FNS Documents & Resources

Preguntas y Respuestas sobre Elegibilidad Categórica y Vehículos

FNS is conducting additional demonstration projects to expand the evaluation of direct certification with Medicaid for both free and reduced price meal eligibility in NSLP and SBP.

Broad-based categorical eligibility is a policy that makes most households categorically eligible for SNAP because they qualify for a non-cash TANF or state maintenance of effort funded benefit.

Tools for Schools offers topic-specific policy and resource materials to assist schools in meeting the new nutrition standards. Refer to the latest regulations, find free nutrition education curricula, or get ideas for adding tasty, kid-friendly foods to enhance your school meals program.

Letter to states from the USDA Secretary to encourage you to help schools in your state keep kids fed despite ongoing challenges associated with the pandemic, ongoing supply chain issues, and labor shortages.

A local school wellness policy is a written document of official policies that guide a local educational agency (LEA) or school district’s efforts to establish a school environment that promotes students’ health, well-being, and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating and physical activity.

This document informs the public that the FNS is withdrawing the proposed rule titled Revision of Categorical Eligibility in SNAP that published in the Federal Register on July 24, 2019.

FNS is establishing a nationwide waiver to support schools unable to complete a triennial assessment of the local school wellness policies by June 30, 2020, due to school closures as a result of COVID–19. This waiver applies to state agencies that have local educational agencies administering the NSLP and/or SBP.

USDA proposes updating the regulations to refine categorical eligibility requirements based on receipt of TANF benefits. Specifically, the Department proposes: (1) to define “benefits” for categorical eligibility to mean ongoing and substantial benefits; and (2) to limit the types of non-cash TANF benefits conferring categorical eligibility to those that focus on subsidized employment, work supports and childcare. The proposed rule would also require state agencies to inform FNS of all non-cash TANF benefits that confer categorical eligibility.

In July 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published a proposed rule entitled “Revision of Categorical Eligibility in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)." This action closes a loophole that allows states to make participants in certain programs “categorically eligible” to participate in SNAP.