Promoting Fruits and Vegetables in Schools: Wellness Policy Opportunities
This is the fifth in a series of annual reports that examines administrative error incurred during the local educational agency’s (LEA) approval process of applications for free and reduced-price meals in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
In response to several inquiries, this memorandum provides guidance on the allowable consumption of FFVP fruits and vegetables by teachers.
This Instruction clarifies the FNS policy regarding the reimbursement of meals and milk served on weekends through the National School Lunch Program, the Commodity School Program, the School Breakfast Program, and the Special Milk Program.
This Instruction sets forth the policy regarding fees, other than the basic meal charge, assessed against children participating in the National School Lunch, School Breakfast, and Special Milk Programs to support the meal or milk service.
This report responds to the legislative requirement of PL 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of state and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals. Under direct certification, children are determined eligible for free school meals without the need for household applications by using data from other means-tested programs.
The purpose of this memorandum is to clarify that SAE funds may be used for state administration of the FFVP, as well as to explain how the FFVP administrative funds provided under Section 19 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, 42 USC 1769a, may be used.
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.
This Instruction sets forth the policy on reimbursement for meals or milk served to continuous school calendar students.
The attached memorandum is Food Distribution Policy Memo FD-110, which clarifies requirements in crediting for, and use of, USDA donated foods in contracts with food service management companies, and provides guidance to ensure compliance with such requirements in the first and final years of such contracts.