FNS published the Child Nutrition Program Integrity Final Rule and amended regulations at 7 CFR 226.7(b) and 7 CFR 226.10(c) to codify the requirement for an annual reconciliation of bank account activity and accounting of reported actual expenditures with Child and Adult Care Food Program payments. This memorandum provides a summary of each provision and instructions for how to complete the annual verification of bank account activity and actual expenditures.
This memorandum provides notice to child nutrition program operators regarding Sections 739, 747, 748, 769, and 770 of Division B of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, enacted on March 9, 2024. This memorandum applies to state agencies administering, and local organizations operating, the federal CNPs.
On April 25, 2024, FNS published the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This rule includes minor updates to the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program to better align Child Nutrition Program requirements. These updates represent continued progress toward supporting the nutrition quality of school meals, strengthening the Child Nutrition Programs, and advancing USDA’s commitment to nutrition security.
Questions and answers regarding why the SFSP is important and how it operates.
Tribal nations, state agencies, site sponsors, and program operators can use the following resources to help administer the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) SUN Meals or SUN Meals To-Go (non-congregate) options.
With the revision, FNS will seek approval for the School Meals Operations (SMO) study to collect survey and administrative data about SY 2023-24 from a census of state agencies. The SMO study will not collect survey data about SY 2023-24 from school food authorities.
The USDA, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) coordinates with State agencies, Tribal Nations, and voluntary organizations as they develop disaster nutrition assistance strategies before, during, and after disasters and emergencies.
USDA, in partnership with Nutri-Link Technologies, Inc., is developing an online application to make it easier for families to apply for Summer EBT benefits and easier for states to run the new program.
This rulemaking finalizes long-term school nutrition requirements based on the goals of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, robust stakeholder input, and lessons learned from prior rulemakings.
This final rule - Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans - is the next step in continuing the science-based improvement of school meals.