The purpose of this instruction is to establish the general standards and procedures that the state distributing agency must follow in order to ensure that restitution is made for the loss of donated foods, or for the loss or improper use of funds provided for, or accruing from, the distribution of donated foods.
Promoting Fruits and Vegetables in Schools: Wellness Policy Opportunities
This Instruction sets forth the policy regarding fees, other than the basic meal charge, assessed against children participating in the National School Lunch, School Breakfast, and Special Milk Programs to support the meal or milk service.
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.
The attached memorandum is Food Distribution Policy Memo FD-110, which clarifies requirements in crediting for, and use of, USDA donated foods in contracts with food service management companies, and provides guidance to ensure compliance with such requirements in the first and final years of such contracts.
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.
This memorandum clarifies the requirements and options for school food authorities acting as a collective unit in performing activities relating to donated foods. It also clarifies the requirements for the distributing agency with respect to such SFAs.