In this program guidance, Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke L. Rollins, strongly encourages child nutrition program operators to familiarize themselves with the key recommendations and consider how the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030 can be incorporated into program meals and snacks to promote healthy outcomes and healthy families.
On April 25, 2024, FNS published the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The rule finalized practical, science-based, long-term school nutrition requirements based on the goals of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, extensive partner input, and lessons learned from prior rulemakings. This memorandum updates and clarifies current guidance for fluid milk requirements in school meal programs following publication of the 2024 final rule.
This guide informs small entities participating in child nutrition programs about the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and how to comply with it. This guide does not include any new requirements; it just summarizes existing guidance related to the final rule.
On April 25, 2024, FNS published the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Among other provisions, this rule finalizes regulations that strengthen the School Meal Programs’ Buy American provision. The Buy American Exceptions Tracking Standard Form is an optional template that school food authorities can use to organize files and document the use of exceptions to purchase non-domestic foods under the Buy American provision.
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide funding allocation amounts for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program for all state agencies for FY 2025, including information on funding requirements and deadlines, and a reminder of important program requirements.
This Notice of Funding Availability is to distribute $10 million to state agencies to competitively award Equipment Assistance Grants to eligible school food authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program. This NOFA with its attachment provide guidance on the grant awards, funding, funding goals, period of performance, award/award timelines, administration and reporting for these grants.
Attached to this memorandum, please find a revised edition of the Prototype Application for Free and Reduced Price School Meals, with an accompanying instructions document. These materials may be adapted for direct use by state and local agencies, or as a reference for designing an effective application packet that meets all statutory and regulatory requirements.
This memorandum provides clarification on questions related to child nutrition programs use of emergency procurements due to supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19.
This is a request for information from stakeholders, including local operators, state administrators, industry and producers, about the Buy American provision in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. The programs play a critical role in ensuring that America's children have access to nutritious food they need to learn and succeed in the classroom, in addition to supporting American agriculture, and small, minority, and women's businesses and agricultural producers.
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide funding allocation amounts for all state agencies for FY 2022; to provide information on funding requirements and deadlines; and to serve as a reminder of important program requirements.