Summer Meal Programs Meal Service Requirements Q&As - Revised

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance on meal service requirements in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the National School Lunch Program’s (NSLP) Seamless Summer Option (SSO). This revision expands the use of family style meal service to closed enrolled sites and reiterates the option for offsite consumption of specified food items in SFSP and SSO. In addition, this memorandum expands current guidance on meal service times, offer versus serve (OVS), adult meals, and leftover meals as it relates to SFSP. This memorandum also includes frequently asked questions [Attachment A]. This memorandum supersedes:

• SP08 SFSP08-2014, Meal Service Requirements, Nov. 12, 2013, and
• Time Restrictions on Breakfast Meal Service, Feb. 12, 2002.

Meal Service Times

In an effort to simplify program management, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) issued a waiver of meal service time restrictions under 7 CFR 225.16(c) in October 2011. Therefore, there are currently no federal time limits placed on the duration of a meal service and no federal requirements pertaining to the amount of time that must elapse between the beginning of one meal and the beginning of the next to provide sponsors greater flexibility to meet local needs.

However, sponsors must continue to establish meal times for each site and provide this information to the state agency to allow for effective oversight [7 CFR 225.6(c)(2)(B) and (3)(A)]. All applicant sponsors must provide the state agency with information regarding the time of meal service at each site, however, they are not required to ensure that a specific time period will elapse between the meal services. Meals must be served within the approved meal service times in order to be claimed for reimbursement and for the cost associated with such meals to be covered by program funds. FNS encourages sponsors to establish meal service times that best accommodate operational requirements and the needs of participating children. Additionally, FNS encourages state agencies to approve meal times that give sponsors flexibility to accommodate unanticipated circumstances, such as late meal deliveries, while fulfilling program requirements.

While state agencies may establish meal time restrictions, this would be considered an additional state requirement and subject to regional office (RO) notice and approval as required by 7 CFR 225.18(f). However, the state agency has the discretion to impose restrictions on specific sponsors based on review findings on a case-by-case basis.

Meal service requirements differ for school food authorities (SFAs) participating in the SSO. These requirements are outlined in the Questions and Answers for the National School Lunch Program’s Seamless Summer Option guidance available on the SSO webpage at http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/opportunity-schools.

Number and Type of Reimbursable Meals

Restrictions in SFSP on the number and type of meals that may be served each day, as established by 7 CFR 225.16(b), are as follows:

• With state agency approval, sponsors of open, restricted open, and enrolled sites may serve up to two meals each day. Meal combinations consisting of a lunch and supper are not allowable. Allowable combinations include:
  • Breakfast and lunch
  • Breakfast and supper
  • Breakfast and snack
  • Lunch and snack
  • Supper and snack
  • Two snacks
• With state agency approval, camp or migrant site sponsors may serve up to three meals each day. Allowable combinations include:
  • Breakfast, lunch, and supper
  • Breakfast, lunch, and snack
  • Breakfast, supper, and snack
  • Lunch, supper, and snack

Offer Versus Serve

Offer versus serve (OVS) is a concept that applies to menu planning and meal service which allows children to decline some of the food offered in a reimbursable breakfast, lunch, or supper, excluding snacks. The goals of OVS are to simplify program administration and reduce food waste and costs while maintaining the nutritional integrity of the SFSP meal that is served. All SFSP sites, regardless of location or type of sponsorship, may utilize OVS. Although SFSP regulations indicate that OVS is available only to school sponsors, FNS extended this option to non-school sponsors in October 2011. Utilizing OVS does not preclude the sponsor from maintaining a non-profit operation.

For a meal to be eligible for reimbursement, all food components in the required minimum serving sizes must be offered. A food component is one of the food groups that comprise a reimbursable meal. Sites must always offer all the food components that comprise a reimbursable meal in at least the minimum required amounts. A food item is a specific food offered within the food components comprising the reimbursable meal. For example, separate ½ cup servings of peaches and pears are two food items that comprise one component, the fruit and vegetable component.

All non-school sponsors electing to use OVS and schools participating in SFSP and electing to follow the SFSP meal patterns are required to follow the SFSP OVS requirements. Due to the distinguishing nature of the SFSP and NSLP, including variations in settings and resources, the OVS requirements in SFSP are different from the OVS requirements in NSLP. In order to ensure that children are receiving enough food to meet their nutritional needs, OVS requirements in SFSP are as follows:

Breakfast

• Three food components are required for a reimbursable breakfast:
  • One serving of fruit/vegetable,
  • One serving of bread/bread alternate, and
  • One serving of fluid milk.
• All food components listed above must be offered through at least four different food items for OVS in SFSP.
• The fourth food item offered can be a serving of fruit/vegetable, bread/bread alternate, or meat/meat alternate.
• A child must take at least three of the four food items offered.

Lunch or Supper

• Four food components are required for a reimbursable lunch or supper:
  • One serving of meat/meat alternate,
  • Two servings of fruit and/or vegetables (two different food items),
  • One serving of bread/bread alternate, and
  • One serving of fluid milk.
• All food components listed above must be offered through at least five different food items for OVS in SFSP.
• Lunch or supper OVS requirements differ from breakfast in that a child must take at least three food components, rather than items, listed above from the five food items offered. Three food components are required for an adequate nutritious meal for children.

Offering two servings of the same food item is not permissible under OVS in SFSP. All food items offered must be different from each other. For example, a breakfast menu that includes a serving of milk, a serving of fruit, and two servings of toast is not a reimbursable meal under OVS in SFSP because the toast is two of the same food item. Additionally, a larger food item that is worth two servings in weight, such as a two ounce muffin, counts as only one food item under OVS in SFSP, not two. Offering different food items supports and encourages the practice of offering a variety of food choices for children, which increases the likelihood that children will select foods they prefer and reduces waste.

OVS is an option for sponsors, not a requirement. Sponsors must indicate their intention to utilize OVS on the sponsor or site application. State agencies may not institute a statewide ban on OVS. However, specific sponsors or sites may be restricted from utilizing the option on a case-by-case basis. If a state agency denies a sponsor's request to use OVS in SFSP, the sponsor may not appeal the decision. The sponsor may submit another request the next operating year.

School sponsors that elect to use the NSLP or School Breakfast Program (SBP) meal pattern and SFAs operating SSO are required to follow the OVS requirements of NSLP and SBP. For more information, see 7 CFR 210.10(e), 7 CFR 220.8(e), and SP 57-2014, Updated Offer versus Serve Guidance for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program in School Year 2014-2015 at http://www.fns.usda.gov/updated-offer-versus-serve-guidance-national-schoollunch-program-and-school-breakfast-program.

Family Style Meal Service

Beginning summer 2015, FNS is extending the option of family style meal service in camps to include closed enrolled sites in the SFSP and SSO. Both camps and closed enrolled sites provide the stable environment required for a successful family style meal service to provide nutritious meals to children and promote healthy eating habits through the personal example provided by supervising adults.

FNS Instruction 783-3, Revision 1, Family Style Meal Service in the Summer Food Service Program, issued in August 1986, limits the family style meal service option to camps, which are stated as the only appropriate setting due to a camp’s stable environment for enrolled children. In December 2000, the definition of closed enrolled sites was codified in 7 CFR 225.2 as a site open only to enrolled children, as opposed to the community at large. By definition, closed enrolled sites also provide a stable environment for enrolled children and thereby also are an appropriate setting for family style meal service. FNS, therefore, is extending family style meal service as an option for closed enrolled sites in the SFSP and SSO. Family style meal service is still prohibited at open and open restricted sites in the SFSP and SSO.

Family style meal service affords sponsors latitude in the size of the initial servings which must be exercised in compliance with the following practices, at a minimum:

1. Enough food must be placed on each table to provide minimum portions of all required components for all children at the table in accordance with 7 CFR 225.16, and to accommodate program adults supervising meal service at the table if they eat with the children.
2. Some amount of each required component must be placed on each child’s plate, and at least the minimum regulatory portion must be offered to the child. This practice may be particularly appropriate when unfamiliar foods are being introduced.
3. When the full portion required by the regulations is not initially served to children, supervising adults must assume the responsibility of actively encouraging the child to accept service of the full portion during the course of the meal.

Meals Served to Adults

Sponsors have the discretion to serve meals to anyone. Only meals served to children may be claimed as reimbursable meals. Along with children ages 18 years and younger, SFSP regulations at 7 CFR 225.2 also defines children as persons over 18 years of age who are determined by the state or local educational agency or a local public education agency as having a mental or physical disability and who participate during the school year in a public or private non-profit school program established for the mentally or physically disabled. Therefore, meals served to any person who meets the above definition may be claimed as reimbursable meals.

Meals served to adults (other than those provided for in 7 CFR 225.2) must be reported differently than those served to children, depending on the classification of the adult served, as either a program or a non-program adult. The classification between the meal services requirements are as follows:

• Program Adults work directly with the meal service at the site as either volunteers or paid employees. Meals may be served free to adults who meet this definition. These meals may not be claimed for reimbursement as a reimbursable meal, but may be counted as legitimate operating costs [7 CFR 225.9(d)(5)].
• Non-program Adults do not work in any direct way with the meal service at the site, such as a parent or guardian. Sponsors have the option to serve meals to non-program adults at no charge or charge the full cost of the meal. The cost of meals served to non-program adults may be counted as part of the sponsor’s operating costs only if the adult pays, or non-program funds cover, the full cost of the meal and the money received is reported as income to the program [7 CFR 225.2 Definition of Income accruing to the program]. If meals are served to non-program adults, sponsors must either charge the adults at least the full cost of the meal (including food and non food supplies, labor, and the value of commodities), or use other non-program funds to cover the cost of these meals. When using non-program funds to cover the cost of these meals, the sponsor may include those funds as program income and pay for these meal costs from its nonprofit food service account.

Additionally, when a sponsor chooses to serve meals to adults, the following rules must be observed:

• All children (including any person who meets the definition of 7 CFR 225.2) must be fed first;
• Income from the sale of adult meals and non-program funds used to pay for adult meals must be documented as income to the program to offset documented costs; and
• Meals served to children (including second meals), program adults, and non-program adults must be counted and recorded separately on the daily meal count form.

The calculation of meal costs should be based on the full cost of producing the meal (i.e., food, supplies, labor, and other costs incurred by the sponsor). Sponsors also should include the value of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foods used to prepare the meal or this value may be based on the current year annual entitlement per meal value of USDA Foods.

SFAs operating SSO may not pay for non-program adult meals through the nonprofit food service account; however, they may use other sources, such as the general fund account. The cost calculations do not affect the paid meal equity and non-program equity provisions.

SFAs participating in the SSO should refer to FNS Instruction 782-5, Revision 1, Pricing of Adult Meals in the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs, June 6, 1988, for more information on the sale of adult meals.

Leftover Meals

All sponsors must plan, prepare, and order meals with the objective of providing one meal per child at each meal service, and must ensure that entire meals and food components are not leftover and unusable on a frequent basis. Sponsors should regularly monitor and compare site reports on the number of attending children and the number of delivered meals to reduce waste and cost. When sites have leftover food, sponsors should promptly adjust orders to more accurately reflect the actual number of meal service participants. Additionally, all alternatives permitted by program regulations and state and local health and sanitation codes should be exhausted before discarding food.

FNS encourages state agencies to support efforts by sponsors to minimize food waste. Some options may include:

• Transferring Meals – Extra meals may be transferred, if allowed by the local health code, from one site with excess meals to another site with a shortage.
• Seconds – When all children in attendance at the site have received one meal, sponsors may serve and claim reimbursement for second servings of complete meals of up to two percent of the number of first meals served to children, for each meal type, for all sites, during a claiming period [7 CFR 225.9(d)(4)]. Note, second meals may be disallowed if the state agency determines that the sponsor has failed to plan and prepare or order meals with the objective of providing only one meal per child at each meal service [7 CFR 225.15(b)(4)].
• Share Table – Sponsors may designate a “share table” or stations where children may return whole items that they choose not to eat, provided that this is in compliance with local and state health and safety codes. These items are then made available to other children who may want additional servings. This practice may be facilitated by serving meal components that can be easily “recycled.” For example, if an apple is served as part of a meal, a child can return the apple to the share table. Nonperishable components that remain on a share table may be appropriately stored for subsequent service. All recycled food items must be stored in accordance with local health codes, and must be documented.
• Donations – When it is not feasible to reuse leftovers or store food, FNS encourages sponsors to consider donating it to non-profit organizations working to address hunger in the community, such as homeless shelters, food banks, and food pantries. Sponsors may also choose to send leftover meals or food home with children. Sponsor policies relating to food donations must comply with state and local health and sanitation codes. Although donated meals, including non-reimbursable meals or meal components sent home with children, may not be claimed for reimbursement in the SFSP, food donation avoids unnecessary waste and can save expensive disposal and storage costs. Additionally, by collaborating with other hunger organizations, sponsors can expand the reach of these important programs and build networks that better serve the community. Sponsors should refer to SP11 SFSP07-2012, Guidance on the Food Donation program in Child Nutrition Programs, Feb. 3, 2012, for more information.

Taking Meal Components Offsite

SFSP regulations require sponsors to ensure children consume meals at the site [7 CFR 225.6(e)(15)]. Therefore, meals must be consumed onsite in order to be eligible for reimbursement, unless the meal is served on a state agency approved field trip or offsite consumption is otherwise approved by FNS. In extenuating circumstances, sponsors may allow offsite consumption of meals as long as meals taken offsite are not claimed for reimbursement. Failure to meet this “congregate feeding” requirement results in the disallowance of meals and may lead to a determination of serious deficiency of the sponsor’s operation of the program [7 CFR 225.11(c)(4)].

However, sponsors may allow a child to take one fruit, vegetable, or grain item offsite for later consumption without prior state agency approval provided this is in compliance with state and local health and sanitation codes. Originally, FNS permitted sponsors to allow children to take only a fruit or vegetable off site with prior state agency approval. In October 2013, FNS extended this option to all sponsors without prior state agency approval and expanded the eligible food items to include grains [SFSP 08-2014, Meal Service Requirements, Nov. 12, 2013]. The food item taken offsite must be from the child’s own meal or left on a “share table” by another child who did not want it.

Sponsors should only allow an item to be taken offsite if they have adequate staffing to properly administer and monitor the site, and to ensure that issues, particularly related to food safety and program integrity, do not arise. state agencies may prohibit individual sponsors on a case-by-case basis from using this option if the sponsor’s ability to provide adequate oversight is in question. The state agency’s decision to prohibit a sponsor from utilizing this option is not an appealable action.

SFAs operating SSO should follow the policy memo SP41-2014, Clarification of the Policy on Food Consumption Outside of Foodservice Area and the Whole Grain-Rich Requirement available at http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/SP41-2014os.pdf for more information on the consumption of meal service items outside of the designated food service area.

State agencies are reminded to distribute this information to program operators immediately. program operators should direct any questions regarding this memorandum to the appropriate state agency. state agency contact information is available at http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Contacts/StateDirectory.htm. State agencies should direct questions to the appropriate FNS regional office.

Angela Kline
Director
Policy and Program Development Division

Attachment

• Questions and Answers