Skip to main content
California Department of Education Logo

Non-Congregate Meal Service in Rural Areas


On February 21, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the release of an updated policy memorandum, Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) 07-2024, SP 13-2024: Non-Congregate Meal Service in Rural Areas Questions and Answers.

This policy updates earlier guidance issued for Summer 2023 operations and ensures consistency with the provisions of the Interim Final Rule: Establishing the Summer EBT Program and Rural Non-congregate Option in the Summer Meal Programs External link opens in new window or tab..

This memorandum and its attachment supersedes SFSP 01-2023, SP 05-2023, Implementation Guidance: Summer 2023 Non-Congregate Meal Service in Rural Areas – Revised, issued February 28, 2023, and SFSP 07-2023, SP 14-2023, Questions and Answers #2: Summer 2023 Non-Congregate Meal Service in Rural Areas, issued April 20, 2023.

The complete policy can be viewed on the USDA Summer Meal Service web page External link opens in new window or tab..

The California Department of Education management bulletin on this topic is forthcoming.

Contact Information

If you have questions regarding this subject, please reach out to the Summer Nutrition Programs and Grants Unit by email at SFSP@cde.ca.gov.

Questions:   Nutrition Services Division | 800-952-5609
Last Reviewed: Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Related Content
  • Nutrition What's New
    News and announcements relating to nutrition for program operators and contacts.
  • Seamless Summer Option (SSO)
    Information about the federal Seamless Summer Option opportunity that allows public schools to combine features of the School Nutrition Programs and the Summer Food Service Program along with reduced paperwork requirements.
  • Summer Food Service Program Information
    Administrative and operational information and guidance for organizations that participate in the program.
  • Summer Meal Programs
    Federal meal programs for children from low-income areas during vacation and off-track periods.
Recently Posted in Nutrition
  • Farm to Summer Celebration Week 2024 (added 26-Apr-2024)
    The F2Summer Celebration Week is a recognition program for summer meal program operators that complete three elements: 1) Taste, 2) Teach, and 3) Connect during the designated week of June 17–21, 2024.
  • Provision 2—Application Information (added 24-Apr-2024)
    The purpose of this announcement is to provide school food authorities with information on how to apply to participate in Provision 2 for the 2024-25 school year.
  • Webinar – Transformative Strategies for SN (added 24-Apr-2024)
    This announcement provides registration information for the webinar titled Feeding the Future: Transformative Strategies for School Nutrition (SN) provided by the California Local School Wellness Policy Collaborative.
  • March 26, 2024 Tuesday at 2 Town Hall Resources (added 19-Apr-2024)
    The California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division hosted the monthly Tuesday @ 2 School Nutrition Town Hall webinar March 26, 2024.
  • Non-Congregate Meal Service in Rural Areas Q&A #2 (added 18-Apr-2024)
    The USDA announced the release of an updated policy memorandum, SFSP 08- 2024, SP 15-2024: Non-Congregate Meal Service in Rural Areas Questions and Answers #2.