FNS Documents & Resources

The manual provides comprehensive information on federal requirements, policies, and procedures, and is intended to help state agencies and local educational agencies accurately determine, certify, and verify children’s eligibility for free and reduced price school meals and free milk.

This memorandum details guidance on the annual Community Eligibility Provision notification and publication requirements and provides information on the USDA-developed reporting template.

This memorandum clarifies the flexibility available to local educational agency officials for establishing the effective date of eligibility for children certified for free or reduced price meals in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs and free milk in the Special Milk Program based on household applications.

This rule proposes to amend the eligibility regulations for free and reduced price meals under the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program to codify the statutory provision that establishes the community eligibility provision, a reimbursement option for eligible local educational agencies and schools that wish to offer free school meals to all children in high poverty schools without collecting household applications.

This notice corrects a table on page 17630 in the Federal Register issue of Friday, March 22, 2013.

On Sept. 30, 2003, the President signed HJ Resolution 69, which continues appropriations for the child nutrition programs and extends several provisions that were to expire on September 30.