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Resource | Policy Memos Nationwide Waivers of Child Nutrition Monitoring

FNS has used its authority under FFRCA to waive certain onsite monitoring requirements for the school meals programs, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program, so that programs can to maintain program integrity and support social distancing while providing meals. 

11/12/2021
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations USDA Summer Meals Study

The Summer Meals Study provides a comprehensive, nationally representative assessment of the two summer meal programs operated by USDA: the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option. It is the first national study to simultaneously examine the facilitators and barriers to program participation among participating and nonparticipating families, sponsors, and sites. This study examines the characteristics of participating and nonparticipating children, including sociodemographic characteristics, household food security status, reasons for participation or nonparticipation, and satisfaction with the meals served to children in the summer of 2018. 

10/20/2021
Resource | Policy Child Nutrition: Questions and Answers related to COVID-19

USDA has issued a series of question and answer documents on flexibilities and waivers for the child nutrition programs intended to support effective operations and provide meals, while also supporting social distancing in order to reduce the exposure to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

10/01/2021
Resource | Policy Updated Expiration Schedule for Existing FNS-Approved WIC COVID-19 Waivers

FNS has heard from state agency partners that a safe and successful return to normal operations will require more than 30 days’ notice once the nationally-declared public health emergency ends. Therefore, this memorandum extends certain WIC waivers until 90 days after the end of the nationally-declared public health emergency under the Public Health Service Act.

09/20/2021
Resource | Policy Memos Pandemic EBT – State Plans for 2021-22

This document provides information to states to assist in the development of state plans to operate Pandemic EBT for school children and children in child care.

08/26/2021
Resource | Federal Register Notices School Meals Programs - National Average Payments/Maximum Reimbursement Rates (July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022)

This notice announces the annual adjustments to the national average payments, the amount of money the federal government provides states for lunches, afterschool snacks, and breakfasts served to children participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs; to the maximum reimbursement rates, the maximum per lunch rate from federal funds that a state can provide a school food authority for lunches served to children participating in the National School Lunch Program; and to the rate of reimbursement for a half-pint of milk served to non-needy children in a school or institution that participates in the Special Milk Program for Children.

07/16/2021
Resource | Research and Data | General/Other National- and State-Level Estimates of WIC Eligibility and WIC Program Reach in 2018 With Updated Estimates for 2016 and 2017

This report, the latest in a series of annual reports on WIC eligibility, presents 2018 national and state estimates of the number of people eligible for WIC benefits and the percents of the eligible population and the US population covered by the program, including estimates by participant category. 

05/25/2021
Resource | Policy Memos Questions and Answers Regarding Child Nutrition Program Oversight, Administration, and Reporting During COVID-19

This memorandum provides clarification on questions related to child nutrition program oversight, monitoring, and administration. 

04/29/2021
Resource | Policy Child Nutrition Nationwide Waiver Update for SY 2021-22

This memo announces a new suite of child nutrition program nationwide waivers and flexibilities to support a successful school reopening in school year 2021-22.

04/20/2021
Resource | Policy Memos Nationwide Waiver of Area Eligibility in the Afterschool Programs and for Family Day Care Home Providers in SY 2021-22

This waiver allows schools and at-risk afterschool care centers, regardless of their location, to claim all NSLP,  Afterschool Snack Service and Child and Adult Care Food Program At-risk Afterschool Program meals and snacks at the free rate. This waiver also allows day care homes participating in CACFP to claim all meals served to enrolled children at the tier 1 rate, regardless of their location.

04/20/2021
Page updated: October 14, 2021