Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins writes to remind schools, sponsors, and institutions participating in any USDA Child Nutrition Program, including the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Special Milk Program for Children, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program, and the Seamless Summer Option, of the many ways they can purchase local foods to serve in program meals.

The purpose of this memorandum is to remind schools, sponsors, and institutions participating in any U.S. Department of Agriculture Child Nutrition Program, including the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Special Milk Program for Children, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program, and the Seamless Summer Option, of the various resources available to help child nutrition program operators procure local foods. 

For FY27, we are continuing to offer state agencies a simplified option as changes from OBBB continue to be implemented. State agencies may not use a new SUA methodology to calculate their SUA values without approval from FNA and are required to update their SUA values each year. 

This memorandum provides the FY 2027 Cost-of-Living Adjustments to the SNAP maximum allotments, income eligibility standards, and deductions. Under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, COLAs are effective as of Oct. 1, 2026.

We are extending the public comment period on the proposed rule, “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Changes in Federal-State Administrative Cost Sharing,” which was published in the Federal Register on June 24, 2026. 

This agenda provides summary descriptions of significant and not significant regulations being developed in agencies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Given the importance of child support in uplifting families, we are rescinding the 2024 memo and reissuing the May 1, 2019 memo. We strongly encourages state agencies to not only review the 2019 memo, but also to evaluate and implement available opportunities to promote parental responsibility for the economic, social well-being, health, and stability of their children.

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. 

This notice announces the national average value of donated foods or, where applicable, cash in lieu of donated foods, to be provided in school year 2027 (July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027) for each lunch served by schools participating in the National School Lunch Program, and for each lunch and supper served by institutions participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide funding allocation amounts for all state agencies for fiscal year (FY) 2027, information on funding requirements and deadlines, and reminders of important program requirements.