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Resource | Technical Assistance Community Eligibility Provision Resource Center

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) resource center provides extensive resources for parents, teachers, and school officials at the local, state and federal levels to better understand CEP and its benefits, along with useful tools to help facilitate successful implementation of the provision.

10/12/2023
Resource | Technical Assistance School Meals Model Application

USDA offers prototypes of school meal applications, as well as sample instructional documents intended to assist state and local officials in the design and distribution of their own application materials.

05/11/2023
Basic page Income Eligibility Guidelines

The Department's annual adjustments to the Income Eligibility Guidelines (IEGs), are used in determining eligibility for free and reduced price meals or free milk.

02/09/2023
Resource | Policy Determining Eligibility for Severe Need Reimbursement Rates for the School Breakfast Program and the Two Cent Differential Reimbursement for the National School Lunch Program in SY 2023-24

The purpose of this guidance is to clarify how to determine eligibility in SY 2023-24 for severe need reimbursement for breakfasts served through the School Breakfast Program and for the two cent differential reimbursement for lunches served through the National School Lunch Program. This guidance provides clarification to SP 11-2022, Determining Eligibility for Severe Need Reimbursement for the School Breakfast Program and the Two Cent Differential Reimbursement for the National School Lunch Program in School Years 2022-23 and 2023-24

01/30/2023
Resource | Policy Memos Exclusion of Military Combat Pay

This supersedes the Jan. 7, 2010, version of the policy memo, Exclusion of Military Combat Pay. In addition to combat pay and other income received by deployed service members, this memorandum addresses Deployment Extension Incentive Pay.

09/15/2010
Resource | Policy Memos Q&As on Extending Categorical Eligibility to Additional Children in a Household

This memorandum provides questions and answers relating to policy memorandum SP38 CACFP08 SFSP07-2009, Extending Categorical Eligibility to Additional Children in a Household, dated Aug. 27, 2009.

05/03/2010
Resource | Policy Memos Categorical Eligibility: Temporary Assistance to Needy Families

This is a reminder of the statutory and regulatory requirements for categorical eligibility for the Child Nutrition Programs based on receipt of benefits from each state’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act restricts categorical eligibility to those TANF programs with standards that are comparable to or more restrictive than those in effect on June 1, 1995.

04/19/2010
Resource | Final Rule Final Rule: Determining Eligibility for Free and Reduced Price Meals in Schools-Verification Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements

This final rule amends the reporting and recordkeeping requirements under the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program relating to the verification of applications for free and reduced price meal benefits under the NSLP and the SBP.

09/11/2003
Resource | Policy Memos Automatic Eligibility of State-Funded Pre-K Participants for Free Meals in CACFP, NSLP and SBP

In response to inquiries from three regional offices, we are issuing the attached guidance with regard to the eligibility for free meals of children participating in state-funded pre-kindergarten programs.

07/22/1999
Resource Child Nutrition Programs Income Eligibility Guidelines (1999-2000)

This Notice announces the Department's annual adjustments to the Income Eligibility Guidelines to be used in determining eligibility for free and reduced price meals or free milk for the period from July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2000.

04/02/1999
Page updated: October 14, 2021