Summer Food Service

For many students and families, the end of the school year also signals the end of access to school-provided free and reduced price meals.

Look for our “Meet Up And Eat Up” signs at all of our more than 60 summer feeding program locations!

The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan helps fill this gap by providing healthy meals at more than 60 summer feeding sites throughout Genesee, Gladwin, Saginaw, and Lapeer counties. Our Summer Food Service Program, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), aims to fill that gap, providing children with free, healthy meals during the summer months when school is not in session and when many children often face missing meals and lack of proper nutrition. More than 21 million children receive free and reduced-price meals during the school year, but only 17% of these children participate in the Summer Food Service Program.

During the summer, the Food Bank partners with more than 60 feeding sites to help keep young people nourished and healthy. As a sponsor of the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), the Food Bank distributes more than 80,000 meals through daily deliveries to each location during the summer. Breakfast and lunch are provided daily by the Food Bank, as well as kid-friendly treats.

We don’t stop there—the Food Bank also strives to provide healthy snacks in our Summer Take Home Nutrition Nags. They are offered at every site and are for children to take home and enjoy over the weekend. The bags contain pre-cut vegetables, fresh fruit, granola bars, milk, and 100% juice. Since the program’s inception in 2011, the Food Bank has distributed more 75,000 nutrition bags.