This notice announces the Department's annual adjustments to the Income Eligibility Guidelines to be used in determining eligibility for free and reduced price meals, free milk, and Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer benefits for the period from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.
With this final rule, FNS is revising Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program regulations that cover collecting and reporting race and ethnicity data by state agencies on persons receiving benefits from SNAP.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection.
This is a new collection for the contract Assessment of Mobile Technologies for Using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits (Mobile Payment Pilot evaluation). The purpose of the Mobile Payment Pilot evaluation is to assess the effects of five pilot projects that will allow SNAP participants to use mobile payments to purchase food as an alternate option to a physical electronic benefit transfer card.
The purpose of this new collection is to collect qualitative and quantitative stakeholder feedback through meetings, focus groups, interviews, other stakeholder interactions and surveys, as well as requests for administrative data, as part of the planning process for FNS regulatory actions, the semi-annual regulatory agenda, research studies, outreach, training and the development of guidance.
FNS plans to collect periodic data to obtain information on operational challenges facing institutions who operate or administer child nutrition programs, including state agencies, SFAs and Summer Food Service Program sponsors. The Operational Challenges in Child Nutrition Programs (OCCNP) Surveys, are designed to collect timely data on emerging school food service operational challenges, including but not limited to supply chain disruptions, food costs, and labor shortages, and/or related issues in SY 2023–2024, 2024–2025, and SY 2025–2026.
This collection is a revision of a currently approved collection for determining eligibility for free and reduced price meals and free milk as stated in FNS regulations.
FNS is required to develop standards for identifying major changes in the operations of state agencies that administer SNAP. State agencies must notify the Department when planning to implement a major change in operations and to collect any information required by the Department to identify and correct any adverse effects on program integrity or access, including access by vulnerable households.
State agencies are required to operate a SNAP E&T program and have considerable flexibility to determine the services they offer and populations they serve. FNS seeks to ensure the quality of the services and activities offered through SNAP E&T programs by investing resources and providing technical assistance to help states build capacity, create more robust services, and increase engagement in their programs.
Through this data collection effort, FNS seeks to understand the interrelated factors that lead to household food insecurity. Data will be collected in six counties experiencing persistent intergenerational poverty through a study titled Understanding the Relationship Between Poverty, Well-Being, and Food Security.