FNS Documents & Resources

This question and answer memorandum is designed to provide an overview of policies related to unpaid meal charges and to address common questions FNS has received from state agencies, school food authorities, and local program operators.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This is a new collection for the Evaluation of the Direct Certification with Medicaid for Free and Reduced-Price Meals Demonstrations.

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.

There has been confusion about how unpaid meal charges must be handled when all collection efforts have been exhausted. To help address these situations, this memorandum clarifies the processes of designating delinquent debt that has been determined to be uncollectable as bad debt and obtaining assistance to offset bad debt losses.

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.

This is a reminder of the statutory and regulatory requirements for categorical eligibility for the Child Nutrition Programs based on receipt of benefits from each state’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act restricts categorical eligibility to those TANF programs with standards that are comparable to or more restrictive than those in effect on June 1, 1995.

This memorandum modifies the policy related to categorical eligibility for free meals or free milk for children who are members of a household receiving assistance under SNAP, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations or the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program.

Recently, we have received several questions regarding the operation of a school garden. Attached are questions and answers to address this issue. As in the past, please share this information with your school food authorities.

The purpose of this memorandum is to highlight some of the results of that study, and to re-issue guidance concerning what constitutes acceptable documentation of tier I eligibility for family day care homes.

The purpose of this memorandum is to clarify state agency procedures for direct verification, especially concerning the use of Medicaid data.