FNS Documents & Resources

FNS published a final rule on program integrity to ensure that child nutrition programs are properly operated and managed to protect federal funds and taxpayer dollars.

This memorandum provides initial implementation guidance for the Child Nutrition Program Integrity Final Rule. This memorandum applies to state agencies administering and school food authorities, institutions and sponsors implementing the NSLP, SBP, CACFP, and SFSP.

This action implements statutory requirements and policy improvements to strengthen administrative oversight and operational performance of the Child Nutrition Programs.

This memorandum states visual observation and identification by Child and Adult Food Care Program institutions and facilities and Summer Food Service Program sponsors is no longer an allowable practice for program operators to use during the collection of race or ethnicity data.  USDA will update CACFP and SFSP policy guidance.

This is a revision of a currently approved information collection for Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer for the reporting burden associated with administering P-EBT.

In an effort to make the distribution of P-EBT benefits to eligible children as efficient as possible, USDA has developed a simple P-EBT summer plan template. The template allows states to elect a USDA-determined standard benefit that relieves states of the burden of determining their own benefit levels based on state-specific school district calendars.

This collection is a revision of a currently approved collection for the School Meals Operations Study with updated survey instruments for SY 2021-2022. This study will collect data from state agencies and public school food authorities, including disaggregated administrative data and data on the continued use and effectiveness of the CN COVID-19 waivers.

Under this waiver, CACFP operators in states that elect to be subject to this waiver may serve meals that do not meet specified meal pattern requirements during the public health emergency due to COVID-19. 

This memo announces a new suite of child nutrition program nationwide waivers and flexibilities to support a successful school reopening in school year 2021-22.

FNS waives, for all CACFP sponsoring organizations, that CACFP monitoring requirements be conducted onsite. To ensure program integrity during this time, sponsoring organizations should continue monitoring activities of program operations offsite. This waiver extends the Nationwide Waiver of Monitoring Requirements for Sponsors in the CACFP granted on Aug. 4, 2020 that expires on Sept. 30, 2021.