FNS Documents & Resources

Attached to this memorandum, please find a revised edition of the Prototype Application for Free and Reduced Price School Meals, with an accompanying instructions document. These materials may be adapted for direct use by state and local agencies, or as a reference for designing an effective application packet that meets all statutory and regulatory requirements. 

This memorandum provides information on the revised Prototype Application for Free and Reduced Price School Meals. USDA updated the prototype application to improve the user experience for applicants by adjusting the reading level, streamlining the application instructions, and by adding clarity to the mailing instructions to reduce the number of applications sent to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights.

This memorandum and attachment provides guidance regarding the State Agency School Food Safety Inspections Report for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program for SY 2022-23.

This memorandum provides additional procurement-related technical assistance and information for state agencies and school food authorities to consider when entering into and executing contracts with Food Service Management Companies.

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance regarding on-site and off-site strategies and options for oversight and monitoring of the Summer Food Service Program.

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance regarding onsite and offsite strategies and options for oversight and monitoring of the school meal programs.

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. 

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance to state agencies and school food authorities on the paid lunch equity requirements for school year 2023-24. It explains the exemption provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023 and provides guidance for SFAs that do not qualify for the exemption, including those who may be returning to PLE requirements for the first time in a few years.

This memorandum provides best practices for state agencies for using appropriate documentation for claim validation for self-preparation sites and ensuring claims are properly payable in the Summer Food Service Program.

This memorandum is the second set of questions and answers on the rural non-congregate summer meals option established through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, and codified through the interim final rulemaking, Implementing Provisions from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023: Establishing the Summer EBT Program and Rural Non-congregate Option in the Summer Meal Programs.