete, especially when participating in multiple child nutrition programs. You will not be able to submit a claim until your renewal application is approved.

New sponsor application deadline is April 15.

Returning sponsor application deadline is May 1.

Become a Sponsor

How to Claim

Sponsors must follow the counting and claiming procedures under the Summer Food Service Program.

View SFSP Claiming Instructions
- Please reach out to your point of contact if instructions on upload formatting are needed.
2024 Reimbursement Rates
Meal Counter Resource
Monthly Claim Consolidation Tool

Daily Meal Count Form

Download Daily Meal Count Form in English:

Daily Meal Count Form English

Download Daily Meal Count Form in Spanish:

Daily Meal Count Form Spanish

Claim Deadlines

Reimbursement claims are due 60 days after the end of each month.

Claim instructions Summer Food Service Program

Sample Daily Meal Count Form

Program Requirements

Below are all of the forms and guides that you need to have a comprehensive understanding of the program requirements.

Policy & Guidance

Summer Meals for Kids and Teens Awareness Month

Administrative & Operational Resources:

Code of Federal Regulations
Sponsor / Site Agreement Form
USDA Policy Memos
SFSP Administrative Guide
Program Year 24 Waivers
- Excessive Heat and Air Quality Waiver Request: Sponsors may request for flexibilities when there is excessive heat or poor air quality on a case-by-case basis
- SFSP Review Waiver Request: Sponsors may request monitoring flexibilities for mobile meal routes

Site Eligibility

Eligibility Resources:

How to Determine Site Eligibility

Establish Eligibility

Income Eligibility

This is only required if your site uses income applications to establish eligibility.

Income Eligibility Guidelines
Instructions and Income Application Packet:
Translations

Eligibility Resources

CDE Pupil Membership Data Webpage
- Download the "Pre-K-12 Free and Reduced Lunch Eligibility by School" Excel document under "School Level Data" for the most current information.

Eligibility Maps

Menu Planning & Meal Patterns

Meal Pattern Resources

Download Offer vs Serve Resource

Meal Pattern Requirements

Menu Planning Resources

Nutrition Guide for Sponsors

Guides and Recipes Packet

Additional Resources

Food Buying Guide

Mobile App

Exhibit A Non-Whole Grains

Procurement

Procurement Requirements

All sponsors must have written procurement procedures. Tailor the template below to reflect your policies.

Download the Procurement Procedures Template

Procurement Resources

Financial Management

Financial Requirements

Use the tracking tool below to document all program costs and income.

Financial Resources

Funds and Costs Resources:

Program Monitoring

Required Documentation

Pre-operational Site Visit Form: Pre-operational visits are required for all new sites, including sites new to non-congregate meals, and sites with operational problems in the previous year. Pre-operational visits must be completed before beginning operations.
Site Visit Form: Site visits are required within the first two weeks of operations for all new sites, including sites new to non-congregate meals, and sites with operational problems in the previous year. Site visits may be combined with the site review. If combined, complete within the first two weeks of operations and use the site review form.
Site Review Form: Site reviews are required for all sites and must take place within the first four weeks of operation. Site reviews may be combined with the site visit. If combined, complete within the first two weeks of operations and use the site review form.

Program Monitoring Resources

Site Supervisor's Guide
Sponsor Monitor's Guide
Sponsor & Site Agreement
- This agreement is used for sites not legally affiliated with the sponsor organization

Food Safety

Learn how to ensure food safety for your Summer Food Service Program below.

Find Your Local Health Department

Sponsors must request a health inspection for all meal sites. Meal sites participating in other child nutrition programs may document health inspection requests from those programs.

Health Inspection Request Template (DOC)

Additional Food Safety Resources

Seamless Summer Option (SSO)

The Seamless Summer Option (SSO) allows school food authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program to provide free summer meals to children in low income areas during the traditional summer vacation periods and, for year-round schools, during school vacation periods longer than 15 school days (or for breaks of shorter periods of time if approved by the CDE Office of School Nutrition).

The SSO is designed to allow SFAs to continue the same meal service rules and claiming procedures used during the regular school year. Site designations for the SSO are similar to those for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the same NSLP and SBP rules apply for meal service. Meals served are reimbursed at the NSLP and/or SBP free rates.