FNS Documents & Resources

On Dec. 1, 2014, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration published the final rule, Food Labeling; Calorie Labeling of Articles of Food in Vending Machines, in the Federal Register.

To ensure program integrity, school districts must sample household applications certified for free or reduced-price meals, contact the households, and verify eligibility. This process (known as household verification) can be burdensome for both school officials and households. Direct verification uses information from certain other means-tested programs to verify eligibility without contacting applicants. Potential benefits include: less burden for households, less work for school officials, and fewer students with school meal benefits terminated because of nonresponse to verification requests.