FNS Documents & Resources

To explore other options for assessing impacts, FNS awarded a contract to provide FNS with new information on: experiences and satisfaction of participants in FNS programs, and impacts of program participation on food security, diet quality, and other indicators of household well-being.

The following policy memoranda are superseded by revisions to the FNS 310 Handbook and are now obsolete. At the end of the memos being cancelled is a list of the current QC policy Memos.

Several state agencies have recently asked FNS to approve increases in their Standard Utility Allowances (SUA’s) for heating and cooling based on projections of substantial price increases in energy sources – particularly natural gas. We are aware of broad interest in the issue of the impact of higher energy prices on household budgets and appreciate the conferences and correspondence that bring this issue to our attention.

The provisions of the final rule entitled, Child and Adult Care Food Program: Increasing the Duration of Tiering Determinations for Day Care Homes, published on Feb. 22, 2005, at 70 FR 8501, could not become effective until approval of the associated information collection requirements by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Those requirements were cleared by OMB on Aug. 18, 2005 under OMB Control Number 0584-0055. This document announces the effective date of the provisions contained in the originally-published rule.

This final rule revises Food Stamp Program regulations pertaining to the standards for approval of Electronic Benefits Transfer systems, the participation of retail food stores and wholesale food concerns, and the state agency liabilities and Federal sanctions.

This is the first of a series of annual reports which will assess the administrative error associated with school food authorities’ approval of applications for free and reduced-price school meals. More than 95 percent of students who were approved for benefits on the basis of an application were receiving correct benefits, based on the information in the application files. In school year 2004/05, 3.5 percent of all students who submitted an application for free/reduced-price meal benefits had an administrative error in the processing of their applications.

This interim rule amends the regulations governing the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children to strengthen vendor cost containment.

In Section 204 of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act, each local educational agency participating in a program authorized by the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 is required to establish a local wellness policy for schools under the LEA, not later than the first day of the school year beginning after June 30, 2006.

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance on the vendor-related WIC provision reflected in PL 109-97, which provides WIC funding for FY 2006.

The purpose of this policy memo is to notify state agencies of the specific record retention requirements for recent QC review periods. As required by regulations, QC records must be retained for three years following fiscal closure