The Seamless Summer Food Waiver is a federal initiative to help school food authorities reach a larger number of hungry children in low-income areas during the summer months, by reducing paperwork and administrative burdens associated with operating the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). This issue brief describes the SFSP and the impact of the Seamless Waiver, based on visits to waiver school districts in California, telephone interviews with districts in Florida, and later telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 190 sponsors after the program was expanded nationally. The brief discusses: (1) the origins and operations of the SFSP; (2) the attractiveness of the Seamless Waiver for sponsor school districts; (3) the financial implications of the Waivers for sponsors; (4) the role of state agencies in the success of program innovations; (5) the purpose of focus on school districts for sponsoring a summer program; and (6) why the SFSP regulations are more stringent than those of the National School Lunch Program. The brief concludes with recommendations for the future operation of the Seamless Waiver as an ongoing policy. (HTH)