USDA intends to use all available program flexibilities and contingencies to serve our program participants across our 15 nutrition programs. We have already begun to issue waivers to ease program operations and protect the health of participants.
To help schools deal with supply chain challenges and rising food prices, USDA is providing nearly $1.3 billion in Supply Chain Assistance funds for states and territories to purchase domestic foods for their meal programs.
This guidance memo addresses sponsors’ monitoring requirements of its sites and food service operations in the SFSP. This guidance applies to sponsors’ management responsibilities of conducting initial site visits and full reviews of food service, including visits of non-congregate rural meal sites.
Guidance for state agencies to develop criteria for site selection for monitoring reviews in the Summer Food Service Program.
Check out the three-part "Crediting Grains in the Child Nutrition Programs", the final three tip sheets of the "Crediting in the Child Nutrition Programs" tip sheet series! Use these as a quick reference and get to know the grains requirements across all the child nutrition programs.
This memorandum provides information on the revised Prototype Application for Free and Reduced Price School Meals. USDA updated the prototype application to improve the user experience for applicants by adjusting the reading level, streamlining the application instructions, and by adding clarity to the mailing instructions to reduce the number of applications sent to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights.
FNS plans to collect periodic data to obtain information on operational challenges facing institutions who operate or administer child nutrition programs, including state agencies, SFAs and Summer Food Service Program sponsors. The Operational Challenges in Child Nutrition Programs (OCCNP) Surveys, are designed to collect timely data on emerging school food service operational challenges, including but not limited to supply chain disruptions, food costs, and labor shortages, and/or related issues in SY 2023–2024, 2024–2025, and SY 2025–2026.
The Meats/Meat Alternates Tip Sheet is designed for program operators as a handy and easy-to-use reference on how to credit meats/meat alternates and incorporate them into the meal pattern requirements.
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance to state agencies and school food authorities on the paid lunch equity requirements for school year 2023-24. It explains the exemption provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023 and provides guidance for SFAs that do not qualify for the exemption, including those who may be returning to PLE requirements for the first time in a few years.
In April 2022, federal agencies transitioned from use of the DUNS number to the Unique Entity Identifier. Child Nutrition Program Operators are required to have the UEI to receive payments from state agencies who administer the child nutrition programs on behalf of the federal government. This memorandum provides answers to questions related to the transition.