This guide informs small entities participating in child nutrition programs about the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and how to comply with it. This guide does not include any new requirements; it just summarizes existing guidance related to the final rule.
On April 25, 2024, FNS published the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Among other provisions, this rule finalizes regulations that strengthen the School Meal Programs’ Buy American provision. The Buy American Exceptions Tracking Standard Form is an optional template that school food authorities can use to organize files and document the use of exceptions to purchase non-domestic foods under the Buy American provision.
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance to state agencies and school food authorities on the paid lunch equity requirements for SY 2024-25. This memorandum explains the PLE exemption provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024. This memorandum also provides guidance for SFAs that do not qualify for the exemption.
A final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Community Eligibility Provision-Increasing Options for Schools (88 FR 65778), was published on Sept. 26, 2023, with an effective date of Oct. 26, 2023, that established the 25 percent minimum ISP threshold. As a result, more students, households, and schools have the opportunity to experience CEP’s benefits, such as increasing access to school meals at no cost, eliminating unpaid meal charges, minimizing stigma, and streamlining meal service operations.
The purpose of this memorandum is to update prior guidance to reflect changes made to the Community Eligibility Provision due to the Final Rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Community Eligibility Provision – Increasing Options for Schools (FR 65778), effective on Oct. 26, 2023. This final rule amended CEP regulations by lowering the minimum identified student percentage to elect CEP from 40 percent to 25 percent.
This memorandum provides a reminder of the annual Community Eligibility Provision notification and publication requirements, including the changes made by the Final Rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Community Eligibility Provision – Increasing Options for Schools. This memorandum also reminds state agencies that the statutory election deadline for schools to elect CEP for school year 2024-25 is June 30, 2024.