There are over 850,000 children that qualify for free or reduced lunch in North Carolina schools. Many of them rely on school breakfasts and lunch as a primary source of their healthy food. Summer vacation means that many of these children would lose access to the these meals that they receive at school. To help ensure kids continue to have access to delicious healthy food all year long, the NC Department of Instruction in collaboration with the NC Food Bank operates the Summer Nutrition Program, or SUN Meals, throughout the state.

The SUN Meals program ensures that anyone under 18 has access to healthy meals during the summer in a safe and supervised environment. There are program sites such as churches, community centers, and parks in all 100 counties of North Carolina and the state contracts with vendors to provide daily healthy lunches to the sites during the summer. This program helps to bridge the summer nutrition gap and makes sure every kid in North Carolina has access to healthy meals all summer long.