Summer Food Service Program

The Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans Act of 1994, P.L. 103-448 amended Section 9(b)(2)(c) of the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to allow limited disclosure of information about free and reduced price meals and/or free milk eligibility without parent/guardian consent. SFAs are not required to disclose eligibility information. Providing aggregate information that does not identify individuals continues to be permitted without parental consent.

Disclosure of Eligibility Information Without Parent/Guardian Consent

A conflict of interest exists when a person or organization in a position of trust has a competing professional or personal interest thereby creating a circumstance where the person’s or organization’s judgment is improperly influenced. Conflicts of interest may arise in the relations of directors, officers, and management employees, family members, friends, and other employees, firms supplying goods and services or leased property and equipment.

The State agency will make advance payments to sponsors that have executed a Program agreement in order to assist in meeting initial operating and administrative expenses. However; advance payments shall not exceed the amount of the estimated reimbursement. It is expected that all sponsors requesting an advance take the time to evaluate how their program is operating and make the necessary adjustments to reflect the most accurate site participation, enrollment and income eligible children. SED will be evaluating all advances to ensure that they do not exceed the estimated reimbursement.

Section 111 of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-265) amended section 9(h) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act by requiring school food authorities (SFAs) to implement a food safety program. The Reauthorization Act requires that, during the preparation and service of meals, the SFA comply with a HACCP system established by the Secretary of Agriculture. The law requires compliance with this requirement by July 1, 2005.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) is required to comply with the regulations of the United States Office of Civil Rights. Local Education Agencies (LEAs) that receive federal funds from USDA such as Child Nutrition Program lunch, breakfast, snack, or milk reimbursements must collect data specific to their operations regarding non-discrimination and civil rights. Most school districts and many nonpublic schools already collect this data as part of the No Child Left Behind Act.

USDA recently created the attached Questions and Answers (Q&As) to further explain the geographic preference option. This information will provide guidance and technical assistance to schools that are trying to connect with local or regional farmers in order to incorporate more fresh, local foods into their school meal programs.

    There is a growing interest among school food authorities (SFAs) on the use of vending machines to provide reimbursable meals in the school meal programs.  USDA has provided the following guidance for SFAs that are considering whether a meal vending machine could be successfully incorporated into their National School Lunch (NSLP) and School Breakfast Programs (SBP).

      School food authorities (SFAs) must maintain appropriate records for procurement transactions occurring in connection with the Child Nutrition Programs.

The recently enacted Fiscal Year 2008 Agriculture Appropriations Act directed the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to work with School Meal Program administrators and local food advocates to identify opportunities for growth in local procurement, and provide Congress a report on these efforts.  In response to this request and their ongoing Farm to School efforts, USDA recently held a “Farm to School” session at the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference sponsored by the Food Research and Action Center and America’s Second Harvest.  The session, which was held on March