President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025. This memorandum and the attachment provide guidance on implementation of the updated fluid milk requirements for school lunch as required by the new law.
This memorandum provides Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) agencies information on program oversight and expectations for the 2026 plans for operations and management (POM) and program implementation.
We are committed to supporting WIC state agency efforts to combat vendor fraud, waste and abuse. State agencies should make every effort to increase oversight of WIC vendors through the strategies outlined in this memo.
The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended, requires the SNAP QC system use a tolerance level to set a monetary threshold for determining which QC errors are included in the calculation of payment error rates. This threshold is adjusted annually to correspond with changes in the Thrifty Food Plan. The threshold will increase from $57 in FY 2025 to $58 for FY 2026.
USDA has established the SNAP Information Database. In accordance with Secretary Rollins’ July 9, 2025, letter, and in order to ensure a complete and accurate database, state agencies must be compliant with the requirement of transmitting SNAP participant data to FNS no later than July 30, 2025.
On May 6, 2025, state agencies were advised of the United States Department of Agriculture’s intent to implement President Trump’s March 20, 2025, Executive Order 14243, Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos through State data sharing to the Food and Nutrition Service.
We work in partnership with state agencies to provide nutrition assistance to Americans in need through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It is imperative that USDA eliminates bureaucratic duplication and inefficiency and enhances the government's ability not only to have point-in-time information but also to detect overpayments and fraud.
As a reminder, meals and snacks offered through the child nutrition programs may be claimed for federal reimbursement if they meet the federal nutrition requirements and other federal regulations. State agencies may not withhold federal reimbursement for meals that meet the federal requirements, even if additional state requirements are not met. However, if a state provides an additional reimbursement above the federal reimbursement, they may withhold the state reimbursement.
We are committed to upholding Secretary of Agriculture Rollins’ priority to take swift action to minimize instances of fraud, waste, and program abuse, and to ensure American taxpayer dollars are spent with integrity and accountability. We are issuing this memo, both in support of that priority and in response to requests from SNAP state agencies and FDPIR administering agencies, for additional guidance on preventing dual participation and ensuring comparable disqualifications are applied in SNAP and FDPIR.
This memorandum provides notice to child nutrition program operators regarding the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (the 2025 Appropriations Act), March 15, 2025. This applies to state agencies administering, and local organizations operating, the USDA FNS child nutrition programs.