This notice announces the Department's annual adjustments to the Income Eligibility Guidelines to be used in determining eligibility for free and reduced-price meals, free milk, and Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer benefits for the period from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.
We regularly collect information about the school meal programs and how they operate from the people who know best – the state agencies that oversee the programs in each state and territory and the school food authorities that manage the programs locally in one or more schools.
This data collection fulfills states' reporting requirements and describes trends in program participation during the COVID-19 pandemic from July 2021 through September 2022. It is part of an ongoing study series examining child nutrition program operations, repurposed to collect waiver usage and trends in program participation and operations during the pandemic.
This notice announces the Department's annual adjustments to the Income Eligibility Guidelines to be used in determining eligibility for free and reduced price meals, free milk, and Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer benefits for the period from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
On Nov. 14, 2024 we held a webinar for state and local agencies administering child nutrition programs on serving halal and kosher observant students eligible for their programs.
The 2023 Farm to School Census collected information on farm to school participation by school food authorities (SFAs) in school year 2022–23. Every SFA participating in the National School Lunch Program in the 50 states, Washington, DC, and five territories received an online survey asking about the farm to school activities they participated in, details of their participation, and their perspectives on farm to school.
The program participation dashboard is an interactive tool that provides FNA nutrition program data, including participation and meals served, at the state, territory, and national levels.
Team Nutrition staff, along with guest speakers from the Arizona Department of Education and Bellingham Public School in Washington, shared strategies and success stories on using standardized recipes that incorporate local food preferences and locally grown foods.
The Menu Planner for School Meals has been revised to reflect the Child Nutrition Programs: Transitional Standards for Milk, Whole Grains, and Sodium Final Rule that was published in February 2022.