New SFSP Management Bulletins

On September 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the Final Rule: Streamlining Program Requirements and Improving Integrity in the Summer Food Service Program . The Final Rule codified changes to SFSP regulations that streamlines requirements among child nutrition programs, simplifies the application process, enhances monitoring requirements, offers more clarity on existing requirements, and provides more discretion at the state agency level to manage program operations.

On December 29, 2023, the USDA published the Interim Final Rule: Establishing the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Program and Rural Non-Congregate Option in the Summer Meal Programs , which includes new definitions and requirements for non-congregate meal service in rural areas.

In accordance with the changes in the Final Rule and the Interim Final Rule, the California Department of Education (CDE) published the following Management Bulletins (MB):

• Management Bulletin SFSP 01-2024, SFSP Meal Service Times
  • The purpose of this MB is to provide guidance on meal service time requirements in the SFSP.
    
    
• Management Bulletin SFSP 02-2024, Field Trips in the SFSP
  • The purpose of this MB is to provide guidance on field trip requirements in the SFSP.
    
    
• Management Bulletin SFSP 03-2024, Performance Standards, Budgets, and Management Plans in the SFSP
  • The purpose of this MB is to provide guidance on performance standards, budgets, and management plans in the SFSP.
    
    
• Management Bulletin SFSP 04-2024, SFSP Meal Site Types
  • This MB supersedes SFSP-01-2019 and provides updated guidance on site eligibility, site types, and site definitions in the SFSP.
    
    
• Management Bulletin SNP-01-2024, SFSP-05-2024, Summer Meal Site Proximity Requirements
  • This MB supersedes SNP-24-2019, SFSP-04-2019 and provides guidance on the quarter mile site proximity requirements for Seamless Summer Option (SSO) and SFSP Operators.

You can view these MBs on the CDE Nutrition Services Division SFSP Management Bulletin webpage.

SFSP Listening Session

The CDE will host a Listening Session on Monday, February 26 from 1 pm – 2:30 pm. During this session, we will review the newly issued SFSP MBs and how these policies will change SFSP operations. All SFSP sponsors are encouraged to attend.

Registration and Cost

This listening session is free to attend. Register in advance here .

After registering, you will see a screen that says Webinar Registration Approved with a link to the webinar. You will also receive several emails with information about joining the webinar. First, you will receive confirmation the day you register and then you will receive two reminder emails: one day and one hour prior to the webinar. If you cannot find the email confirmation, or do not receive the reminders, you can always reregister.

Tip for Attendees

To save time before the meeting, check your system to make sure it is ready to use Zoom.

• Visit the Zoom test link .
• If you experience issues, visit the Zoom Help Center web page for assistance.

If you receive an error message that the host has declined your webinar registration, try using an alternate email address. While not ideal, you may also join by phone if you have technical issues logging in from your computer.

Reasonable Accommodation

Pursuant to state and federal statutes, individuals with a disability may request reasonable accommodation to attend or participate in the SFSP Listening Session. Send direct requests for reasonable accommodations to the CDE by email to sfsp@cde.ca.gov.

Please note that live captioning will be available during the webinar.

Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact the Summer Nutrition Program and Grants Unit at sfsp@cde.ca.gov.