Assessing the Child Nutrition State Administrative Expense Formula

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service provides state administrative expense (SAE) funds to state agencies to support administration and oversight of federal child nutrition programs in their state, including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), the School Breakfast Program (SBP), the Special Milk Program (SMP), the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and the food distribution program for schools and institutions. This study examines the formula used for allocations of SAE funds, identifies factors that influence state agency spending, and presents a series of options for consideration to potentially improve SAE allocations and procedures. This study analyzed administrative data for all 81 child nutrition state agencies and collected qualitative data through in-person interviews with respondents in 22 state agencies during school year 2018-2019. These interviews were supplemented with public comments from 37 stakeholders who responded to a Federal Register Request for Information.