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Required Outreach Regarding School Breakfast

Nutrition Services Division Management Bulletin
Purpose: Policy, Action Required

To: All Sponsors of the School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program

Number: USDA-SNP-13-2011

Attention: Food Service Director

Date: August 2011

Subject: Required Outreach to Households Regarding the Availability of the School Breakfast Program
Reference: United States Department of Agriculture Policy Memo SP 40-2011, June 15, 2011

This Management Bulletin (MB) advises sponsors participating in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) of the new requirement to inform families of the availability of the SBP. In order to comply with Section 13(a) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 United State Code [U.S.C.] 1761[a]), schools must notify families of the availability of breakfast just prior to or at the beginning of the school year. This notification must accompany the informational packets containing the free and reduced-price meal applications that sponsors send to each household for the new school year.

Additionally, sponsors should send reminders regarding the availability of the SBP multiple times throughout the school year.  There are several methods that sponsors might consider, including:

  • Public address systems
  • Printed material (e.g., flyers, articles in the school newspaper, etc.)
  • Announcements on the sponsor’s website or through e-mail

Please keep in mind that the purpose of these reminders is to notify all families of the availability of breakfast. Sponsors should consider using several methods of dissemination in order to reach the maximum number of households.

School food authorities (SFAs) can find additional resources for outreach and expansion activities in Expanding Your School Breakfast Program, the SBP Toolkit, at the following U.S. Department of Agriculture web page at https://www.fns.usda.gov/sbp/toolkit.

Many helpful SBP expansion resources and materials are also available through Team Nutrition and local, state, and national organizations. If an SFA creates a new method of outreach to promote the availability of breakfast, the California Department of Education must approve it.

Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact your School Nutrition Programs (SNP) County Specialist. The SNP County Specialist list is available in the Download Forms section of the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System, Form ID Caseload. You can also contact the SNP Unit by email at SNPInfo@cde.ca.gov to be directed to your SNP County Specialist.
Questions:   Nutrition Services Division | SNPInfo@cde.ca.gov
Last Reviewed: Tuesday, April 07, 2026
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