Special Milk Program (SMP)

Mission

To encourage milk consumption of school-age children by providing milk at low or no cost.

Description

The SMP is available to children of all schools or nonprofit child care institutions which do not participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), or Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). This includes nonprofit day care centers, summer camps, settlement houses and homeless shelters. An eligible shelter's primary purpose must be to provide shelter and a minimum of one regularly scheduled meal service per day to homeless families. The shelter cannot be a residential child care institution.

The SMP is also available to students attending a split-session kindergarten or pre-primary students in a school that participates in the NSL or SBP, if those students do not have access to the lunch or breakfast programs.

How to enroll in SMP

Schools and organizations (known as program sponsors) wishing to participate in the SMP are required to submit an on-line application prior to beginning the SMP. Application information may be obtained by calling the Division of Food, Nutrition and Wellness at 1-800-504-6609.

Reimbursement

Reimbursement payments are made to program sponsors based on the number of half-pints of milk served each month to eligible children. There is no limit to the number of half-pints each eligible child can receive each day. Milk served to adults or milk used in cooking may not be claimed for reimbursement.

Milk is reimbursed at a Free rate or a Paid rate. The Paid rate is determined annually by USDA every July 1, while the Free rate is the average cost of a half-pint as charged by the milk vendor to the program sponsor.