FNS Documents & Resources

We received a question as to how to treat disaster relief employment income received from a National Emergency Grant.

We have been asked whether to adopt for food stamp benefit purposes the $48.17 average cost for prescription drug purchases that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) calculated. The answer is yes, with some caveats. We have prepared two new Q&As to outline how this should work.

This memorandum is in response to questions raised by the Connecticut state agency.

Several data sources, including information on free and reduced price eligibility status changed as a result of verification, indicate that there is a significant problem with inaccurate certifications for free/reduced price meal benefits in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Therefore, it is imperative that both state agencies and FNS make every effort to validate the accuracy of eligibility determinations.

In 2001, the Food and Nutrition Service awarded $3.7 million in grants to 14 organizations in 11 states to improve Food Stamp Program access through partnerships and new technology. These projects generally aimed to improve access among the elderly, immigrants, the working poor, and other hard-to-reach groups. The projects used a variety of approaches, including targeted advertising campaigns through community media outlets, informational web sites, computer-assisted pre-screening for eligibility, and direct application assistance.

A government partnership to increase SNAP participation among the elderly and disabled.

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.

GAO Report to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry U.S. Senate on Nutrition Education: USDA Provides Services through Multiple Programs, but Stronger Linkages among Efforts Are Needed

The Single Audit Act and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-133, “Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations,” govern the auditing of Federal awards made to non-Federal entities. The purpose of this pamphlet is to provide basic information on the single audit process in straightforward and concise language. Users should refer to the Circular and other referenced documents for the language of the actual requirements.

Each year, the Federal Government provides over $300 billion–one-sixth of the Federal budget–in grants to non-Federal entities (States, local and tribal governments, colleges and universities, and other nonprofit organizations). Audits are a primary tool used by the Federal government to ensure that these funds are expended properly.