The tip sheet provides a list of suggested practices that program operators may adopt to assist with proper meal counting and claiming when meals are served in alternative locations.
In January 2020, the USDA FNS will publish in the Federal Register a proposed rule entitled “Streamlining Program Requirements and Improving Integrity in the Summer Food Service Program” to improve program efficiency while allowing local operators to spend more time focused on serving children.
To ensure program integrity, school districts must sample household applications certified for free or reduced-price meals, contact the households, and verify eligibility. This process (known as household verification) can be burdensome for both school officials and households. Direct verification uses information from certain other means-tested programs to verify eligibility without contacting applicants. Potential benefits include: less burden for households, less work for school officials, and fewer students with school meal benefits terminated because of nonresponse to verification requests.