Summer Feeding Requirements - Summer 2022 Comparison Table

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summer-2022-comparision-table.pdf (218.05 KB)

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is offering this comparison table to assist state agencies and program operators as they transition from operations under COVID-19 nationwide waivers to operations designed around their own unique circumstances. For summer 2022, Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Seamless Summer Option (SSO) operations, state agencies have the choice to return to normal, pre-COVID operations or to seek flexibilities through submission of individual state waivers authorized by Section 12(l) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. Please note that FNS expects that program operators will only use certain waivers when congregate meal service is limited by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific information for each waiver is provided in the table.

Topic	What You Could do Using COVID Nationwide Waivers (including waiver #)	Options Available for Summer 2022 Operations
Certification
Area Eligibility for Closed Enrolled Sites	Nationwide Waiver to Allow Area Eligibility for Closed Enrolled Sites for Summer 2021 Operations – Extension 3 (#80) allowed all states to establish eligibility for SFSP and SSO closed enrolled sites through area eligibility methods, instead of the collection of free and reduced-price meal applications.	Establish the eligibility of closed enrolled sites through the collection of free and reduced-price meal applications. States may request an individual 12(l) waiver ¹ for summer 2022 ² to establish site eligibility for closed enrolled sites using area eligibility methods.
Site Eligibility	Nationwide Waiver to Allow Non-Congregate Feeding for Summer 2021 Operations – Extension 6 (#75) waived the definition of “areas in which poor economic conditions exist”, allowing all states to establish their own area eligibility plans for any SFSP and SSO programs and sites.	Return to using site eligibility requirements: Open sites: must be located in areas where more than 50% of the children are from households that would be eligible for free and reduced price meals based on school or census data. Closed enrolled sites: more than 50% of enrolled participants must be documented as free and reduced-price eligible. Note the requirements are different for camps and migrant sites. States may request an individual 12(l) waiver for summer 2022 ³ to establish site eligibility for closed enrolled sites using area eligibility methods.
Meal Service
Non-congregate	Nationwide Waiver to Allow Non-Congregate Feeding for Summer 2021 Operations – Extension 6 (#75) allowed non-congregate meal service for the SFSP and SSO, allowing children to eat meals offsite.	Congregate meal service is required (children must be served and eat each meal on site in a supervised setting). States may request an individual 12(l) waiver of congregate meal service requirements for summer 2022. ⁴
Meal Times	Nationwide Waiver of Meal Service Time Restrictions for Summer 2021 Operations – Extension 3 (#78) suspended federal mealtime restrictions for the SFSP and SSO, allowing states to approve more than one meal to be served at a time.	Meal times must be established for each meal, and only one meal may be served during each service time. SFSP: three hours must elapse between the beginning of one meal service, including snacks, and the beginning of another meal service, except that four hours must elapse between lunch and supper if no snack is served. SSO: breakfast must be served in the morning; lunch must be served between 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.; supper service must begin before 7 p.m. and end by 8 p.m.; snacks must be adequately spaced between meals. States may request an individual 12(l) waiver of the meal time requirements for summer 2022. ⁵
Parent/Guardian Pick Up	Nationwide Waiver to Allow Parents and Guardians to Pick Up Meals for Children for Summer 2021 Operations – Extension 6 (#76) allowed parents or guardians to pick-up SFSP and SSO meals on an eligible child’s behalf.	Meals must be served directly only to eligible children. States may request an individual 12(l) waiver to allow parents/guardians to pick up meals on an eligible child’s behalf during summer 2022. ⁶
Claiming & Reimbursements
Meal Reimbursement – Seamless Summer Option	Nationwide Waiver to Allow Summer Food Service Program Reimbursement Rates in SY 2021-22 (#86) allowed school food authorities to claim NSLP SSO meals and snacks at the SFSP reimbursement rates.	Meals must be claimed at the current National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program reimbursement rates.
Meal Requirements	Nationwide Waiver to Allow Offer Versus Serve Flexibilities in the Summer Food Service Program for Summer 2021 Operations - Extension 3 (#79) allowed all state agencies to approve the use of Offer Versus Serve (OVS) meal parameters by both school food authority and non-school food authority sponsors using the SFSP meal pattern. Offer versus Serve was not recommended for non-congregate meals but could be used if the site could do so safely and correctly.	Operators must follow the meal patterns for each program. SFSP: must follow the SFSP meal pattern. SSO: must follow the NSLP and SBP meal patterns. OVS is permitted only for school food authority sponsors. States may request an individual 12(l) waiver to allow OVS for SFSP for summer 2022. ⁷
Monitoring & Reporting
First Week Site Visits	Nationwide Waiver to Waive First Week Site Visits in the Summer Food Service Program for Summer 2021 Operations – Extension 3 (#81) allowed sponsors to not visit each of their SFSP sites at least once during the first week of operation under the program, for sites that operated successfully in the previous year and sponsors that successfully participated in the CACFP or the NSLP.	States must return to conducting first week site visits. States may request an individual 12(l) waiver of the first week site visit requirement for summer 2022. ⁸
Onsite Monitoring Requirements	Nationwide Waiver of Onsite Monitoring Requirements for Sponsoring Organizations in the SFSP - Extension 2 (#42) and Nationwide Waiver of Onsite Monitoring Requirements for State Agencies in the SFSP - Extension 2 (#43) allowed SFSP sponsoring organizations and state agencies the ability to complete required monitoring offsite.	States may request a 12(l) waiver of onsite monitoring requirements for both the state agency and sponsoring organizations through submission of a monitoring plan for summer 2022.
Half Aggregate Monitoring Requirement	Nationwide Waiver of the Annual Half Aggregate Monitoring Requirement in the Summer Food Service Program (#99) waived the requirement that state agencies annually review a number of SFSP sponsors whose program reimbursements, in the aggregate, account for at least one half of the total program reimbursements in the state in the previous year.	COVID-19 waiver #99 was issued in September 2021 and is in effect currently, through Sept. 30, 2022.

¹ An individual 12(l) waiver is an approved waiver request submitted by an individual state agency through the process outlined in Section 12(l) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, and FNS’ policy guidance, Child Nutrition Program Waiver Request Guidance and Protocol – Revised, memo code SP15 CACFP12 SFSP05-2018. An Individual, 12(l) waiver may be approved for a state agency or an eligible service provider.
² The waiver of closed enrolled site eligibility for Summer 2022 has an effective period of May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023.
³ The waiver of closed enrolled site eligibility for summer 2022 has an effective period of May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023.
⁴ The waiver of the congregate meal service requirement has an effective period of May 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2022. FNS expects that flexibilities provided under the congregate meal service Section 12(l) waiver will only be implemented by program operators when congregate meal service is limited by the COVID-19 pandemic. Local program operators, in collaboration with the state agency, are best positioned to determine to what extent these waivers are needed.
⁵ The waiver of the meal time requirements for Summer 2022 has an effective period of May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023.
⁶ The waiver to allow parent pick up of meals for Summer 2022 has an effective period of May 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022. FNS expects that flexibilities provided under the parent pick up Section 12(l) waiver will only be implemented by program operators when congregate meal service is limited by the COVID-19 pandemic. Local program operators, in collaboration with the state agency, are best positioned to determine to what extent these waivers are needed.
⁷ The waiver to allow OVS for summer 2022 has an effective period of May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023.
⁸ The waiver of the first week site visit requirement for summer 2022 has an effective period of May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023.