The Michigan departments of Education (MDE); Health & Human Services (DHHS); and Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD) – along with their local partners – announce the availability of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) for children across the state.
This program is crucial for the hundreds of thousands of Michigan students who rely on the federal school meals program during the school year. Once the final school bell rings, over 700 SFSP sites across Michigan help to bridge that gap until the start of school next fall.
Last year, 563,000 low-income Michigan children received meals during the school year, but less than 100,000 of those children (17.5%) ate meals or snacks at approved summer meal sites in their neighborhoods.
“Too many families across Michigan are struggling, and we can’t have children going hungry in the summer when programs like this are available,” said State Superintendent Mike Flanagan, in stressing the importance of these crucial summer food programs for children. “Making families aware and informed is vital to keeping kids fed and healthy.” (more…)