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.
SNAP’s QC system uses a tolerance level to set the threshold for determining which errors are included in the national payment error rate calculation. The first year the TFP based adjustment will occur is FY 2015. FNS is adjusting the threshold using the TFP for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. FNS calculated the percentage change between the June 30, 2013 TFP (FY 2014) and the June 30, 2014 TFP (FY 2015). FNS has applied that percentage to the $37 QC tolerance level, which results in an increase to $38.
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.
This memorandum provides updated guidance on crediting tofu and soy yogurt products in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and extends previous guidance on crediting tofu and soy yogurt products to the Summer Food Service Program, as well as to the infant meal pattern in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
This updated memorandum provides guidance to Indigenous communities on incorporating traditional Indigenous foods that meet CNP meal pattern requirements and includes an updated and expanded list of traditional Indigenous foods that credit the same as similar foods currently listed in the Food Buying Guide for child nutrition programs.
This memorandum provides updated guidance on feeding infants and the infant meal pattern requirements. This revision incorporates updated breastmilk storage recommendations, infant formula food safety considerations, and information on crediting grains in ounce equivalents.
USDA intends to use all available program flexibilities and contingencies to serve our program participants across our 15 nutrition programs. We have already begun to issue waivers to ease program operations and protect the health of participants.
The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will discontinue the requirement for vendors to use high security seals to secure USDA Foods deliveries as of July 1, 2023.
This memorandum extends the Quality Control face-to-face interview waiver through Sept. 30, 2024. This waiver allows state agencies to suspend requirements to conduct face-to-face interviews for active QC case reviews.
FNS determined there are Quality Control cases in the Fiscal Year 2022 active frame with back-to-back certification period extensions that have been treated inconsistently by QC reviewers. This memo is intended to clarify the QC procedures for cases that were impacted by these extensions.