FNS Documents & Resources

Parts of this memorandum have been rescinded by SFSP 01-2019: Summer Food Service Program Memoranda Rescission, Oct. 11, 2018. Rescinded policy has been struck through.

The purpose of this policy memorandum is to clarify a state distributing agency's (SDA) responsibilities regarding (1) the approval of end products for processing; and (2) monitoring of sales of such end products to school food authorities (SF A) in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) by reviewing a processor's monthly performance report.

The purpose of this policy memorandum is to provide direction and guidance to SDAs in order to ensure compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements, and to make certain that all SFAs receive their planned assistance level and maximize their use of USDA Foods to meet the nutrition standards in the NSLP.

In accordance with 7 CFR 250.30(1), a processor may. in most cases, substitute Department of Agriculture (USDA) donated foods with commercially purchased foods of U.S. origin, and of equal or better quality in all USDA purchase specifications than the donated food. The substitution option permits processors to conduct their business efficiently and provide finished end products to school food authorities (SFAs) and other recipient agencies in a timely manner.

In this policy memorandum, we clarify that the SFA may, in some cases, include bids for procurement of end products in its solicitation for procurement of commercial food products from commercial distributors, rather than conduct two separate solicitations. 

The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 amended the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act by adding paragraph (l), the Food Donation Program at the end of Section 9.

Local educational agencies must verify applications in accordance with the procedures set forth in the above-cited memorandum. The above change will affect the reporting for Item 6 on the FNS-742, School Food Authority Verification Summary Report.

PL 109-163 made the Department of Defense’s Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowance  permanently available.

This memorandum provides instructions on how to reconcile the physical inventory conducted at a distributing agency- or subdistributing agency-level storage facility with the book inventory required to be maintained for that facility.

We continue to receive questions regarding procurements in the child nutrition programs, particularly in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Attached are the most recently received questions and answers.