SPARKS, Nev. -
January 24, 2023The Nevada Department of
Agriculture (NDA)
is seeking sponsors to provide meals to children through the
federally funded Summer Food Service
Program (SFSP). SFSP ensures that students who depend on school meals have
access to nutritious food when school is not in session. Meals are provided
free to children 18-years-old or younger during school closures, no questions
asked, and meal sites are reimbursed. Sponsor participation and meal sites are
needed to ensure Nevada's youth in low-income areas have continued access to
healthy meals and snacks.
Sponsors may prepare meals or serve meals obtained from
another SFSP sponsor, public or commercial food vendor, a local government
agency or a school food service department. All meals must meet the United
States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) minimum meal pattern requirements
for SFSP. The program benefits all children in accordance with federal law and
USDA policy and is prohibited from discrimination on the basis of race, color,
national origin, sex, age or disability.
Past sponsors have included Three Square Food Bank, Food
Bank of Northern Nevada, churches, city parks, schools, and Boys & Girls
Clubs throughout the state. Last year, 1.6 million meals were served through
SFSP.
Organizations interested in becoming a sponsor should
contact Lindsay Talbot at 702-668-4581 or LTALBOT@agri.nv.gov by March 24, 2023. For more information about SFSP,
visit fns.usda.gov/sfsp.
About the Nevada Department of Agriculture
The Nevada
Department of Agriculture (NDA) mission is to preserve, protect and
promote Nevada’s agriculture. The department has 225 dedicated employees
providing services in its five divisions, Administrative Services, Animal
Industry, Measurement Standards, Food and Nutrition, and Plant Health and
Compliance. The department’s $288 million budget facilitates regulatory and
administrative work in agriculture and food manufacturing industries,
protecting public and environmental health and worker safety, and providing
food distribution and oversight for the United States Department of
Agriculture’s school and community nutrition programs.
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