| Nutrition Services Division |
|
| To: Summer
Food Service Program Sponsors |
Number: 99-712 |
| From: Summer Food Service Program Unit |
Date: April 1999 |
| Attention: Authorized Representatives | |
| Subject: Mobile Feeding Sites in Rural Areas |
|
| Reference: USDA Summer Food Service Program Policy Memorandum #17-99 |
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This Management Bulletin disseminates guidance received from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding the use of mobile sites in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).
Traditionally, urban SFSP sites are located in parks, community centers, schools, churches, or similar locations. However, rural populations are dispersed throughout a large geographic area, making it difficult for rural SFSP sponsors to reach the needy areas of their community. Although transportation is an allowable cost, it is not always cost effective to transport children from outlying areas into rural towns to designated SFSP sites.
The USDA encourages the development of mobile SFSP sites as a creative solution to the problem of providing nutritious meals to children in outlying rural areas. Mobile SFSP sites such as a bus or another vehicle may transport meals to children. The cost of transporting meals to children in rural areas is an allowable operating cost. Designated stops may be made along established routes. All SFSP guidelines shall apply:
- Each stop must qualify under the site eligibility criteria (i.e., open, open/enrolled, closed/enrolled);
- All standard site requirements must be adhered to (for example, adequate supervision, established meal service times, consuming meals on-site, monitoring the sites);
- Extra precautions must be taken to ensure the safety of the food being provided to the children; proper holding temperatures must be maintained along the entire meal delivery route; all local health and safety standards must be enforced; and
- Sponsors should make every effort to inform families of the availability of the SFSP mobile sites.
