The noncongregate summer meal service program, known as SUN Meals To-Go, was permanently enacted by the federal government in 2023. Compared with the traditional congregate summer meal option, SUN Meals To-Go allows summer meal sponsors in designated rural areas to provide “grab-and-go” or delivery-style meals, for children. In this report, we describe the challenges encountered by state child nutrition directors and sponsors in implementing the program, identify and compare the number of states and sponsors that participated in 2023 and 2024, and reflect on recommendations for the government to facilitate future program implementation.

Why This Matters

SUN Meals To-Go was established to address elevated food insecurity during summer months when children are out of school. While states had prior experience with the temporary version of grab-and-go meals they operated during the COVID-19 pandemic, the permanent program was announced late into the 2023 planning year with unclear guidance, making implementation challenging for both states and sponsors. To combat childhood food insecurity during the summer, policymakers should be informed on the best ways to improve states’ and sponsors’ experiences implementing the program to maximize take- up and its efficacy.

What We Found

Although federal program guidance shifted between 2023 and 2024, making some requirements less burdensome, states and sponsors described persistent challenges during both years, including limited staffing capacity, difficulty providing a high-quality menu and good variety in comparison to congregate meal services, confusion around creating definitions for service areas due to changing guidance during the planning stages of the program, and difficulty adhering to integrity requirements and related administrative burden, among others. However, implementation experiences improved during summer 2024 due to greater experience with the program and revisions to 2023 guidelines and key program rules made by USDA.

Ultimately, access to sites depends on state and sponsor take up. We found that this variation may perpetuate racial and ethnic disparities among children in households experiencing food insecurity. Eligible counties without a noncongregate site have greater shares of children who are Asian, Black, or Hispanic than counties with access to these sites. To further improve implementation practices so more sponsors can participate and more children can benefit from the program during the summer months, we recommend USDA consider the following:

• Provide sufficient funding for states and sponsors to hire the staff needed for noncongregate meal coordination
• Increase the ability for sponsors to hire more staff or create more flexible requirements for meal delivery methods
• Offer more flexibility for hybrid sites for sponsors to provide fresher foods and ingredients for noncongregate meals
• Implement clearer rules around guardians or proxies that can pick up meals for children of working parents
• Tie meal reimbursements to miles traveled for meal delivery
• Allow sponsors to use reimbursements to create additional storage for vended meals
• Expand availability of the program to include urban areas, where children also experience barriers reaching congregate meal sites

How We Did It

We partnered with the Food Research & Action Center to survey state child nutrition directors to gain perspectives on experiences and challenges implementing the SUN Meals To-Go in summer 2023. We conducted in-depth follow-up interviews with select state child nutrition directors, sponsors, and participants. We also use data collected from the survey as well as state management and administration plans, publicly available data on rural noncongregate meal options, and publicly available demographic data on food insecurity, race and ethnicity, and rurality to better understand any disparities in access to rural noncongregate meals based on state- and sponsor-level participation.