Stewardship of federal funds is a basic expectation of American taxpayers and is critical to the ongoing success of nutrition assistance programs. FNA continuously works to detect, prevent, and minimize errors and improper payments, as well as fraud, waste, or abuse. In this way, FNA preserves public trust, enhances partner relationships, and provides excellent customer service to program participants.
The USDA, child nutrition (CN) labeling program provides food manufacturers the option to include a standardized food crediting statement on their product label.
The Administrative Review is the process state agencies use to assess compliance with federal requirements of SFAs participating in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. This study assesses the AR process by examining the results from a purposive sample of ARs. The study also describes in-depth how nine selected state agencies conduct their ARs, and ways the process could be further improved.
FNA provides state administrative expense (SAE) funds to state agencies to support administration and oversight of federal child nutrition programs in their state. This study examines the formula used for allocations of SAE funds, identifies factors that influence state agency spending, and presents a series of options for consideration to potentially improve SAE allocations and procedures.
This rulemaking proposes changes to simplify meal pattern and monitoring requirements in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. The proposed changes, including optional flexibilities, are customer-focused and intended to help state and local program operators overcome operational challenges that limit their ability to manage these programs efficiently. In the National School Lunch Program, the proposed rule would add flexibility to the existing vegetable subgroups requirement.
This memorandum provides guidance on crediting surimi seafood in the child nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program. Surimi seafood is a pasteurized, ready-to-eat, restructured seafood usually made from pollock (fish).
How to complete FSIS Form 7234 when applying for CN label approval.
All manufacturers submitting CN label applications are responsible for providing complete and accurate information. AMS reserves the right to move an application into a pending status when corrections are required.
In school year 2013-14, FNA introduced the unified administrative review and a 3-year review cycle. Since then, FNA has received feedback about the difficulties of the shorter review cycle, both for the state agencies conducting the reviews, and for school food authorities preparing for and responding to reviews.
This memorandum informs stakeholders on the progress made by FNA in updating the food crediting system for all child nutrition programs. This is a first step towards improving the crediting system to best address today’s evolving food and nutrition environment and meet the needs of those operating and benefiting from the CNPs.