May 2014

Tools of the Trade: New Maps Help Locate Summer Feeding Sites

The Summer Food Service Program provides nutritious meals and snacks to children in low-income areas during the summer months. 

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently unveiled two free online map services to help communities and partner organizations locate nearby feeding sites and identify gaps in program coverage. The Capacity Builder map shows the locations of school districts and 2013 feeding sites, and 2014 feeding sites will be added to the map over the summer. The Area Eligibility map shows low-income census tracts, which are priority locations for feeding sites. The USDA has released a webinar with more information on these maps, and maintains a resource site at www.summerfood.usda.gov.

Iowa organizations partner with the Iowa Department of Education to host feeding sites in their communities. For more information on the program in Iowa, contact Stephanie Dross for more information at 515-281-4760.