FNS Documents & Resources

This rule proposes changes to the meal pattern requirements for the Child and Adult Care Food Program to better align the meal patterns with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, as required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.

Attached are revised Questions and Answers related to the final rule entitled, Certification of Compliance with Meal Requirements for the National School Lunch Program under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.

FNS invites state agencies that administer the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program to apply to participate in demonstration projects that will evaluate the effectiveness of conducting direct certification with the Medicaid program.

The attached Q&As are issued in follow-up to Policy Memorandum SP 50-2013, Release of the new state agency Direct Certification Rate Data Element Report.

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 and the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, as amended by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010  require that children living in households receiving assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program be directly certified for free school meals under the National School Lunch Program and/or the School Breakfast Program.

On July 16, 2012, FNS issued memorandum SP 38-2012, which allowed Residential Child Care Institutions, with state agency approval, to serve the National School Lunch Program meal pattern in effect for the highest age/grade group served to all residential students.

This memorandum and its attachment supersede SP-37-2011, Child Nutrition 2010: Enhancing the School Food Safety Program. Attached are questions and answers regarding the school food safety requirements for schools participating in FNS child nutrition programs.

The purpose of this memorandum is to streamline the requirements for participation of school food authorities in the at-risk afterschool meals component of CACFP.

This rule proposes to amend NSLP regulations to incorporate provisions of the Healthy, Hunger- Free Kids Act of 2010 designed to encourage states to improve direct certification efforts with SNAP.