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Resource | Technical Assistance School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study: Methods Used to Estimate the Cost of Producing School Meals

This fact sheet summarizes the methods used in the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS) to collect, process, and analyze data to estimate the cost of producing reimbursable school meals. The methods were based on approaches used in prior USDA studies.

10/19/2021
Resource | Technical Assistance School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study: Methods Used to Examine Student Dietary Intakes

This fact sheet describes the methods used in the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS) to collect, process, and analyze data on students’ dietary intakes.

10/19/2021
Resource | Technical Assistance School Nutrition & Meal Cost Study: Methods Used to Examine Nutritional Characteristics of School Meals

This fact sheet describes the methods used in the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS) to collect, process, and analyze data to examine nutritional characteristics of school meals. 

10/19/2021
Resource | Technical Assistance School Nutrition & Meal Cost Study: Plate Waste in School Meals

This factsheet describes the methods used in the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS) to collect, process, and analyze data to assess plate waste in the school meal programs.

10/19/2021
Resource | Technical Assistance School Nutrition & Meal Cost Study: Study Design & Implementation

The School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study was a comprehensive study of the school meal programs. This fact sheet provides an overview of the design and implementation of the SNMCS, including the research objectives, sample design, data collection approach, and response rates. 

10/19/2021
Resource | Factsheets Special Milk Program Factsheet

The Special Milk Program provides milk to children in schools, child care institutions and eligible camps that do not participate in other federal child nutrition meal service programs. The program reimburses schools and institutions for the milk they serve. In 2011, 3,848 schools and residential child care institutions participated, along with 782 summer camps and 527 non‐residential child care institutions. Schools in the National School Lunch or School Breakfast Programs may also participate in the Special Milk Program to provide milk to children in half‐day pre‐kindergarten and kindergarten programs where children do not have access to the school meal programs.

03/20/2019
Resource | Guidance Documents Market Basket Analysis when Procuring Program Goods and Modifying Contracted-For Product Lists

This memorandum provides guidance to state distributing agencies and recipient agencies on the use of market basket analysis in procuring processed end products for USDA Foods in Schools and commercial goods for the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Summer Food Service Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program. 

01/18/2018
Resource | Guidance Documents Eligibility Manual for School Meals

The manual provides comprehensive information on federal requirements, policies, and procedures, and is intended to help state agencies and local educational agencies accurately determine, certify, and verify children’s eligibility for free and reduced price school meals and free milk.

07/05/2017
Resource | Guidance Documents Area Eligibility in Child Nutrition Programs

The purpose of this memorandum is to revise guidance on the use of school and census data to establish area eligibility in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the At-Risk Afterschool component of CACFP, the Summer Food Service Program, and the Seamless Summer Option of the National School Lunch Program.

12/01/2016
Resource | Guidance Documents Ensuring Year-long Eligibility in the School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs

The purpose of this memorandum is to strongly encourage local educational agencies to accept eligibility determinations from a transferring student’s former LEA to minimize disruptions in meal benefits for low-income students and avoid student debt resulting from unpaid meal charges.

08/05/2016
Page updated: October 14, 2021