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.
FNS is committed to increasing access to SNAP, one of the most powerful tools available to ensure low-income people have access to healthy food. Program informational activities, or SNAP outreach activities, are a critical tool to ensure vulnerable populations are aware of the availability, eligibility requirements, application procedures, and benefits of SNAP.
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 letter provides information to WIC state agencies and WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program state agencies on available American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 waivers and a new state agency request process.
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.
This policy memorandum provides guidance on data sharing activities that support targeted outreach and streamlined certification processes aimed at increasing WIC participation and retention. It expresses USDA FNS support of data sharing, provides an overview of data sharing relevant to WIC, summarizes WIC program guidance on sharing confidential WIC participant data, and lays the groundwork for future guidance and resources to help WIC state agencies expand outreach and streamline the
certification process.
SNAP and Head Start are working together to identify ways to promote early childhood education and nutrition services. Joint messaging or outreach reduces duplication and provides new ways to increase child development and nutrition security for children and families.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provided USDA with $390 million, available through FY 2024, to carry out outreach, innovation, and program modernization efforts to increase participation and redemption of benefits for both the WIC program and the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program.
FNS strongly recommends that all states develop a SNAP outreach plan. In addition to increasing enrollment among eligible non-participating households, SNAP outreach can help reduce churn by encouraging existing SNAP households to recertify.