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THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

Office of P-20 Education Policy
Child Nutrition Program Administration
89 Washington Avenue, Room 375 EBA, Albany, NY 12234
Phone: (518) 473-8781 Fax: (518) 473-0018
To: 
Summer Food Service Program Operators
From: 
Child Nutrition Program Administration
Date: 
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Subject: 
Non-Congregate Meal Service in Rural Areas Q&A #2

FNS has issued a memorandum, which is the second set of questions and answers on the rural non-congregate summer meals option established through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (the Act) (P.L. 117-328), and codified through the interim final rulemaking (IFR), Implementing Provisions from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023: Establishing the Summer EBT Program and Rural Non-congregate Option in the Summer Meal Programs (88 FR 90230). The Act authorized permanent, non-congregate meal service through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and National School Lunch Program’s (NSLP) Seamless Summer Option (SSO) for rural areas with no congregate meal service.

The purpose of this memorandum is to address additional implementation topics based on feedback received by State agencies and program stakeholders. The first memorandum in this series, SFSP 07-2024, SP 13-2024, Non-Congregate Meal Service in Rural Areas Questions and Answers, February 21, 2024, updates earlier guidance originally issued for Summer 2023 operations and ensures consistency with the provisions of the IFR. The following operational topics are addressed in this guidance:
• Sponsor, site, and participant eligibility;
• Rural designations;
• State agency approval of non-congregate meal service;
• Conditional non-congregate sites;
• Parent or guardian meal pick-up;
• Meal service;
• Monitoring;
• Reporting;
• Management and administration plans (MAP); and
• General/Miscellaneous.

Non-Congregate Meal Service in Rural areas Q&A #2

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To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

  1. mail:
    U.S. Department of Agriculture
    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
    1400 Independence Avenue, SW
    Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
  2. fax:
    (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
  3. email:
    Program.Intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Click here for Nondiscrimination Statement translations.

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