This report explores different approaches to reevaluating the Thrifty Food Plan, which represents a low-cost, nutritious diet comprised of foods and beverages consumed at home and is used to calculate SNAP benefit amounts.
Meal pattern calculations for short and long weeks. This applies to schools who regularly operate on a shorter or longer weekly cycle.
Adult day care centers have been eligible to participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) since 1987. The objective of this study is to better understand key characteristics of adult day care centers participating in CACFP.
The Rapid Cycle Evaluation project provided interested states the opportunity to test small scale operational changes for improving program operations and delivery. Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Rhode Island participated in developing and rigorously evaluating site-specific interventions.
This Report to Congress from USDA responds to a requirement established by the 2018 Farm Bill to address requirements to coordinate efforts within USDA to reduce barriers to food access. USDA has identified FNS as the Food Access Liaison to coordinate efforts and annually respond to this request. The report describes activities that occurred from October 2020 through September 2023 to reduce barriers to food access given the last such annual report submitted in March 2021 covered fiscal year 2020
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide state agencies and program operators of the child nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program, with additional information and clarification on the state agency monitoring process regarding the: 1) Child nutrition label, 2) watermarked CN label, and 3) manufacturer’s Product Formulation Statement.
On April 25, 2024, FNS published the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. While most provisions in the 2024 final rule focus on the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, this rule also includes limited updates to the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer Food Service Program to better align child nutrition programs requirements. These updates represent continued progress toward supporting the nutritional quality of meals offered through the CNPs and meeting cultural food preferences of program participants.
This report is the latest in a series on national SNAP participation rates, which estimate the proportion of people eligible for benefits under federal income and asset rules to those who actually participate in the program. This report presents rates for fiscal year 2022 and re-estimated rates for pre-pandemic FY 2020 using new weights released by the Census Bureau for the 2020 Census.
The 2023 Farm to School Census collected information on farm to school participation by school food authorities (SFAs) in school year 2022–23. Every SFA participating in the National School Lunch Program in the 50 states, Washington, DC, and five territories received an online survey asking about the farm to school activities they participated in, details of their participation, and their perspectives on farm to school.
The Statewide Thrifty Food Plan Cost Estimate for Hawaii report describes the process used to calculate a new Thrifty Food Plan cost estimate for Hawaii that is based on the best currently available food price data from throughout the state of Hawaii in alignment with the proposed rule. This report uses the same peer-reviewed methodology as the Thrifty Food Plan Cost Estimates for Alaska and Hawaii report, published by FNS in 2023.