FNS Documents & Resources

A webinar for state agencies and local program operators sharing proactive strategies to prevent and manage unpaid meal charges as schools return to standard counting and claiming in SY 2022-23.

This memorandum provides a reminder overview of options available under current program policy and regulation for connecting children and adult survivors, who have evacuated from areas subject to major disaster and emergency declarations, and may be staying in shelters, with child nutrition program benefits.

This question and answer memorandum is designed to provide an overview of policies related to unpaid meal charges and to address common questions FNS has received from state agencies, school food authorities, and local program operators.

This policy memorandum includes important updates to requirements related to accommodating children with disabilities participating in the school meal programs.

This guidance provides steps state agencies and school administrators can take to improve access to school meal programs through the application, certification, and verification processes so that all eligible children in NSLP and SBP schools have the opportunity to participate in the school meal programs.

The purpose of this memorandum is to strongly encourage local educational agencies to accept eligibility determinations from a transferring student’s former LEA to minimize disruptions in meal benefits for low-income students and avoid student debt resulting from unpaid meal charges.

There has been confusion about how unpaid meal charges must be handled when all collection efforts have been exhausted. To help address these situations, this memorandum clarifies the processes of designating delinquent debt that has been determined to be uncollectable as bad debt and obtaining assistance to offset bad debt losses.

The Departments of Agriculture, Education and Health and Human Services issued a tri-agency letter outlining the categorical eligibility of children and youth in foster care for free school meals.

This memorandum addresses inquiries regarding flexibility in determining the effective date of eligibility for students who are directly certified to receive free meals or free milk in the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, and the Special Milk Program.

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.