The Food and Nutrition Service is adopting as a final rule, without change, a direct final rule that made changes to SNAP regulations to account for the replacement of the paper coupon issuance system with the Electronic Benefits Transfer system as the nationwide method of distributing benefits to program participants.
The purpose of this instruction is to establish the general standards and procedures that the state distributing agency must follow in order to ensure that restitution is made for the loss of donated foods, or for the loss or improper use of funds provided for, or accruing from, the distribution of donated foods.
Final Days to Submit Entries to the Recipes for Healthy Kids Competition
Washington, DC, December 23, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today reminded teams participating in the Recipes for Healthy Kids Competition to submit their recipes by 5:00 PM EST on December 30, 2010. Teams across the country are working to improve school meals and the health of children across the nation through the creation of exciting new recipes for inclusion on school lunch menus. The competition - part of the First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative - will draw on the talents of chefs, students, school nutrition professionals, and parents or other community members working together to develop tasty, nutritious, kid-approved foods.
"We welcome the excitement and engagement from chefs, students, food service professionals, and parents as teams across the country work to improve the nutrition and health of our kids through the Recipes for Healthy Kids Competition," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "There is still time left to join the competition and through the web site, families can vote with their forks and help introduce exciting new recipes into the National School Lunch Program and beyond."
Recipes for Healthy Kids Competition teams will have the opportunity to submit original recipes that meet nutritional requirements in three categories: whole grain foods, dark green and/or orange vegetables, and dry beans and peas (legumes). Submissions must be taste tested by at least 30 students who participate in the National School Lunch Program.
There will be a grand prize chosen by the judging panel as well as a Popular Choice winner based on public voting. The judges will also choose award winners for the top two recipes in each category. To recognize and share the culinary creativity nationwide the top ten recipes in each category will be published in a Recipes for Healthy Kids Cookbook to share with students and families.
Improving child nutrition is also a focal point of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act that recently passed Congress and was signed by President Obama on December 13, 2010. This legislation authorizes USDA'S child nutrition programs, including Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program, which serves nearly 32 million children each day. It will allow USDA, for the first time in over 30 years, the chance to make real reforms to the school lunch and breakfast programs by improving the critical nutrition and hunger safety net for millions of children. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is the legislative centerpiece of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Initiative.
FNS oversees the administration of 15 nutrition assistance programs, including the child nutrition programs, which touch the lives of one in four Americans over the course of a year.
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance on the implementation of these modifications.
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance on the implementation of this expansion in CACFP.
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance on the implementation of these modifications.
This notice announces the surplus and purchased foods that USDA expects to make available for donation to states for use in providing nutrition assistance to the needy under TEFAP in FY 2011.
USDA Awards Grant to Texas to Improve Access to Healthy Foods for Children
Washington, DC, December 16, 2010 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the award of demonstration grant to Texas to test new ways to provide nutrition assistance and access to healthy foods to low-income children during the summer. The grant is part of the Obama Administration's efforts to use improved approaches to increase access to nutritious meals and snacks during gap periods. By working with state agencies, the pilot projects aim to reduce the level of food insecurity among children in the summer months.
"This is a landmark opportunity to use our ingenuity to combat childhood hunger and reach kids during the summer months when we know it is challenging to receive the nutrition they need," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "The lessons we learn from these demonstrations – to strengthen and complement existing programs – will help shape the nutrition assistance safety net for the future, and have the potential to be a welcome additional resource for families worried about feeding their children."
The awards announced today – the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children (SEBTC) Demonstrations – will use the electronic benefit infrastructure of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children to give low-income families with school-age children more food resources to use at the store during the summer. Families will receive a card, similar to a debit card, which they can use in stores to buy food.
In Texas, the project will use the WIC Electronic Benefit Transfer to assist children from El Paso's Ysleta Independent School District with each eligible child receiving up to $60 in benefits per month which is comparable to the monthly value of school lunches. The families of approximately2,500 children certified to receive free or reduced-price school meals within the school district will receive a benefit.
The SFSP, which serves over 2 million children every summer, is an important component of the nutrition safety net which is complemented by these demonstration projects. The projects will also provide USDA with critical knowledge about the impact of cutting-edge nutrition interventions on achieving real progress in the fight against hunger among our children during the summer months.
In addition to the value of the food benefits that will be provided to recipients in the demonstration areas, Texas will receive $607,370 for administration and operation of the SEBTC demonstration project.
An independent evaluation will be completed for each of the SEBTC demonstrations. The evaluation will determine their effectiveness, particularly at improving food security among children during the summer. Abt Associates will partner with Mathematica and Imadgen to conduct the evaluation.
Improving child nutrition is also a focal point of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act that recently passed Congress and was signed by President Obama on December 13, 2010. This legislation authorizes USDA'S child nutrition programs, including Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program, which serves nearly 32 million children each day. It will allow USDA, for the first time in over 30 years, the chance to make real reforms to the school lunch and breakfast programs by improving the critical nutrition and hunger safety net for millions of children. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is the legislative centerpiece of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Initiative.
USDA's Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs including the Summer Food Service Program; the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; the National School Lunch Program; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; and the Emergency Food Assistance Program. Together these programs make up the federal nutrition safety net. USDA administers these programs in partnership with state and local agencies and works with faith and community-based organizations to ensure that nutrition assistance is available to those in need.
USDA Awards Grant to Improve Access to Healthy Foods for Missouri Children
Washington, DC, December 16, 2010 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the award of a demonstration grant to Missouri to test new ways to provide nutrition assistance and access to healthy foods to low-income children during the summer. The $230,650 Missouri grant is part of the Obama Administration's efforts to use improved approaches to increase access to nutritious meals and snacks during gap periods. By working with state agencies, the pilot projects aim to reduce the level of food insecurity among children in the summer months.
"This is a landmark opportunity to use our ingenuity to combat childhood hunger and reach kids during the summer months when we know it is challenging to receive the nutrition they need," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "The lessons we learn from these demonstrations – to strengthen and complement existing programs – will help shape the nutrition assistance safety net for the future, and have the potential to be a welcome additional resource for families worried about feeding their children."
The awards announced today – the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children (SEBTC) Demonstrations – will use the electronic benefit infrastructure of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children to give low-income families with school-age children more food resources to use at the store during the summer. Families will receive a card, similar to a debit card, which they can use in stores to buy food. The food benefit will be valued at $60 per child per month during the summertime. In Missouri benefits will be delivered through the SNAP EBT system.
The Missouri project will be used to operate a SNAP-model Summer-EBT project in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Local Investment Commission (LINC), and the Kansas City, Hickman Mills and Center School Food Authorities. Under the project, families of children in the demonstration will be eligible to receive a benefit of approximately $60 per child, per month when school is out during summer 2011. In total, families of children in the demonstration area will receive approximately $375,000 to $450,000 in food benefits.
In the near-term, the demonstration project will provide thousands of low-income children in the demonstration communities with substantial new household food benefits during the summer. In the longer term it will provide critical knowledge about the impact of cutting-edge nutrition interventions on achieving real improvement in food security among our children during the summer months.
USDA previously funded two statewide, multi-year projects in Arkansas and Mississippi to test innovative approaches to increase participation in the Summer Food Service Program by creating incentives for these programs to operate longer during the summer and funding enrichment activities that encourage increased participation. Two more SFSP enhancement demonstrations are planned for next summer. The SFSP, which serves over 2 million children every summer, is an important component of the nutrition safety net which is complemented by these demonstration projects. The projects will also provide USDA with critical knowledge about the impact of cutting-edge nutrition interventions on achieving real progress in the fight against hunger among our children during the summer months.
An independent evaluation will be completed for each of the SEBTC demonstrations. The evaluation will determine their effectiveness, particularly at improving food security among children during the summer. Abt Associates will partner with Mathematica and Imadgen to conduct the evaluation.
Improving child nutrition is also a focal point of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act that recently passed Congress and was signed by President Obama on Dec. 13, 2010. This legislation authorizes USDA'S child nutrition programs, including Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program, which serves nearly 32 million children each day. It will allow USDA, for the first time in over 30 years, the chance to make real reforms to the school lunch and breakfast programs by improving the critical nutrition and hunger safety net for millions of children. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is the legislative centerpiece of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Initiative.
USDA's Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs including the Summer Food Service Program; the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; the National School Lunch Program; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; and the Emergency Food Assistance Program. Together these programs make up the federal nutrition safety net. USDA administers these programs in partnership with state and local agencies and works with faith and community-based organizations to ensure that nutrition assistance is available to those in need.
USDA Awards Grant to Connecticut to Improve Access to Healthy Foods for Children
Washington, DC, December 16, 2010 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the award of a demonstration grant to Connecticut to test new ways to provide nutrition assistance and access to healthy foods to low-income children during the summer. The grant is part of the Obama Administration's efforts to use improved approaches to increase access to nutritious meals and snacks during gap periods. By working with state agencies, the pilot projects aim to reduce the level of food insecurity among children in the summer months.
"This is a landmark opportunity to use our ingenuity to combat childhood hunger and reach kids during the summer months when we know it is challenging to receive the nutrition they need," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "The lessons we learn from these demonstrations – to strengthen and complement existing programs – will help shape the nutrition assistance safety net for the future, and have the potential to be a welcome additional resource for families worried about feeding their children."
The awards announced today – the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children (SEBTC) Demonstrations – will use the electronic benefit infrastructure of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children to give low-income families with school-age children more food resources to use at the store during the summer. Families will receive a card, similar to a debit card, which they can use in stores to buy food. The food benefit will be valued at $60 per child per month during the summertime. In Michigan and Texas, benefits will be delivered through the WIC EBT system. In Connecticut, Missouri and Oregon, benefits will be delivered through the SNAP EBT system.
In Connecticut, the Department of Social Services will operate a SNAP-model Summer-EBT project in collaboration with the state Department of Education and 23 school food authorities in Windham and New London counties. End Hunger CT! will also help execute the demonstration project.
USDA previously funded two statewide, multi-year projects in Arkansas and Mississippi to test innovative approaches to increase participation in the Summer Food Service Program by creating incentives for these programs to operate longer during the summer and funding enrichment activities that encourage increased participation. Two more SFSP enhancement demonstrations are planned for next summer. The SFSP, which serves over 2 million children every summer, is an important component of the nutrition safety net which is complemented by these demonstration projects. The projects will also provide USDA with critical knowledge about the impact of cutting-edge nutrition interventions on achieving real progress in the fight against hunger among our children during the summer months.
In addition to the value of the food benefits that will be provided to recipients in the demonstration areas, Connecticut will receive $195,529 for administration and operation of the SEBTC demonstration project.
An independent evaluation will be completed for each of the SEBTC demonstrations. The evaluation will determine their effectiveness, particularly at improving food security among children during the summer. Abt Associates will partner with Mathematica and Imadgen to conduct the evaluation.
Improving child nutrition is also a focal point of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act that recently passed Congress and was signed by President Obama on Dec. 13, 2010. This legislation authorizes USDA'S child nutrition programs, including Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program, which serves nearly 32 million children each day. It will allow USDA, for the first time in over 30 years, the chance to make real reforms to the school lunch and breakfast programs by improving the critical nutrition and hunger safety net for millions of children. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is the legislative centerpiece of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Initiative.
USDA's Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs including the Summer Food Service Program; the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; the National School Lunch Program; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; and the Emergency Food Assistance Program. Together these programs make up the federal nutrition safety net. USDA administers these programs in partnership with state and local agencies and works with faith and community-based organizations to ensure that nutrition assistance is available to those in need.