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.
The French translation of the Prototype Application for Free and Reduced Price School Meals and accompanying materials.
This memorandum provides guidance to state agencies and school food authorities as they transition from COVID-19 nationwide waivers. This guidance applies to state agencies and school food authorities administering the NSLP and the SBP in SY 2022-23 and SY 2023-24.
As described in our Reauthorization Implementation Memo SP 4, Categorical Eligibility for Free Lunches and Breakfasts of Runaway, Homeless, and Migrant Youth, runaway youth served through grant programs established under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act are now categorically eligible for free meals in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.
Effective July 1, 2004, school officials verifying income eligibility for free and reduced price meals must allow households to provide documentation of income for any point in time between the month prior to application and the time the household is required to provide income documentation.
This memorandum supplements our Reauthorization Implementation Memo SP 4 by providing additional information on identifying migrant children and on the procedures that school food authorities and local education agencies should use to coordinate with the Migrant Education Program in order to document the categorical eligibility of migrant children for free meals.
The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 specifies that households’ eligibility for free and reduced price meals shall remain in effect beginning on the date of eligibility for the current school year and ending on a date during the subsequent school year, as determined by the Secretary.
In accordance with the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, the housing allowance for military personnel living in privatized housing will be permanently excluded from income when determining household eligibility for free and reduced price meals or free milk in all of the child nutrition programs.
We are issuing policy that will allow states to consider the information contained in an Upward Bound participant’s application to be equivalent to that of the Summer Food Service Program meal application when making eligibility determinations to participant in the SFSP.
On March 31, 2004, the President signed PL 108-211 that continues appropriations for the Child Nutrition Programs and extends several provisions that were to expire on March 31, 2004.