This data collection fulfills states’ reporting requirements and describes trends in program participation during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is part of an ongoing study series examining CN program operations, repurposed to collect waiver reports from all states.

The Summer Meals Study provides a comprehensive, nationally representative assessment of the two summer meal programs operated by USDA: the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option. It is the first national study to simultaneously examine the facilitators and barriers to program participation among participating and nonparticipating families, sponsors, and sites. This study examines the characteristics of participating and nonparticipating children, including sociodemographic characteristics, household food security status, reasons for participation or nonparticipation, and satisfaction with the meals served to children in the summer of 2018. 

This study collected data on SFSP operations and characteristics at the state, sponsor, and site levels. Survey data was collected in the summer of 2015 from a census of the 53 state agencies (all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico) and nationally representative samples of SFSP sponsors and sites. In lieu of a technical research report, study findings are included in a four-page infographic.