This report responds to the requirement of PL 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of state and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals. Direct certification is a process conducted by the states and by local educational agencies to certify eligible children for free meals without the need for household applications.
This memorandum provides general guidance on the various procurement groups FNS has identified, how to use each group in a way that complies with federal procurement standards, and supersedes SP 35-2012, Procuring Services of Purchasing Cooperatives, Group Purchasing Organizations, Group Buying Organizations, etc., dated June 12, 2012.
The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This collection is a reinstatement, without change, of a previously approved collection for which approval has expired for the state agency Direct Certification Rate Data Element Report.
Under previous interpretation of 2 CFR 200.325, FNS communicated that “subcontracts exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold” not only applied to subcontracts related to construction or facility improvement contracts, but also applied to food service management companies as the contracts they have with school food authorities were considered to be subcontracts and, therefore, fell under the scope of the bonding requirements in 2 CFR 200.325