Alaska summer meal sponsors will apply on a new state platform in 2027

School districts and nonprofits that serve free summer meals to Alaska children will file their applications and claims on a new platform starting in 2027, the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development's Child Nutrition Programs office told sponsors in its October bulletin.

The federally funded Summer Food Service Program pays for free meals for children 18 and younger in low-income areas, according to the department's program page. Sponsors are reimbursed for each meal they serve to eligible children. Last summer, the program served 1.3 million meals to more than 10,000 children, the department said in a March report to the State Board of Education.

Meals to You, which operates within the program to reach rural communities off the road system, expanded last summer to 31 school districts and 147 communities and provided more than 1 million meals, according to the department's Meals to You page. The department runs it with the Food Bank of Alaska.

Sponsors will train on the new platform in February or March, before applications open, starting with applications and then claims. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has also updated the map sponsors use to show a meal site qualifies.

Claims for August meals are due Oct. 30.