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Resource | Policy Memos Eligibility Manual for School Meals

The manual provides comprehensive information on federal requirements, policies, and procedures, and is intended to help state agencies and local educational agencies accurately determine, certify, and verify children’s eligibility for free and reduced price school meals and free milk.

07/05/2017
Resource | Guidance Documents Area Eligibility in Child Nutrition Programs

The purpose of this memorandum is to revise guidance on the use of school and census data to establish area eligibility in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the At-Risk Afterschool component of CACFP, the Summer Food Service Program, and the Seamless Summer Option of the National School Lunch Program.

12/01/2016
Resource | Policy Memos Ensuring Year-long Eligibility in the School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs

The purpose of this memorandum is to strongly encourage local educational agencies to accept eligibility determinations from a transferring student’s former LEA to minimize disruptions in meal benefits for low-income students and avoid student debt resulting from unpaid meal charges.

08/05/2016
Resource | Policy Memos Determining Eligibility for Two Cent Differential Reimbursement in New Schools

Section 4 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act provides general cash for food assistance payments to states to assist schools in purchasing food. The NSLA provides two different section 4 payment levels for lunches served under the NSLP.

03/28/2014
Resource | Policy New Q&As Related to the Certification of Compliance with Meal Requirements for the NSLP

Attached are revised questions and answers related to the final rule entitled, Certification of Compliance with Meal Requirements for the National School Lunch Program under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.

03/14/2014
Resource | Policy Memos Effective Date of Free or Reduced Price Meal Eligibility Determinations

This memorandum clarifies the flexibility available to local educational agency officials for establishing the effective date of eligibility for children certified for free or reduced price meals in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs and free milk in the Special Milk Program based on household applications.

12/03/2013
Resource | Policy Memos Verification for Cause in the School Meals Programs

Recently, concerns have been raised about school district employees allegedly misrepresenting their incomes on applications to receive free or reduced price school meals for their children.

02/10/2012
Resource | Policy Memos Verification and Reporting of Foster Children

This memorandum is to provide guidance on the verification process and reporting for categorically eligible foster children

10/24/2011
Resource | Policy Memos Exclusion of Military Combat Pay

This supersedes the Jan. 7, 2010, version of the policy memo, Exclusion of Military Combat Pay. In addition to combat pay and other income received by deployed service members, this memorandum addresses Deployment Extension Incentive Pay.

09/15/2010
Resource | Policy Memos Q&As on Extending Categorical Eligibility to Additional Children in a Household

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.

05/03/2010
Page updated: October 14, 2021