Free Summer Meals for GA Students Announced

The City of Atlanta said its summer food program will return on June 9, offering free meals to children and teens 18 and younger at pools, libraries and a splash pad through July 25. Georgia’s statewide Summer Food Service Program, administered through the Department of Early Care and Learning, is also open to children 18 and younger during the months when school cafeterias close. Federal and state program pages frame the effort as a way to keep children fed when access to school meals stops for the summer. In Atlanta, the city said its separate mobile feeding program will also return and provide more than 5,000 meals at various locations. ### When do the free meals start in Atlanta, and who can get them? June 9 is the opening date for Atlanta’s summer food program, according to the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation. The city said meals will be available to Atlanta youth up to age 18 through July 25, and all meals must be eaten on site. The Atlanta program lists service at seven outdoor pools, four Atlanta-Fulton Public Library locations and Rodney Cook Sr. Park in Historic Vine City. The city said hours vary by location and gave a contact number and email for parents seeking site details. Children age 18 and younger qualify for Georgia’s Summer Food Service Program, the state’s family information page says. The same page says meals and snacks are also available to some people with disabilities over age 18 who participate in school programs for people with mental or physical disabilities. ### What is the statewide program Georgia is using this summer? Georgia’s summer meals effort is run through the Summer Food Service Program, known in the state as Happy Helpings. The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning says it approves sponsor applications, trains providers, monitors operations and processes reimbursements. Happy Helpings says the program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. USDA says its summer meal programs provide meals and snacks at no cost to children and teens when school is out, and families can use a site finder to locate nearby meal sites and hours. The state’s public-facing materials tie the program to food insecurity during school breaks. Happy Helpings says “for kids facing food insecurity,” summer can mean less access to affordable and nutritious food when school is out. ### How large is Georgia’s summer meal network? Georgia’s Happy Helpings site said 65 sponsors served more than 2.9 million meals in 2025. The same site said the childhood food insecurity rate in Georgia was 18.4% in 2025 and that nearly 59% of children attending public school eat free or reduced-price school lunches. The Atlanta Community Food Bank says more than 820,000 people in its service area are projected to be food insecure. The food bank says it works with more than 700 community-based nonprofit partners in metro Atlanta and north Georgia. Those figures help explain why summer meal programs remain a recurring part of local and state planning. USDA says the programs are intended to ensure children who receive free or reduced-price school meals can still get nutrition when schools are closed. ### What locations has Atlanta listed so far? Atlanta’s published schedule includes Anderson Park, Candler Park, Grant Park, John A. White Park, Maddox Park, Mozley Park, Reverend James Orange Park and South Bend Park. The city also listed Rodney Cook Sr. Park in Historic Vine City as a splash-pad site. Library stops include Adamsville-Collier Heights Library, Hapeville Public Library, Northwest Branch at Scotts Crossing and Southeast Branch. The city said its mobile bus will rotate through those locations on different weekdays. Atlanta said parents can call 404-546-6782 or email nutrition@atlantaga.gov for more information. The city also directed families to Georgia’s meal-site search tool for additional locations. ### Is Georgia also joining the SUN Bucks grocery benefit? Georgia lawmakers included $2 million in the state’s 2027 budget for the SUN Bucks summer grocery program, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in April. The newspaper said eligible families would receive $120 per child for the summer months in 2027 if the state moves forward with the program. The AJC reported that Georgia did not participate in the federal SUN Bucks program in the prior two years. No Kid Hungry senior manager Kate Goodin told the newspaper that summer is “one of the hungriest times of the year” because school meal programs pause when classes end. For summer 2026, the immediate options listed on official Georgia and Atlanta pages are meal sites rather than statewide grocery benefits. Families can look up local sponsors and site information through Georgia DECAL’s Summer Food Service Program pages, while Atlanta’s city schedule lists service dates beginning June 9 and ending July 25.