The purpose of this memorandum is 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.
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.
This memorandum provides additional clarification on questions received from state agencies and program stakeholders. It also includes guidance on integrity measures for non-congregate meal service operations.
On April 25, 2024, FNS published the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans that included minor updates to CACFP and SFSP to better align child nutrition program requirements. These updates represent continued progress toward supporting the nutritional quality of school meals, strengthening the CNPs, and advancing USDA’s commitment to nutrition security.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service requests comments from the public to obtain input to help inform future policymaking, guidance, and technical assistance related to grain-based desserts and high-protein yogurt crediting in child nutrition programs.
This is a Request for Information to inform the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) development of the Child Nutrition Programs Tribal Pilot Projects, as authorized in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024.
The Child Nutrition Database is a required part of the nutrient analysis software approved by USDA for use in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. It is a nutrient database of over 9,000 food items.
Meal pattern calculations for short and long weeks. This applies to schools who regularly operate on a shorter or longer weekly cycle.
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.