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Resource | Technical Assistance & Guidance National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program Demonstration Projects to Evaluate Direct Certification with Medicaid

FNS is conducting additional demonstration projects to expand the evaluation of direct certification with Medicaid for both free and reduced price meal eligibility in NSLP and SBP.

11/09/2023
Resource | Policy Memos FD-152: Discontinuance of the High Security Seal Requirement for USDA Foods Deliveries

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will discontinue the requirement for vendors to use high security seals to secure USDA Foods deliveries as of July 1, 2023. 

04/05/2023
Resource | Technical Assistance & Guidance USDA Secretary Vilsack Letter to States for SY 2022-23

Letter to states from the USDA Secretary to encourage you to help schools in your state keep kids fed despite ongoing challenges associated with the pandemic, ongoing supply chain issues, and labor shortages.

09/02/2022
Basic page USDA Foods Resources

This page provides resources for food safety recalls and complaints about USDA Foods as well as product recall information for state distributing agencies participating in USDA’s food distribution programs.

05/22/2020
Basic page How to File a USDA Foods Complaint

FNS monitors complaints about USDA Foods and coordinates the resolution of potential health hazards with the FNS Office of Food Safety for states, Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs), and recipient agencies participating in any of the food distribution  programs. 

04/15/2020
Resource | Research | Assessing/Improving Operations Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program Report to Congress: State Implementation Progress, SY 2015-16 and 2016-17

This report responds to the requirement of PL 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of state and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals.

11/07/2018
Basic page 2018 Direct Certification Improvement Grant Summaries

2018 Direct Certification Improvement grant project summaries.

05/15/2018
Resource | Webinars/Videos Demystifying the USDA Foods Complaints Process Part 3: Results and Resolution

This webinar is Part 3 of our webinar series “Demystifying USDA Food Complaints.” It focuses on results and resolution in the USDA Foods complaint process for USDA Foods in schools. The USDA Foods Complaint Team, as represented by Tony Wilkins, presents different scenarios as USDA Foods are transported from the vendor to their final destination, school kitchens. The intended audience is individuals involved with the National School Lunch Program: SFAs and all distributing agencies and recipient agencies, including SDAs as well as schools and warehouses.

09/28/2017
Resource | Policy Memos | FNS-GD-2017-0049 2018 Direct Certification Improvement Grant RFA

The fiscal year 2018 Direct Certification Improvement Grant Request for Applications are available to state agencies that administer the National School Lunch and the School Breakfast programs to fund the costs of improving your direct certification rates with SNAP, and other needs-based assistance programs.

SP41-2017
08/15/2017
Resource | Webinars/Videos New Horizons in Reporting and Resolving USDA Food Issues in FDPIR

In this webinar focused on the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), Tony Wilkins and Matthew Martin from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Food Distribution Division, discuss warehousing, explain the USDA Foods feedback process, and provide instructions on how to formally enter a complaint into the Web-Based Supply Chain Management System (WBSCM).

04/06/2017
Page updated: October 14, 2021