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Resource | Policy Interim Final Rule: NSLP and SBP - Elimination of the State Ameliorative Action Reporting Requirement for School Meals Eligibility Verification

Due to a technical problem with the docket that prevented comments from being accepted during part of the initial comment period, we are reopening the comment period for the interim final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on June 6, 2025. The rule rescinds an unnecessary reporting requirement for the school meals application verification process.

08/08/2025
Resource | Policy Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA); Interpretation of “Federal Public Benefit”

This notice sets forth the interpretation that the U.S. Department of Agriculture uses for the term “Federal public benefit” as used in Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. In doing so, this notice supersedes any prior interpretation in any notice or other document issued by any USDA agency. This notice also describes and preliminarily identifies the USDA programs that provide “Federal public benefits” within the scope of PRWORA.

07/10/2025
Resource | Policy Child Nutrition Programs: Income Eligibility Guidelines (2025-2026)

This notice announces the Department's annual adjustments to the Income Eligibility Guidelines to be used in determining eligibility for free and reduced price meals, free milk, and Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer benefits for the period from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. 

03/13/2025
Resource | Research and Data FY 2021-2023 Report to Congress on Reducing Barriers to Food Access

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

11/12/2024
Data Visualization
FNS Program Participation Dashboard

The program participation dashboard is an interactive tool that provides FNS nutrition program data, including participation and meals served, at the state, territory, and national levels. 
 

06/14/2024
Resource | Research and Data | Demonstrations Evaluation of the USDA Summer EBT Demonstrations: Lessons Learned From More Than a Decade of Research

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 authorized Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (Summer EBT) as a permanent federal food assistance entitlement program beginning in summer 2024. Summer EBT has been tested through evaluations of demonstration projects since 2011. With pending implementation of this new program, this is an appropriate time to reflect on what USDA, FNS research has learned through more than a decade of study.

03/12/2024
Resource | Factsheets Community Eligibility Provision Factsheet

The Community Eligibility Provision is a National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program meal service option that allows schools and school districts located in high poverty areas to offer breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students.

02/21/2024
Resource | Federal Register Notices Child Nutrition Programs: Income Eligibility Guidelines (2024-2025)

This notice announces the Department's annual adjustments to the Income Eligibility Guidelines to be used in determining eligibility for free and reduced price meals, free milk, and Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer benefits for the period from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. 

02/20/2024
Resource | Technical Assistance Community Eligibility Provision Resource Center

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) resource center provides extensive resources for parents, teachers, and school officials at the local, state and federal levels to better understand CEP and its benefits, along with useful tools to help facilitate successful implementation of the provision.

10/12/2023
Resource | Research and Data | Food Security Reaching Those in Need: Estimates of State SNAP Participation Rates in 2020

​This report—part of an annual series—presents estimates of the percentage of eligible persons, by state, who participated in USDA's SNAP during an average month in fiscal year 2020 and in the two previous fiscal years. Because the Coronavirus COVID-19 public health emergency affected data collection starting in March 2020, this summary covers only the pre-pandemic period of October 2019 through February 2020. Thus, this report presents rates only for all eligible persons during the pre-pandemic months of FY 2020.

08/15/2023
Page updated: October 14, 2021