About Us

The State Agency, Food and Nutrition Services of the Puerto Rico Department of Education (AESAN, for its Spanish acronym), was established on April 1, 1994, pursuant to provisions of federal regulations regarding programs under the Child Nutrition Act.

Mision

The State Agency, created by the Federal Child Nutrition Act, administers the nutrition assistance programs, allocating federal funds to qualified entities in Puerto Rico to offer food services and nutrition education to their participants, covering the entire population, from childhood to old age; and ensures the proper use of funds through continuous monitoring.

Vision

The vision of the State Agency is to be an organization committed to the mitigation of hunger in the population through the Food Service Programs that it administers and monitors, and to be recognized as the main agency in the provision of nutritional assistance during all stages of the lifecycle. We propose to position ourselves as the key agency in the channeling and dissemination of nutritional information for the entire population. Our objective is that all our programs’ sponsors distinguish themselves nation-wide for their compliance with all the regulatory norms that apply to them and for which we provide technical assistance and monitoring.

AESAN aspires to be a 21st-century organization continuously connected through technology with its staff, our service sponsors, and the population at large.

The State Agency is responsible for administering the following programs:

The main function of the programs administered by the State Agency is to facilitate that the school food authorities in public and private schools can offer free meals to children. Additionally, the programs administered by the AESAN offer federal grants benefits to Child Care Centers, Head Start Centers, and charitable institutions that provide food to children, youth, adults, and the elderly.

To ensure compliance with the parameters established by federal entities, the AESAN offers technical support services and performs operational auditing and monitoring activities. Through these administrative functions, it ensures compliance with Federal and State regulations at the operational level, which includes school food authorities, Child Care Centers, Head Start centers, and charitable institutions. The Agency is directly attached to the Office of the Secretary of Education and has specialized personnel to service each program in order to ensure that all the sponsors and beneficiaries of the aforementioned programs fulfill their established purpose. This staff also includes monitors to attend to and directly supervise activities throughout the Island.

For additional information, you may contact:

Lourdes N. García Santiago, MBA, LND, CMGI

Acting Director

State Agency, Food and Nutrition Services

Email: aesan@de.pr.gov

Tel. (787) 759-2000 exts. 4055, 6292