USDA Policy Memos

 

July 2024 - June 2025
  • SP 09-2025 - Buy American Accommodation Process For School Year 2025-2026 
  • SP 10-2025, CACFP 08-2025, SFSP 04-2025 - Rescission of Guidance on Promoting Access to Voting through the Child Nutrition Programs
  • Summer EBT Q & A #3
  • SFSP 03-2025, SP 08-2025 - Non-Congregate Meal Service In Rural Areas: Questions and Answers #3
  • SP 06-2025 - National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grants: Installation Expenditures
  • SP 07-2025, CACFP 07-2025 - Requirements to Accept Medical Statements from Registered Dietitians for Schools and Child and Adult Care Institutions and Facilities
  • CACFP 06-2025 - Feeding Infants and Meal Pattern Requirements in the Child and Adult Care Food Program; Questions and Answers
  • CACFP 05-2025 - Grain Requirements in the Child and Adult Care Food Program; Questions and Answers
  • SP02-2025, CACFP04-2025, SFSP02-2025: Guidance for Accepting Processed Product Documentation for Meal Pattern Requirements
  • CACFP 01-2025, Nutrition Requirements for Fluid Milk and Fluid Milk Substitutions in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, Questions and Answers
  • CACFP 02-2025, Offer Versus Serve and Family Style Meals in the Child and Adult Care Food Program  
  • SP 03-2025, CACFP 03-2025, SFSP 01-2025, Substituting Vegetables for Grains in American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Tribal Communities
  • SP 04-2025, Fees for Electronic Payment Services in the School Meal Programs
  • SP 01-2025 - Fluid Milk Requirements for School Meals
  • SP 02-2025 - Substitution of Vegetables for Fruit Flexibility in School Breakfast Program: Questions and Answers for Program Operators
  • CACFP 12-2024, SFSP 16-2024 - Questions and Answers Related to CACFP 11-2021, SFSP 07-2021 Collection of Race and Ethnicity Data by Visual Observation and Identification in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program
July 2023 - June 2024
July 2022- June 2023
2020

SP07-2020: Paid Lunch Equity: Guidance for School Year 2020-2021

  • This memo provides guidance for the Paid Lunch Equity Tool for SY21.

SP06-2020: School Breakfast Program: Continuation of the Substitution of Vegetables for Fruit Flexibility

  • This memo discusses that School food authorities (SFAs) participating in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) may continue to credit any vegetable offered, including potatoes and other starchy vegetables, in place of fruit without including vegetables from other subgroups in the weekly menus through June 30, 2021.

SP 05-2020: Questions & Answers Regarding Professional Standards for State and Local School Nutrition Program Personnel 

  • This Q & A memorandum is designed to provide an overview of the policies related to the Professional Standards regulations for State and local school nutrition program personnel. 
2019

SP 03-2019: NSLP and SBP: Questions and Answers for Charter Schools

  • FNS is providing updated Questions and Answers for charter school participation in the NSLP, the SBP and other Child Nutrition Programs. Since charter schools are held to the same standards for operating CNPs as traditional public or non-profit private schools, this memorandum does not contain any new CNP policies. Program operators can use the Q&As as a resource to assist charter schools and non-profit private, rural, or small schools that have similar questions to operate successful CNPs. This memorandum supersedes SP 07-2008: Charter School Involvement in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, January 15, 2008.

SP 32-2019: Buy American and Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018

  • This memorandum addresses information in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 regarding the Buy American requirements in the national school meal programs.

Questions and Answers on the Final Rule Child Nutrition Programs: Flexibilities for Milk, Whole Grains, and Sodium Requirements: 

  • This memorandum provides Questions and Answers on the final rule Child Nutrition Programs: Flexibilities for Milk, Whole Grains, and Sodium Requirements (83 FR 63775, December 12, 2018), which provides menu planning flexibilities in the CNPs. These flexibilities went into effect July 1, 2019, for the 2019-202 school year. 

Meal Requirements under the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program: Questions and Answers for Program Operators:

  • This memorandum includes Questions and Answers updated to incorporate changes codified by two final rules: (1) Child and Adult Care Food Program: Meal Pattern Revisions Related to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (81 CFR 24348, published April 25, 2016) and (2) Child Nutrition Programs: Flexibilities for Milk, Whole Grains, and Sodium Requirements (83 FR 63775, December 12, 2018). This document also includes updated crediting questions and a new Resources section. Outdated references, citations, and questions have been removed throughout the document, and minor edits were made to clarify content. 

Clarification on the Milk and Water Requirements in the School Meal Programs:

  • This updated memorandum clarifies regulations that water made available to students in the NSLP and SBP shall not compete with the milk requirement. While water must be made available, schools must not directly or indirectly restrict the sale or marketing of fluid milk.

Smoothies Offered in the Child Nutrition Programs:

  • This updated memorandum clarifies juice and yogurt allowances based on the childcare and preschool meal pattern updates and incorporates the meal pattern flexibilities related to flavored milk. This memorandum also changes the policy for commercially prepared smoothies. Commercially prepared smoothies can now contribute to the meat/meat alternate, fruit, vegetable, and milk components of the Federal meal requirements for all CNPs.

Salad Bars in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program:

  • This memorandum includes policy changes and general updates to outdated resources/website links and updated questions and answers. This memorandum provides State agencies with information on how salad bars can effectively improve the service of reimbursable meals and includes information on portion size, location of the salad bar, production records, and food safety.
2017

SP 37-2017:Flexibility for Co-Mingled Preschool Meals: Questions and Answers 

  • This memorandum provides guidance on meals served to preschoolers when they are in the same service area at the same time as grade K-5 students, and it includes Questions and Answers.