The final rule titled Local School Wellness Policy Implementation Under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was published on July 29, 2016. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) cleared the associated information collection requirements on Sept. 12, 2016. This document announces approval of the ICR.
This final rule requires all local educational agencies that participate in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs to meet expanded local school wellness policy requirements consistent with the requirements set forth in section 204 of the Healthy, Hunger- Free Kids Act of 2010.
The WIC food packages provide supplemental foods designed to meet the special nutritional needs of low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, non-breastfeeding postpartum women, infants and children up to five years of age who are at nutritional risk. WIC food packages and nutrition education are the chief means by which WIC affects the dietary quality and habits of participants.
This proposed rule would require all local educational agencies participating in the National School Lunch Program and/or the School Breakfast Program to meet expanded local school wellness policy requirements consistent with the new requirements set forth in section 204 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.
This document delays from Aug. 5, 2009 until Oct. 1, 2009 the implementation date of the interim final rule entitled Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC): Revisions in the WIC Food Packages, which was published in the Federal Register on Dec. 6, 2007, 72 FR 68966, and became effective on Feb. 4, 2008.
This interim rule revises regulations governing the WIC food packages to align the WIC food packages with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and current infant feeding practice guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics, better promote and support the establishment of successful long-term breastfeeding, provide WIC participants with a wider variety of food, and provide WIC state agencies with greater flexibility in prescribing food packages to accommodate participants with cultural food preferences.
This final rule amends a number of existing provisions in the WIC program regulations to address issues raised by WIC state agencies, other members of the WIC community, and the US Government Accountability Office. This final rule also incorporates recent legislation and certain longstanding program policies and state agency practices into the regulations. Further, the final rule also streamlines certain requirements in the regulations.
This proposed rule would revise regulations governing the WIC food packages to align the WIC food packages with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and current infant feeding practice guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics, better promote and support the establishment of successful long-term breastfeeding, provide WIC participants with a wider variety of food, provide WIC state agencies with greater flexibility in prescribing food packages to accommodate participants with cultural food preferences, and serve participants with certain qualifying conditions under one food package to facilitate efficient management of medically fragile participants.
This final rule amends the WIC program regulations to incorporate two nondiscretionary funding provisions mandated by the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000.
The provisions in this interim rule include elimination of the following provisions: required provision of written information on certain other assistance programs; state agency timeframes for action on local agency applications for participation in the WIC program; annual evaluation of nutrition education and breastfeeding promotion efforts; and annual submission of a state plan.