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Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program Report to Congress: State Implementation Progress, SY 2014-15

This report responds to the requirement of PL 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of state and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals. Direct certification is a process conducted by the states and by local educational agencies to certify eligible children for free meals without the need for household applications. 

12/02/2016
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Second Access, Participation, Eligibility, and Certification Study (APEC II): Estimating and Validating Statistical Models for Updating Estimates of Improper Payments in NSLP and SBP

Statistical models were designed to estimate national improper payments due to certification error on an annual basis using district-level data. This enables FNS to update its estimates of national improper payment rates for the NSLP and SBP in future years without having to conduct full rounds of primary data collection.

11/29/2016
Resource | Policy Meals Provided to Volunteers: Revised

This TEFAP program guidance memorandum outlines the conditions under which eligible recipient agencies can provide meals to volunteers staffing distribution sites and charge as a TEFAP administrative expense.

10/26/2016
Basic page A Quick Guide to CACFP Flexibilities

CACFP challenges us to streamline and reduce paperwork, while continuing to improve CACFP management and integrity

09/30/2016
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Approaches to Measuring Erroneous Payments in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program At The State Level

The second Access, Participation, Eligibility and Certification Study (APEC II) included a follow-on report that provided statistically-derived state-level estimates of school meals erroneous payments. However, while APEC II provided a rough indicator of relative risk for groups of states (e.g., higher than average, about average, lower than average), it was not a state-representative direct measure, and creating actual annual measures of such erroneous payments at the state level using APEC methodology is cost-prohibitive. This report explores alternative approaches to developing measurement-based state-specific estimates that are responsive to year-to-year changes in the actual underlying rate in each state. It also provides cost and burden estimates for the implementation of each of these methods.

08/29/2016
Resource | Print Materials Kids Food Critic Activity

Let kids select a new fruit, vegetable, or recipe to sample. Have them taste the food and rate it based on visual appeal, smell, taste, and texture using a scale of 1 to 5 where 5 is the best.

08/18/2016
Resource Create Your Own MyPlate Menu

Let the kid(s) be the chef. Kids get to plan out the meal, design a menu for you, and prepare the dish. Use this printable template to get them started.

08/18/2016
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Regional Office Review of Applications (RORA) for School Meals 2015

This is the 11th in a series of annual reports that examines the administrative accuracy of eligibility determinations and benefit issuance for free or reduced-price meals in the National School Lunch Program.

07/01/2016
Resource | Research and Data | Nutrition Education WIC Nutrition Education Study: Phase I Report

The WIC Nutrition Education Study (NEST) provides detailed information on WIC nutrition education services and includes the following two phases:
-- Phase I: Comprehensive nationally representative description of WIC nutrition education processes and features.
-- Phase II: Pilot study of the impact of WIC nutrition education on nutrition and other behaviors in six WIC sites.
This report presents the Phase I results of the study.

05/31/2016
Resource | Final Rule Final Rule: SNAP Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program

This rule adopts the interim rule implementing the SNAP nutrition education and obesity prevention grant program with changes as provided in this rule. This rule also amends SNAP regulations to implement section 28 of the Food and Nutrition Act (FNA) of 2008, as added by section 241 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010, to award grants to states for provision of nutrition education and obesity prevention programs.

03/31/2016
Page updated: June 02, 2026