FNS Documents & Resources

This rulemaking proposes changes to simplify meal pattern and monitoring requirements in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. The proposed changes, including optional flexibilities, are customer-focused and intended to help State and local Program operators overcome operational challenges that limit their ability to manage these Programs efficiently. In the National School Lunch Program, the proposed rule would add flexibility to the existing vegetable subgroups requirement.

This collection is a revision of a currently approved collection for determining eligibility for free and reduced price meals and free milk as stated in FNS regulations. These federal requirements affect eligibility under the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and the Special Milk Program and are also applicable to the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer Food Service Program when individual eligibility must be established

This Questions & Answers (Q&A) memorandum is designed to provide an overview of the policies related to the Professional Standards regulations (7 CFR 210.30 and 235.11(g)) for state and local school nutrition program personnel. The regulations seek to ensure that school nutrition program personnel have the knowledge and skills to manage and operate the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program correctly and successfully. This document includes responses to questions submitted by state agencies and program operators on specific aspects of the regulations. This memorandum rescinds and replaces SP 38-2016, “Questions & Answers (Q&As) on the Final Rule ‘Professional Standards for State and Local School Nutrition Programs Personnel as Required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.” This document has been updated to include questions regarding the final rule titled Hiring Flexibility Under Professional Standards (84 FR 6953/8247).

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide updated guidance on the child nutrition program flexibilities available during unanticipated school closures. Schools may face unanticipated closures due to natural disasters, unscheduled major building repairs, court orders relating to school safety or other issues, labor-management disputes, or, when approved by the state agency, a similar cause. Unanticipated school closures prevent children from receiving educational instruction and the nutritious meals they would normally receive. The Food and Nutrition Service encourages school food authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program and/or the School Breakfast Program, institutions participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and sponsors participating in the Summer Food Service Program to use the flexibilities described in this memorandum to help ensure that children do not experience a lapse in food security when extreme weather or other events force area schools and child care facilities to close.

This Notice supersedes the notice published in the Aug. 7, 2019 issue of the Federal Register entitled National School Lunch, Special Milk, and School Breakfast Programs, National Average Payments/Maximum Reimbursement Rates (FR Doc. 84-38590). It establishes new reimbursement rates for Guam and Virgin Islands to match the reimbursement rate provided to Puerto Rico, and corrects an incorrect date.

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is issuing a suite of memoranda providing updated guidance for operators in the child nutrition programs (CNPs), including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Special Milk Program for Children, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and Summer Food Service Program. These new memoranda do not include additional requirements, but are intended to help program operators implement recent regulatory changes and provide clarification to existing policies and regulations.

This memorandum supersedes policy memo SP 31-2013, “Salad Bars in the National School Lunch Program,” dated March 27, 2013. This revision includes policy changes and general updates to outdated resources/website links and updated questions and answers. This memorandum provides state agencies with information on how salad bars can effectively improve the service of reimbursable meals and includes information on portion size, location of the salad bar, production records, and food safety.

This memorandum clarifies juice and yogurt allowances based on the child care and preschool meal pattern updates and incorporates the meal pattern flexibilities related to flavored milk. The flavored milk flexibilities apply to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and the Special Milk Program for Children effective beginning in school year 2019-2020 (July 1, 2019). Lastly, this memorandum changes the policy for commercially prepared smoothies. Commercially prepared smoothies can now contribute to the meat/meat alternate, fruit, vegetable, and milk components of the federal meal requirements for all child nutrition programs.

This memorandum rescinds and replaces SP 19-2018, issued August 6, 2018. This updated memorandum clarifies regulations that water made available to students in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) shall not compete with the milk requirement.

This memorandum rescinds and replaces memorandum SP 10-2012 (v. 9), Questions and Answers on the Final Rule “Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs,” dated August 3, 2015.