The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act requires that, when a single state agency administers the National School Lunch Program and any other child nutrition program, the state must have a single agreement and claim form for any school food authority which administer any combination of the programs.
This report inventories technological approaches to portable on-line authorization and reports on their technical and cost feasibility, advantages/disadvantages and potential impacts.
The USDA budget for fiscal year 1997 (FY) included $4.2 million to support Food Stamp Program retailer authorization site visits to help prevent ineligible retailers from participating in the FSP. This money is being used primarily to fund store visits by contracted vendors, who will provide the information gathered to the Food and Nutrition Service field office staff making the eligibility decisions.
From October 1, 1993 to September 30, 1996, the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture sponsored demonstration projects in Georgia, Hawaii, Missouri, South Dakota, and Texas to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of operating the Food Stamp Employment and Training (E&T) program under the same legislative and regulatory terms as the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients. Common objectives of the demonstrations were to increase compliance with E&T participation requirements among mandatory work registrants, target services to individuals most at risk of long-term dependency and those most likely to benefit from E&T services, improve participant outcomes, and improve the cost efficiency of welfare to work services.
This policy memo revises Policy Memo 83-16, dated July 21, 1983 and supersedes all previous policy clarification on this same subject.
A fundamental issue in the design of the Food Stamp Program (FSP) is the form benefits should take. Advocates of the current coupon system argue that coupons are a direct and inexpensive way to ensure that food stamp benefits are used to purchase food; that, despite some evidence of fraud and benefit diversion under the current system, the unauthorized use of food stamps is relatively limited; and that coupons provide some measure of protection to food budgets from other demands on limited household resources. Advocates of replacing coupons with cash argue that the current system limits the food purchasing choices of participants, places a stigma on participation; and entails excessive costs for coupon issuance, transaction, and redemption.
FNS Instruction 796-4 establishes standards, principles, and guidelines to assist state agencies and regional offices in the development and maintenance of financial management systems for the summer food service program.