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School Food Authorities (SFAs) participating in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) and/or National School Lunch Program (NSLP) that conduct standard counting and claiming procedures are required to select and verify a sample of their approved free and reduced-price meal applications on file as of October 1st by November 15th of each year. This process is called Income Verification.
This guidance manual contains important information on how to conduct Income Verification and includes template letters that should be used to correspond with families.
List of SFAs Required to Conduct Income Verification
SFAs that are required to conduct income verification will appear on this list which also includes an indicator of the allowable sampling methods for each SFA.
Verification Collection Report
All SFAs that conduct income verification must complete and submit the Verification Collection Report on the Child Nutrition Management System (CNMS) by December 15, 2024. SFAs operating the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or operating Provision 2 SFA-wide are not required to complete the Verification Collection Report.
Additional Resources
USDA Eligibility Manual for School Meals
USDA Verification Tool Kit
Income Verification & Verification Collection Report Snip-It
If you have any questions regarding Income Verification, please contact your Child Nutrition Program representative at 418-473-8781 or email addresses can be found on our Contact Us page.