The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 authorized Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (Summer EBT) as a permanent federal food assistance entitlement program beginning in summer 2024. Summer EBT has been tested through evaluations of demonstration projects since 2011. With pending implementation of this new program, this is an appropriate time to reflect on what USDA, FNS research has learned through more than a decade of study.
The FNS Food Safety division develops education, instruction and technical assistance resources for individuals working in federally funded nutrition assistance programs such as the NSLP, SBP, CACFP, and SFSP. Many of these resources are created in partnership with the Institute of Child Nutrition.
FNS supports nutrition assistance programs with educational resources to promote and improve produce safety practices in their operations.
El virus estomacal: lo que el personal de la escuela debe saber
This factsheet provides information on "Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption.".
This fact sheet provides information on Good Agricultural Practices, recognized practices intended to prevent the microbial contamination of fresh produce, and how these practices apply to purchasing and growing local food products for farm to school activities.
"Food Safety Frequently Asked Questions: The Food Safety Modernization Act and its Impact on Farm to School Activities": This document includes common questions related to food safety when purchasing locally grown and raised food products directly from producers as well as food safety considerations for edible campus gardens.
Child Nutrition program operators may want to visit a farm before purchasing produce. During a visit, you can observe and ask questions about produce handling and food safety practices.
This is a new collection for the contract Assessment of Mobile Technologies for Using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits (Mobile Payment Pilot evaluation). The purpose of the Mobile Payment Pilot evaluation is to assess the effects of five pilot projects that will allow SNAP participants to use mobile payments to purchase food as an alternate option to a physical electronic benefit transfer card.
This page contains a list of food safety resources organized by topic area that provides basic definitions of food safety terms and links to sites with more information. These resources may be used by school food service as well as growers.