News Item
USDA Awards $10 Million to Spark Innovation in Regional School Food Systems
USDA’s FNS awarded a total of $10 million in grants through its partners – Full Plates Full Potential and the Illinois Public Health Institute – as part of USDA’s $100 million Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative. The initiative empowers schools to continue serving delicious, healthy meals that give students nutrition to grow and thrive.
07/10/2024
Subscriber Updates
New Program Participation Dashboard Goes Live
FNS is pleased to announce the launch of a new, interactive dashboard that features state, territory, and national level data for FNS nutrition programs. Site visitors will have greater insight into critical programs that touch the lives of millions of Americans daily.
06/17/2024
News Item
Biden-Harris Administration Announces New School Meal Standards to Strengthen Child Nutrition
Secretary Tom Vilsack announced major steps to promote the health of America’s children through school meals. Nutrition standards for school meals will be gradually updated to include less sugar and flexibility with menu planning between Fall 2025 and Fall 2027. The Department arrived at these changes after listening closely to public feedback and considering the latest science-based recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
04/24/2024
Subscriber Updates
Applications Now Open for States to Streamline Access to Free, Reduced Price School Meals
Did you know there’s a way for children in Medicaid households to be automatically eligible for free and reduced price school meals without their families completing another application? It’s called the Direct Certification with Medicaid Demonstration Project and USDA recently opened applications for more states to participate.
11/29/2023
Blog
Bridging the Gap in SNAP E&T
The 2023 SNAP E&T State Institute, hosted by FNS, brought together 20 state SNAP agencies for a two-day event that aimed to assess and enhance their SNAP Employment and Training programs.
10/16/2023
News Item
USDA Expands Access to School Breakfast and Lunch for More Students
USDA today announced that it is giving an estimated 3,000 more school districts in high-need areas the option to serve breakfast and lunch to all students at no cost, by expanding the availability of the Community Eligibility Provision, commonly known as CEP.
09/26/2023
News Item
USDA Announces Approval of D-SNAP for Hawaii Disaster Areas
USDA announced that low-income Hawaii residents recovering from the devastating wildfires beginning Aug. 8, 2023, could be eligible for assistance from the USDA’s Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or D-SNAP.
09/14/2023
Subscriber Updates
Child Nutrition Program Integrity Final Rule
FNS published a final rule on program integrity to ensure that child nutrition programs are properly operated and managed to protect federal funds and taxpayer dollars.
08/23/2023
Blog
School Breakfast: A Jump Start to a Great Day
School breakfast programs are critical in building a healthier future for America’s children. But currently, only half of the children who eat school lunch also get their breakfast at school.
04/25/2023
News Item
Food Help on the Way for Arkansas Households Hit by Tornadoes and Severe Storms
Approximately 7,000 families in Cross and Pulaski County affected by recent tornadoes and severe storms will soon be able to receive food packages containing nutritious, high-quality foods that are 100% grown and produced on farms in the U.S. – known as USDA Foods. USDA approved the short-term measure to address an immediate need for food until a longer-term solution is ready to be put in place.
04/11/2023
Blog
Three Days in Michigan
Over the course of three days in MI, Stacy Dean, Deputy Under Secretary for FNS, spoke at "The State of Our Plate" convening, met with school food service professionals, and attended a summit for healthcare professionals, insurers, federal, state, and local government officials.
04/11/2023
Blog
Secretary Tom Vilsack Visits Greeley Evans School District
Greeley-Evans School District 6 in northern Colorado was honored and excited to welcome Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to Maplewood Elementary School on March 22. The Secretary and visitors were able to see just one school of more than 30 in District 6 that provide essential health and nutrition programs to more than 22,000 students every day.
04/04/2023
Page updated: February 09, 2021