This memorandum supplements the guidance issued on May 16, 2008, concerning automatic eligibility for free meals for any child who is enrolled in Head Start.
This memorandum provides guidance regarding amendments to the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act that extend automatic eligibility for free meal benefits, including free milk, to all children enrolled in Head Start and participating in child nutrition programs.
The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 authorized a pilot to operate in rural Pennsylvania during the summers of 2005 and 2006. The purpose was to test whether lowering the site eligibility threshold from 50 percent to 40 percent would increase the number of children participating in the program.
The purpose of this memo is to highlight previously issued guidance on the disclosure of eligibility information between child nutrition programs, and to offer clarification on the application of this policy.
We are issuing policy that will allow states to consider the information contained in an Upward Bound participant’s application to be equivalent to that of the Summer Food Service Program meal application when making eligibility determinations to participant in the SFSP.