FNS Documents & Resources

This guidance memo addresses sponsors’ monitoring requirements of its sites and food service operations in the SFSP. This guidance applies to sponsors’ management responsibilities of conducting initial site visits and full reviews of food service, including visits of non-congregate rural meal sites.

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. 

USDA has issued guidance to states in implementing FFCRA of 2020 which provides for the issuance of emergency allotments based on a public health emergency declaration by the Secretary of HHS under the Public Health Service Act related to an outbreak of COVID-19 when a state has also issued an emergency or disaster declaration.

FNS has estimated the number of new discretionary exemptions each state has earned for FY 2023. States that operated under a statewide waiver of the ABAWD time limit did not earn any new exemptions.

FNS has estimated the number of new discretionary exemptions each state has earned for FY 2022. States that operated under a statewide waiver of the ABAWD time limit did not earn any new exemptions.

This memorandum provides the federal FY 2022 Cost-of-Living Adjustments to the SNAP maximum allotments for the 48 contiguous states and D.C., Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, COLAs are effective as of Oct. 1, 2021.

The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 required USDA to re-evaluate the Thrifty Food Plan by 2022 and every 5 years thereafter based on current food prices, food composition data, consumption patterns and dietary guidance. By law, the June TFP is the basis for SNAP maximum allotments for the following fiscal year.

This memorandum provides the FY 2022 Cost-of-Living Adjustments to SNAP, income eligibility standards, and deductions for the 48 contiguous states and D.C., Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. COLAs are effective as of Oct. 1, 2021.

FNS is allowing states flexibility regarding fair hearing timeframes. As needed, state agencies may extend the fair hearings process up to 120 days from receipt of the request for fair hearings that were already in process or for which requests are received from March 1 through May 31, 2020.

On April 30, 2021, FNS issued a memo that SNAP Quality Control will resume nationwide starting July 2021, with special QC review procedures related to COVID-related adjustments, and provides state agencies with a blanket waiver regarding the QC face-to-face interview.