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.

This memo provides reporting guidance for the FNS-640 report beginning with reporting for school year (SY) 2018-19 due March 1, 2020.

With this final rule, FNS is revising Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program regulations that cover collecting and reporting race and ethnicity data by state agencies on persons receiving benefits from SNAP. 

This memorandum provides updated guidance on crediting tofu and soy yogurt products in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and extends previous guidance on crediting tofu and soy yogurt products to the Summer Food Service Program, as well as to the infant meal pattern in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

Recently, FNS has received a number of questions related to buying local meat, poultry, game, and eggs; this memorandum seeks to clarify the regulatory requirements related to food safety and answer specific questions related to these products with a series of questions and answers.

USDA is committed to providing nutrition assistance to hard-hit families across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic. In support of President Biden’s call to action on hunger, USDA announced that it is increasing the Pandemic EBT benefit by approximately 15 percent, providing more money for low-income families and millions of children missing meals due to school and child care closures.

The purpose of this guide is to consolidate guidance and policy on serving able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs).

This final rule amends the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) regulations by lowering the minimum identified student percentage (ISP) from 40 percent to 25 percent. 

FNS has estimated the number of new discretionary exemptions each state has earned for FY 2024. States that operated under a statewide waiver of the ABAWD time limit did not earn any new exemptions.

USDA is issuing this notice of proposed rulemaking to improve SNAP's quality control system as required in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.