This final rule amends the WIC program regulations to incorporate two nondiscretionary funding provisions mandated by the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000.
This rule finalizes a proposed rule published Feb. 29, 2000, amending Food Stamp Program regulations to implement several provisions of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, and subsequent amendments to these provisions made by the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1996, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, and the Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998.
This rule finalizes a proposed rule published July 12, 1999, by amending the Food Stamp Program Regulations to implement certain non-discretionary provisions of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 that affect the Food Stamp Program.
The provisions in this interim rule include elimination of the following provisions: required provision of written information on certain other assistance programs; state agency timeframes for action on local agency applications for participation in the WIC program; annual evaluation of nutrition education and breastfeeding promotion efforts; and annual submission of a state plan.
By this notice, USDA is updating for FY 2000 the maximum food stamp allotments for participating households in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Virgin Islands. These annual adjustments, required by law, take into account changes in the cost of food and statutory adjustments since the amounts were last calculated.
This final rule also adds a method that allows schools to use “any reasonable approach” to plan menus.
The WIC program provides a combination of direct nutritional supplementation, nutrition education and counseling, and increased access to health care and social service providers for pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women; infants; and children up to the age of five years. WIC seeks to improve fetal development and reduce the incidence of low birthweight, short gestation, and anemia through intervention during the prenatal period. Infants and children who are at nutritional or health risk receive food supplements, nutrition education, and access to health care services to maintain and improve their health and development.
CACFP benefits have been extended to include meal services to children who reside with their families in emergency shelters, under the National School Lunch Act. Because the circumstances of an emergency shelter are so different from any other type of CACFP institution, we thought it would be helpful to share these questions and our responses.
WIC provides supplemental foods, nutrition education and access to health care to pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants, and children up to age five. Since its inception in the early 1970’s, the program has received fairly widespread support and it has grown in size to serve 7.4 million participants in FY 1998 at an annual cost of around $4 billion.
The purpose of this notice is to update for fiscal year 2000 the maximum allotment levels, which are the basis for determining the amount of food stamps which participating households receive and the gross and net income limits for food stamp eligibility.