FNS Documents & Resources

This notice announces the national average value of donated foods or, where applicable, cash in lieu of donated foods, to be provided in school year 2020 (July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020) for each lunch served by schools participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), and for each lunch and supper served by institutions participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

Through this memorandum, pursuant to the authority of section 749(g) of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Act, 2010 (PL 111-80), the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is continuing the 2018 demonstration project allowing non-congregate feeding at certain outdoor summer meal sites experiencing excessive heat for summer 2019, to develop and test alternative methods of providing access to summer meals for low-income children. Please review this guidance carefully, as some elements of the demonstration project, particularly data submission requirements, are different than in prior years. This memorandum also includes “frequently asked questions” regarding the administration of the demonstration project.

This Notice announces the annual adjustments to the national average payments, the amount of money the Federal Government provides States for lunches, afterschool snacks, and breakfasts served to children participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs; to the maximum reimbursement rates, the maximum per lunch rate from Federal funds that a State can provide a school food authority for lunches served to children participating in the National School Lunch Program; and to the rate of reimbursement for a half-pint of milk served to non-needy children in a school or institution that participates in the Special Milk Program for Children.

The FNS is consolidating certain programmatic and financial data reporting requirements that are currently approved by the Office of Management and Budget, under the Food Programs Reporting System (FPRS), an electronic reporting system. The purpose is to give States and ITO agencies one portal for the various reporting required for the programs that the States and ITOs operate. The data collected is used for a variety of purposes; mainly program evaluation, planning, audits, funding, research, regulatory compliance and general statistics.

This notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this information collection. This is a revision of a currently approved collection which FNS employs to determine public participation in the National School Lunch Program.

On Dec. 20, 2018, Congress passed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-334, 2018 Farm Bill). The purpose of this memorandum is to notify Child Nutrition Program operators of the 2018 Farm Bill’s expansion of the provision stating that certain groups are not liable in civil cases regarding the donation and service of traditional foods. This provision only applies to food service programs at public and nonprofit facilities that primarily serve Indians, including those operated by Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations.

This notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This collection is an extension, without change, of a currently approved collection. This collection allows for Food Distribution Programs, such as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), to run effectively.

On July 29, 2016, USDA's Food and Nutrition Service published the final rule “National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program: Eliminating Applications Through Community Eligibility as Required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010” (81 FR 50194). This memorandum reminds state and local program operators about a provision in the final rule effective on July 1, 2019, relating to free and reduced price eligibility for students transferring between LEAs during the school year.

In Section 760 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 , Congress provides that only school food authorities that had a negative balance in the nonprofit school food service account as of December 31, 2018, shall be required to establish prices for paid lunches according to the Paid Lunch Equity provisions in Section 12(p) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, 42 U.S.C. 1760(p) and implemented in National School Lunch Program regulations at 7 CFR 210.14(e).

This memorandum, SP20 CACFP07 SFSP06-2019, notifies all child nutrition program state agencies and program operators of guidance the Food and Nutrition Service received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), OMB M-18-18, authorizing increases to the value of the micro-purchase and simplified acquisition thresholds. The changes apply to all child nutrition programs and implement an approval process for certain state agencies and program operators that want to request micro-purchase thresholds higher than $10,000.