[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-402727-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-402727-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","summer-meals-serving-kid-friendly-high-quality-meals","Summer Meals - Serving Kid-Friendly, High-Quality Meals","","Resource recap on best practices for summer meal program operators, focusing on how to design menus and meal service so children find meals appealing while remaining nutritious and responsive to served communities. It highlights strategies from Yuba City Unified School District and the Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission, including meeting USDA meal pattern requirements, tailoring cycle menus and meal models to site logistics, incorporating farm-to-summer activities, using local seasonal foods, surveying families, and reducing food waste through allowed take-home options and planning.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/","Healthcare",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/summer-meals-serving-kid-friendly-high-quality-meals/402727/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/summer-meals-serving-kid-friendly-high-quality-meals/402727.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Mafia Boss","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-09-27",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",9,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why are kid-friendly, high-quality meals important for summer meal programs?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"When meals are appealing, nutritious, and responsive to children and communities, children are more likely to participate. Sponsors can increase reimbursement and programs can reduce food waste.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What requirement should anchor menu planning for Summer Nutrition Programs?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"All meals served through Summer Nutrition Programs must meet USDA meal standards. Sponsors should ensure required components for breakfast, lunch, supper, or snack before improving freshness, variety, appeal, and cultural relevance.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How can programs make meal service work across different sites and capacities?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Programs should match meal service models to sponsor capacity and site logistics, using self-prep, vended, or a combination. Menus must also account for storage, equipment, transportation, food safety, staffing, and whether hot, cold, sack lunches, or multiple options fit each location.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},402727,1790648471,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,110,115,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":107,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":30,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":111,"preview_page_count":4},962090760730,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","| \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>Summer Meals: Serving Kid-Friendly, High-Quality Meals\u003Cbr>Developing menus and serving meals that children enjoy are a core part of operating a successful summer meal program. When meals are appealing, nutritious, and responsive to the children and communities being served, children are more likely to participate, sponsors can increase reimbursement, and programs can reduce food waste.\u003Cbr>This resource recaps best practices shared during FRAC’s Summer Meals: Serving KidFriendly, High-Quality Meals webinar, highlighting strategies from Yuba City Unified School District and the Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission.\u003Cbr>Things to Consider\u003Cbr>• High-quality meals are about more than nutrition. Sponsors should consider whether meals are appealing, varied, culturally appropriate, and nutritious. Asking children and families for feedback can help sponsors understand what children like, what they want more of, and what may need to be changed.\u003Cbr>• Meal pattern requirements are the foundation for menu planning. All meals served through Summer Nutrition Programs must meet U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) meal standards. Sponsors should begin by ensuring meals meet the required components for breakfast, lunch, supper, or snack, then look for opportunities to improve freshness, variety, appeal, and cultural relevance.\u003Cbr>• Meal service models should reflect sponsor capacity and site logistics. Sponsors may use self-prep, vended, or a combination of both models. Menus should also account for each site’s location, storage, equipment, transportation, food safety needs, staffing, and whether hot meals, cold meals, sack lunches, or multiple options work best.\u003Cbr>• Cycle menus can make planning easier. Cycle menus allow sponsors to plan meals in advance, offer variety, manage purchasing, and make substitutions when needed. They also create opportunities to introduce new recipes and incorporate seasonal foods.\u003Cbr>• Fresh, local, and seasonal foods can increase appeal. Farm to Summer activities, local produce, farmers’ markets, and partnerships with local growers can improve meal quality while helping children learn more about where their food comes from.\u003Cbr>• Reduce food waste where possible. Sponsors should explore options to\u003Cbr>reduce food waste, such as options that allows children to take home certain |  | |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n|  |  |  |\n| |  | |\n\n\n| \u003Cbr>nonperishable meal components, if allowed by the state agency and local health department.\u003Cbr>Making It Work: Programs inAction\u003Cbr>Yuba City Unified School District in Northern California operates 15 summer meal sites, including school campuses, preschools, a park, and a public library. The district uses seven different summer menus across its sites to meet the different needs of different age groups, service models, and settings. All meals are self-prepared either onsite or at a central kitchen and transported to sites. Other best practices include:\u003Cbr>• Tailor menus to different sites, including high school menus, preschool menus, library lunch menus, park menus, and sack lunch menus for field trips.\u003Cbr>• Incorporate Farm to Summer activities, such as student and community farmers’ markets, to increase engagement and access to fresh produce.\u003Cbr>• Partner with local farmers and offer fresh fruit daily, including seasonal produce from the surrounding agricultural region.\u003Cbr>• Survey students and families about menu items and use their feedback to shape summer menus.\u003Cbr>• Build on school-year favorites and use existing inventory, when possible, to manage costs.\u003Cbr>The Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission operates summer meals across five counties in Ohio. The program has 13 summer meal sites, including parks, churches, and libraries, and uses both self-prep and vended meal models. Several sites are volunteer-run, helping the program expand services while strengthening community involvement. Best practices include:\u003Cbr>• Serve meals that reflect children’s prefe","cbCaiu2KqSqpQ7Uq","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiu2KqSqpQ7Uq","pdf",143689,"English","# Things to Consider\n## Meal quality beyond nutrition\n## Meal pattern requirements\n## Meal service models and logistics\n## Cycle menus\n## Fresh, local, and seasonal foods\n## Reduce food waste where possible\n# Making It Work: Programs in Action\n## Yuba City Unified School District\n## Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission\n# Additional Resources","[{\"question\":\"Why are kid-friendly, high-quality meals important for summer meal programs?\",\"answer\":\"When meals are appealing, nutritious, and responsive to children and communities, children are more likely to participate. Sponsors can increase reimbursement and programs can reduce food waste.\"},{\"question\":\"What requirement should anchor menu planning for Summer Nutrition Programs?\",\"answer\":\"All meals served through Summer Nutrition Programs must meet USDA meal standards. Sponsors should ensure required components for breakfast, lunch, supper, or snack before improving freshness, variety, appeal, and cultural relevance.\"},{\"question\":\"How can programs make meal service work across different sites and capacities?\",\"answer\":\"Programs should match meal service models to sponsor capacity and site logistics, using self-prep, vended, or a combination. Menus must also account for storage, equipment, transportation, food safety, staffing, and whether hot, cold, sack lunches, or multiple options fit each location.\"}]","Summer Meals - Serving Kid-Friendly, High-Quality Meals | PDF",1790533047]