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Photos by Channing Johnson

No-Cost Meals for All Kids, All Summer

The CT Summer Meals Program is federally funded by the USDA and state-administered by the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE). The program provides free, nutritious meals to kids during summer break. Summer Meals meet federal nutrition guidelines and are composed of milk, fruits, vegetables, grains, and meat or another protein. Summer Meals are offered at hundreds of sites around the state from June to late August, serving combinations of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Meals are free to any child age 18-and-under, no questions asked. Want to help us spread the word & be a hunger advocate? Download our brand guide or contact us here.

See other downloadable materials for CT Summer Meals 2023 below:

Voiceover: Bobby Olejarczyk & Tony Cruise, 2022 CT Summer Meals VISTA Interns

Meal Site Locator Map

Operated in partnership with the CSDE, End Hunger CT!’s Meal Site Locator Map below will help you find information about meal sites near you. Please note that map information is updated regularly during the summer months and discontinues when the program ends in late August. For questions or concerns, you can reach us at any time at childnutrition@endhungerct.org

Enter your address in the search box to find a location near you.

Click on a map icon for more information.


As of August 29, the CT Summer Meals program has concluded for 2023. Please check back for map updates in summer 2024!

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MEAL SITE MAP KEY

TRADITIONAL OPEN MEAL SITE
MUST EAT ONSITE, NO GRAB N’ GO OPTIONS

RURAL NON-CONGREGATE OPEN MEAL SITE
OFFSITE EATING AND GRAB N’ GO OPTIONS ALLOWED

YOUR LOCATION
THE MAP USES YOUR LOCATION TO FIND SITES NEAR YOU

GET INVOLVED WITH CT SUMMER MEALS

HOW CAN I PARTICIPATE IN CT SUMMER MEALS OUTREACH?

We need YOU to help us spread the word about CT Summer Meals! From volunteer opportunities, to distributing resources, to sharing information with networks online and more, we need all hands on deck to reach children & families about this crucial program. Download our brand guide here.

MEAL SITE HIGHLIGHT VIDEO

2019 Waterbury Site Visit

Video Credit: Nicholas Hampton Photography

Frequently Asked Questions

CT Summer Meals is a program federally funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE). It provides children and teens 18 years-old and under with nutritious meals during the summer at no-cost, no ID required or questions asked, as well as people under 21 older with disabilities participating in an eligible state education program. Meal sites can be found all over Connecticut from now to August while school is out. The program typically distributes more than 1.75 million meals to over 37,000 children at over 600 locations statewide, according to data from the CSDE.

You can find your nearest open meal site by using our meal site locator map. Just scroll down the page until you see the map, enter your location, and find what meal sites are near you! The map is updated regularly throughout the summer from late June to mid August, so check back regularly for sites near you.

No, End Hunger CT! does not provide meals directly. EHC!’s focus is outreach and spreading awareness for food assistance programs such as CT Summer Meals. While EHC! does not directly provide food, we help Connecticut residents find and access food assistance programs near them! End Hunger CT! Is able to provide statewide outreach – including our Meal Site Locator Map at ctsummermeals.org – for the CT Summer Meals program in partnership with Connecticut Foodshare and the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE).

No, ANY Connecticut child can pick up a meal regardless of a family’s situation. While this program does help fight childhood hunger and food insecurity while school is out, it is available to all children 18 and under and people with disabilities 21 and under participating in an eligible state education program, no questions asked, regardless of socioeconomic status. We want to encourage all children to come!

No – children do not have to be accompanied by an adult in order to receive a meal.

No ID is needed at any of the meal sites! The meal sites offer no-cost meals to children 18 and under and people with disabilities under 21 participating in an eligible state education program no questions asked. On our website at ctsummermeals.org, we have a Meal Site Locator Map that includes all the open meal sites (“open” meaning open to the public) where children can easily get a meal no questions asked, no ID needed, and regardless of whether they live in that town.

No sign-up is necessary for the CT Summer Meals program. Simply take your child/children to an open meal site near you and receive a meal for your child/children at no cost, no questions asked!

As of Summer 2023, children must eat on-site via USDA regulations at most meal site locations. The one exception is at meal sites that are deemed Rural Non-Congregate (the purple pins on our map at ctsummermeals.org); only these sites are allowed to offer grab and go meals that do not need to be consumed onsite starting Summer 2023.

You can go and receive a meal from a CT Summer Meals site for your child daily if you would like to, no questions asked. Some sites serve a combination of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

Please contact us at childnutrition@endhungerct.org if you find that information regarding a site listed on our map appears incorrect. We will work swiftly to resolve the issue and update the information if necessary.

Unfortunately, no, the CT Summer Meals program is only intended for children 18 and under and those under 21 with disabilities participating in an eligible state education program. Food resources for adults can be found by calling 211 or visiting 211ct.org.

End Hunger CT! Is not involved in the meal site application or approval process. Agencies interested in becoming a summer meals site should reach out to the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) directly for information.

If you’re an agency or organization that works with kids and/or families, you can reach out to us at childnutrition@endhungerct.org to request printed materials. Our Social Media Toolkit is also available at ctsummermeals.org to help you create content to post on social media that fits our brand identity. Lastly, word of mouth is a very powerful tool, so if you know anyone that would benefit from the CT Summer Meals program or would be a good partner, we encourage you to let them know about ctsummermeals.org!