FNS Documents & Resources

On April 25, 2024, FNS published the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This rule includes minor updates to the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program to better align Child Nutrition Program requirements. These updates represent continued progress toward supporting the nutrition quality of school meals, strengthening the Child Nutrition Programs, and advancing USDA’s commitment to nutrition security. 

SNAP’s QC system uses a tolerance level to set the threshold for determining which errors are included in the national payment error rate calculation. The first year the TFP based adjustment will occur is FY 2015. FNS is adjusting the threshold using the TFP for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. FNS calculated the percentage change between the June 30, 2013 TFP (FY 2014) and the June 30, 2014 TFP (FY 2015). FNS has applied that percentage to the $37 QC tolerance level, which results in an increase to $38.

This rulemaking finalizes long-term school nutrition requirements based on the goals of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, robust stakeholder input, and lessons learned from prior rulemakings.

The SNAP QC system use a tolerance level to set a monetary threshold for determining which QC errors are included in the calculation of payment error rates. This threshold is adjusted annually to correspond with changes in the Thrifty Food Plan.

FNS is conducting a study, Understanding Risk Assessment in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Payment Accuracy, to develop a comprehensive picture of whether and how SNAP state agencies use RA tools and determine if these tools create disparate impacts on protected classes. 

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

USDA is adopting the interim final rule on non-discretionary quality control provisions of Title IV of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, and its correction, as final.

This rulemaking proposes long-term school nutrition standards based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, and feedback the USDA received from child nutrition program stakeholders during a robust stakeholder engagement campaign. 

This memorandum extends the Quality Control face-to-face interview waiver through Sept. 30, 2024. This waiver allows state agencies to suspend requirements to conduct face-to-face interviews for active QC case reviews.