FNS Documents & Resources

A final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Community Eligibility Provision-Increasing Options for Schools (88 FR 65778), was published on Sept. 26, 2023, with an effective date of Oct. 26, 2023, that established the 25 percent minimum ISP threshold.  As a result, more students, households, and schools have the opportunity to experience CEP’s benefits, such as increasing access to school meals at no cost, eliminating unpaid meal charges, minimizing stigma, and streamlining meal service operations.

Households with a child  approved to receive free or reduced price meals under the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program during the 2019-2020 or 2020-2021 school year are eligible for the Federal Communication Commission’s Emergency Broadband Benefit. EBB is a federal program to help eligible families pay for internet service during the pandemic.

FNS is establishing a nationwide waiver to support the Community  Eligibility Provision while schools are responding to the novel coronavirus. The deadlines affected by this waiver include the CEP election, notification and reporting deadlines.

This memorandum details guidance on the annual Community Eligibility Provision notification and publication requirements and provides information on the USDA-developed reporting template.

This supersedes the Jan. 7, 2010, version of the policy memo, Exclusion of Military Combat Pay. In addition to combat pay and other income received by deployed service members, this memorandum addresses Deployment Extension Incentive Pay.

We were asked by the FCC to issue a reminder about cooperating with contractors auditing school districts’ receipt of funds under the FCC’s E-Rate fund.  Auditing for the current cycle is scheduled to begin in December 2008. 

PL 109-163 made the Department of Defense’s Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowance  permanently available.

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance on the impact of these modifications on the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

This memorandum provides guidance to state administrators in making household eligibility determinations in all nutrition assistance programs administered by FNS.

We have recently received questions regarding the child nutrition policy on the treatment of income from deployed military personnel engaged in long-term military campaigns overseas.