This agenda provides summary descriptions of significant and not significant regulations being developed in agencies of the USDA in conformance with Executive Orders 12866, “Regulatory Planning and Review,” 13563, “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,” 14192, “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,” and 14219, “Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President's “Department of Government Efficiency” Deregulatory Initiative.”
This rule removes the Coordinated Services Plan (CSP) requirement for the Summer Food Service Program and Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children Program under the “Implementing Provisions from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023: Establishing the Summer EBT Program and Rural Non-Congregate Option in the Summer Meal Programs” interim final rule published Dec. 29, 2023.
In the Summer Food Service Program, parent or guardian pick-up is a meal service option for which approved sponsors may distribute meals to parents or guardians to take home to their children.
In the Summer Food Service Program, site proximity refers to the minimum distance between approved sites, based on population density and accessibility to participants.
To maintain program integrity and ensure the site is meeting the intended purpose, site caps for rural non-congregate meal sites must accurately reflect the needs of the targeted rural communities being served.
This rulemaking proposes important modifications to make the application of serious deficiency procedures in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program consistent, effective, and in line with current requirements under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.
USDA is implementing regulatory changes to the SFSP that simplify program requirements and improve the customer experience.
The Summer Food Service Program Integrity Study was designed to improve understanding of how state agencies provide oversight of the SFSP. To address the research objectives, the study examined such areas as sponsor and site selection, training and technical assistance, meal counting and claiming, and reviews. The findings, based on data collected in 2021, also offered some preliminary responses about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SFSP operations.
FNS published a final rule on program integrity to ensure that child nutrition programs are properly operated and managed to protect federal funds and taxpayer dollars.
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.