Summer Food Service Program

This memorandum 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). The Act authorized permanent, non-congregate meal service through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Seamless Summer Option (SSO) for rural areas with no congregate meal service. 

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has requested a waiver from the requirements in 42 USC 1761(f)(7), and 7 CFR 225.16(f)(1)(ii) to allow non-school food authority sponsors of the Summer Food Service Program to implement Offer versus Serve meals.

NYSED has a requested separate waiver from the requirements in 7 CFR 225.7(e)(4)(v) to adjust NYSED monitoring in order to provide additional technical assistance and monitoring at meal locations to ensure regulatory compliance and efficient operations.

The New York State Education Department (SED), Office of Child Nutrition Program Administration hosted two listening sessions on March 9^th and 16^th of 2023 to hear from New York State school food professionals on the potential impact of the “Child Nutrition Programs: Revision to Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020 Dietary Guideline for Americans” federal proposed rule.

Beginning in the 2023 Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), program sponsors are no longer allowed to use visual observation to obtain participant race and ethnicity data and are required to collect this data using an alternative method. The following guidance is provided to aid program sponsors in capturing this data.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328), established a permanent non-congregate meal service option for rural areas with no congregate meal service available. (1) This memorandum provides guidance on the administration and operation of non-congregate meal service in rural areas during summer 2023 for the Summer Food Service Program and National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option. (2) This memorandum applies to State agencies administering, and local organizations operating, the Summer Food Service Program and National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option.

On September 19, 2022, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published the Final Rule: Streamlining Program Requirements and Improving Integrity in the SFSP. The rule amended Summer Food Service (SFSP) regulations to strengthen program integrity by clarifying, simplifying, and streamlining program administration to facilitate compliance with program requirements.

The New York State Education Department (SED), Office of Child Nutrition Program Administration, will host a webinar to provide information on the administration and operation of non-congregate meal service in rural areas during summer 2023. SED will discuss the allowance for and conditions when non-congregate meals can be provided to children from low-income rural areas with no access to congregate meals.

The Turnip the Beet Award recognizes outstanding summer meal program sponsors across the nation who work hard to offer high quality meals to children that are appetizing, appealing, and nutritious during the summer months.  Being selected as a winner brings a sense of pride and validation to your program and your community.

For more information on the criteria and how to apply go to: https://www.fns.usda.gov/sfsp/turnip-the-beet.