| Nutrition Services Division Information Alert |
|
| To: Child Nutrition Program Sponsors |
Number: USDA-CNP-01-2010 |
| Attention: Food Service Director, Business Official, Food Program Director |
Date: May 2010 |
| Subject: Waiver of Providing Income Limits on 2010-11 Household Eligibility Applications | |
| Reference: United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Policy Memo SP 26-2010; CACFP 12-2010; SFSP 11-2010 | |
To assist local educational agencies (LEAs) in distributing their 2010-11 household meal or milk eligibility materials, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is currently authorizing LEAs to waive the requirement to include the reduced-price Income Eligibility Guidelines (IEGs) in their 2010-11 household meal applications or letter to households.
Therefore, LEAs participating in Child Nutrition Programs (National School Lunch [including the Seamless Summer Feeding Option], Child and Adult Care Food, and Summer Food Service Programs) may print and distribute their 2010-11 household eligibility application materials without including the income eligibility scale for reduced-priced meals.
The California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division (NSD) is hopeful that by the time households return the applications to LEAs for processing, the USDA (and CDE) will have released the 2010-11 IEGs for LEAs to compare to household incomes.
Background
Federal regulations require Child Nutrition Program sponsors to include only the reduced-price IEGs in the application materials distributed to households at the beginning of each program [school] year. Normally, the USDA annually publishes the IEGs in February or March. However, due to multiple delays by Congress in releasing the 2010-11 IEGs, the USDA has been unable to publish the new income limits.
The NSD is uncertain if sponsors will need to use the 2009-10 IEGs to determine free or reduced-price meal eligibility for school year 2010-11. We expect the USDA to release more information about the IEGs in early June 2010.
Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact your county caseload specialist in the School Nutrition Programs Unit at 916-323-7186 or 800-952-5609, or your specialist in the Child and Adult Care Food and Summer Food Service Programs at 916-324-7133 or 800-952-5609
