FNS Documents & Resources

On April 25, 2024, FNS published the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This rule includes minor updates to the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program to better align Child Nutrition Program requirements. These updates represent continued progress toward supporting the nutrition quality of school meals, strengthening the Child Nutrition Programs, and advancing USDA’s commitment to nutrition security. 

This rulemaking finalizes long-term school nutrition requirements based on the goals of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, robust stakeholder input, and lessons learned from prior rulemakings.

The final rule - Child Nutrition Programs: Revisions to Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans - is the next step in an ongoing effort toward healthier school meals that USDA and the broader school meals community have been partnering on for well over a decade.  This table is a reference tool for stakeholders to visualize the proposed implementation timeline.

Decision tree to help determine how to get your product considered for USDA Food distribution programs.

This memorandum provides additional information regarding the provisions related to the frequency and number of reviews for state agencies monitoring the Child and Adult Care Food Program, that were codified in the Child Nutrition Program Integrity Final Rule published on Aug.23, 2023. These provisions have a compliance date of Aug. 23, 2024.

In July of 2022, the Access to Baby Formula Act of 2022 was signed into law. This rule implements the provisions of ABFA and several other related changes to strengthen WIC’s ability to address certain disasters, emergencies, and supply chain disruptions, particularly those impacting infant formula.

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide additional information on the 5-year review cycle provision of the Child Nutrition Program Integrity final rule. This memorandum relates to program-specific changes in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.

This memorandum provides updated guidance on crediting tofu and soy yogurt products in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and extends previous guidance on crediting tofu and soy yogurt products to the Summer Food Service Program, as well as to the infant meal pattern in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

Check out this database to access vendor-specific product information for all direct delivered USDA Foods for the National School Lunch Program.

States annually update Standard Utility Allowances (SUAs) to reflect changes in utility costs. When determining a household’s eligibility, states consider a household’s total shelter costs, including the cost of utilities. Since actual utility costs are often hard to determine, states can use SUAs, which are standard amounts that represent low-income household utility costs in the state or local area. SUAs may be used in lieu of the household's actual costs when determining eligibility and benefit amount.