FNS Documents & Resources

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

This memorandum provides clarification regarding households determined to be categorically eligible for FDPIR in accordance with provisions at sections 4300-4320 of Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Handbook 501.

The purpose of this memorandum is to revise guidance on the use of school and census data to establish area eligibility in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the At-Risk Afterschool component of CACFP, the Summer Food Service Program, and the Seamless Summer Option of the National School Lunch Program.

The purpose of this memorandum is to implement the revised threshold for conducting audits, as established in the Office of Management and Budget’s Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements.

The purpose of this policy memorandum is to provide further guidance and clarity on new donated food insurance requirements for state distributing agencies, subdistributing agencies, select commercial storage facilities, and recipient agencies that have agreements with the state distributing agency or subdistributing agency to store and distribute donated foods.

The purpose of this memorandum is to strongly encourage local educational agencies to accept eligibility determinations from a transferring student’s former LEA to minimize disruptions in meal benefits for low-income students and avoid student debt resulting from unpaid meal charges.

The authority for this collection is provided for in the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. As required, FNS issued regulations which prescribes the methods for making payments of funds to state agencies to use for administrative expenses incurred in supervising and giving technical assistance in connection with activities undertaken by them under the National School Lunch Program, the Special Milk Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program  and the food distribution program.

FNS will collect information to determine eligibility of children for free and reduced price meals and for free milk and to assure that there is no physical segregation of, or other discrimination against, or overt identification of children unable to pay the full price for meals or milk.

Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 210 to 299, is revised as of Jan. 1, 2015, on page 339, in § 245.6a, in paragraph (h).