FNS Documents & Resources

This memorandum provides guidance and clarification regarding individual income eligibility determinations and durations in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).

Recently, concerns have been raised about school district employees allegedly misrepresenting their incomes on applications to receive free or reduced price school meals for their children.

Section 9(b)(12)(A)(i) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act restricts categorical eligibility for free school meals based on SNAP participation to children who are members of a household receiving assistance under SNAP. Therefore, a child who is a member of a household that is receiving “zero benefits” from SNAP is not categorically eligible for free meals, unless the child is categorically eligible for another reason.

This memorandum is to provide guidance on the verification process and reporting for categorically eligible foster children

The interim rule, Direct Certification and Certification of Homeless, Migrant and Runaway Children for Free School Meals, was published on April 25, 2011. One of the provisions in this rule concerns the frequency of direct certification matching activities with the SNAP and is effective July 1, 2011.

Checklist for Developing a Direct Certification 2nd Round Planning Grant Proposal

This memorandum provides questions and answers relating to policy memorandum SP38 CACFP08 SFSP07-2009, Extending Categorical Eligibility to Additional Children in a Household, dated Aug. 27, 2009.

This is a reminder of the statutory and regulatory requirements for categorical eligibility for the Child Nutrition Programs based on receipt of benefits from each state’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act restricts categorical eligibility to those TANF programs with standards that are comparable to or more restrictive than those in effect on June 1, 1995.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 created the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund for certain veterans, or surviving spouses of veterans, who served in the military of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World War II. 

It has come to our attention that there is uncertainty in determining when an income eligibility form has expired and when it needs to be excluded from claiming percentage calculations for CACFP.