FNS Documents & Resources

School meals are required to meet specific nutrition standards to operate the school meals programs. The standards align school meals with the latest nutrition science and the real world circumstances of America’s schools. 

The manual provides comprehensive information on federal requirements, policies, and procedures, and is intended to help state agencies and local educational agencies accurately determine, certify, and verify children’s eligibility for free and reduced price school meals and free milk.

 This rule amends the regulations governing the determination of eligibility for free and reduced price school meals under the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program or free milk in schools participating in the Special Milk Program.

This memorandum provides questions and answers relating to policy memorandum SP38 CACFP08 SFSP07-2009, Extending Categorical Eligibility to Additional Children in a Household, dated Aug. 27, 2009.

This interim rule implements provisions of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 relating to verification of applications approved for free or reduced price meals in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program.

This final rule establishes requirements for the disclosure of children's free and reduced price meals or free milk eligibility information under the child nutrition programs.

The changes in this interim rule are primarily designed to improve Program operations and monitoring at the state and institution levels and, where possible, to streamline and simplify Program requirements for state agencies and institutions.

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.

This rule proposes to amend the reporting and recordkeeping requirements under the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and Special Milk Program relating to the verification of free and reduced price meal applications.

Program changes made by this rule  include easing restrictions on participation by private nonprofit organizations and food service management companies, streamlining rules for schools to encourage Program sponsorship, and reducing paperwork burdens for state agencies.