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Resource | Technical Assistance & Guidance CEP Planning and Implementation Guidance

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.

02/12/2024
Resource | Policy Memos Revised: Crediting Tofu and Soy Yogurt Products in the School Meal Programs, CACFP, and SFSP

This memorandum provides updated guidance on crediting tofu and soy yogurt products in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and extends previous guidance on crediting tofu and soy yogurt products to the Summer Food Service Program, as well as to the infant meal pattern in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

SP 02-2024, CACFP 02-2024, SFSP 02-2024
11/29/2023
Resource | Policy Memos Procuring Local Meat, Poultry, Game and Eggs for Child Nutrition Programs

Recently, FNS has received a number of questions related to buying local meat, poultry, game, and eggs; this memorandum seeks to clarify the regulatory requirements related to food safety and answer specific questions related to these products with a series of questions and answers.

SP 01,CACFP 01, SFSP 01-2016
11/20/2023
Resource | Policy Memos FD-152: Discontinuance of the High Security Seal Requirement for USDA Foods Deliveries

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will discontinue the requirement for vendors to use high security seals to secure USDA Foods deliveries as of July 1, 2023. 

04/05/2023
Resource | Technical Assistance & Guidance | FNS-GD-2020-0131 USDA Foods Program Disaster Manual

This manual contains important information for persons in FNS headquarters, FNS regional offices, and distributing agencies, which include state distributing agencies and Indian Tribal Organizations that are charged with the responsibility of providing USDA Foods to disaster relief organizations in the event of a disaster, emergency, or situation of distress.

06/03/2021
Resource | Policy Memos | FNS-GD-2019-0029 Management of Donated Food Inventories at Processors

This memorandum addresses inventory limitations and requirements that USDA Foods processors must follow when manufacturing processed end products for use in child nutrition programs.

FD-064
04/02/2019
Resource | Policy Memos | FNS-GD-2018-0003 Market Basket Analysis when Procuring Program Goods and Modifying Contracted-For Product Lists

This memorandum provides guidance to state distributing agencies and recipient agencies on the use of market basket analysis in procuring processed end products for USDA Foods in Schools and commercial goods for the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Summer Food Service Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program. 

FD-144, SP04 SFSP01 CACFP04-2018
01/18/2018
Resource | Policy Memos | FNS-GD-2017-0064 Donated Food Storage, Distribution, and Product Dating

This memorandum is meant to provide clarification and guidance on policies and procedures for donated food storage and distribution as they relate to product dating.

FD-107
11/21/2017
Resource | Policy Memos | FNS-GD-2016-0090 Value of USDA Donated Foods for Audits: Revised

The purpose of this policy memorandum is to clarify the options available to state distributing agencies or recipient agencies in assigning value to USDA donated foods for audit purposes.

FD-104
12/02/2016
Resource | Policy Memos | FNS-GD-2016-0056 Alternative Value Pass-Through System Pilot Project under the Department of Defense Fresh Program

The revised policy memo requires supplemental reporting from processors and requires state verification of credits provided by the processor to the SFA. Processors wishing to continue participation in the pilot will have to sign the attached revised NPA amendment to extend their participation in the pilot.

FD-137
08/22/2016
Page updated: October 14, 2021