Certification of Compliance

The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act initially provided an additional 6-cents per lunch reimbursement to school food authorities that were certified to be in compliance with the new meal patterns. The increased reimbursement, a significant investment in improving the quality of school meals, was provided to school food authorities upon meeting the new meal patterns published in the final rule on Jan. 26, 2012. Funding became available starting Oct. 1, 2012.

School food authorities that continue to maintain compliance with meal requirements continue to receive this performance based funding which is adjusted annually if needed. The current performance based reimbursement rate is 9-cents per reimbursable lunch.

Regulation

• Final Rule: Certification of Compliance With Meal Requirements for the National School Lunch Program Under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (1/2/14)

Policy Memos

• SP 44-2012: Questions and Answers Related to 6 Cents Certification Tool (revision)
• SP 34-2012 (Revised) Certification of Compliance with New Meal Patterns
• SY 2014-15 Prototype Attestation Statement
• SY 2014-15 Lunch Menu Worksheet Instructions
• SY 2014-15 Breakfast Menu Worksheet Instructions
• SY 2014-15 Simplified Nutrient Assessment Instructions for Lunch, SY 2014-15 Simplified Nutrient Assessment Instructions for Breakfast
• Instructions for Transferring Data from USDA Certification Tools
• Certification Meal Pattern Requirement Specification
  • 3-Day Schedule Certification Worksheets (updated for SY 2023-24)
  • 4-Day Schedule Certification Worksheets (updated for SY 2023-24)
  • 5-Day Schedule Certification Worksheets (updated for SY 2023-24)
  • 6-Day Schedule Certification Worksheets (updated for SY 2023-24)
  • 7-Day Schedule Certification Worksheets (updated for SY 2023-24)
• SP 26-2014: New Q&As Related to the Certification of Compliance with Meal Requirements for the NSLP (The SP 26-2014 set of questions and answers supersede SP 31-2012. However, SP 31-2012 questions and answers will remain available for reference on the FNS web site.)

Technical Assistance and Guidance

• Nutrition Standards in School Meals
• List of Menu Planning Tools Approved for Certification
• Performance Based Certification: Prototype Performance Work Statement, Performance Metrics, Evaluation Factors and Market Research Questionnaire
• School Food Authority Certification of Compliance with Meal Requirements Data by State