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. 

This is a revision of the information collection under the burden number 0584-0293. This ICR will renew the previous collections associated with 0584-0293 and implement the two revised and seven new collections associated with the Food Distribution Programs: Improving Access and Parity final rule.

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.

This memorandum provides guidance on the school year 2026-2027 Buy American accommodation process outlined in 7 CFR 210.21(d)(8) and 7 CFR 220.16(d)(8). 

We are committed to supporting state agency efforts to combat fraud, waste, and abuse by further clarifying statutory, regulatory and administrative requirements through this guidance for the SFSP rural non-congregate meal service.

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, 2026 through June 30, 2027.

This is a revision to a currently approved collection to prevent a lapse in OMB approval of data collection. This collection allows for Food Distribution Programs, such as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), to run effectively.

This is a reinstatement, with change, of a previously approved collection for which approval has expired.

This memorandum seeks to ensure that current Food and Nutrition Service guidance pertaining to federal civil rights and nondiscrimination obligations remains aligned with applicable laws, regulations, executive orders and directives relevant to the agency’s 16 nutrition assistance programs.