Summer Meals REACH Act of 2026

This bill expands the Summer Food Service Program by permanently making all children eligible to participate in the program, requiring reimbursements to camps for meals served to all children, and allowing all locations to provide grab-and-go meal services.

This Department of Agriculture program provides free meals to children in low-income areas through eligible organizations (e.g., camps), primarily when school is not in session.

The bill permanently allows all locations to provide non-congregate meal distribution, which is meal distribution outside of the typically required group, or congregate, setting (e.g., grab-and-go meal service). Current law limits non-congregate meal distribution to rural communities without access to a congregate meal site.

Further, the bill expands eligible service institutions by permanently allowing for on-site or off-site (i.e., remote) food service monitoring.

Summary by the Congressional Research Service.