School food authorities (SFAs) participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs are required to verify income for a small percentage of households approved for free or reduced price meals each school year. However, getting households to respond to verification requests can be challenging for SFA staff. If households do not respond, they lose their benefits regardless of their actual eligibility.
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) along with other child nutrition programs (CNPs) administered by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) make it possible for schools to serve wholesome and appealing meals to students each day.
This page includes USDA Foods Product Information Sheets for the "other" category of USDA Foods available in the household programs.
USDA Foods further processing allows state distributing agencies (SDA) and recipient agencies (RA) such as school districts to contract with commercial food processors to convert raw and/or bulk USDA Foods into a variety of convenient, ready-to-use end products.
This memorandum provides guidance to states, local operators, and their software vendors on strategies for leveraging the design flexibilities of online free and reduced price school meal applications to reduce household reporting mistakes and certification errors.
Promoting Fruits and Vegetables in Schools: Wellness Policy Opportunities
As of Jan. 18, 2010, the operation of the Child Nutrition Label Program shifts from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service to the Agricultural Marketing Service Processed Products Branch.
Cover letter to state directors of funding available to SAs that administer the NSLP to implement provisions related to certification of student eligibility to receive free and reduce price meals benefits in school nutrition programs.
This memorandum provides questions and answers relating to policy memorandum SP38 CACFP08 SFSP07-2009, Extending Categorical Eligibility to Additional Children in a Household, dated Aug. 27, 2009.