Food and Nutrition Service – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service is extending for 120 days the public comment period on the interim final rule, "Establishing the Summer EBT Program and Rural Non-Congregate Option in the Summer Meal Programs", which published in the Federal Register on December 29, 2023. This action extends the public comment period from April 29, 2024, to August 27, 2024, to give the public additional time to prepare and submit comments.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This is a new information collection for the contract of the study titled "Evaluating the Interview Requirement for SNAP Certification." The purpose of this collection is to help FNS describe the effects of waiving the interview requirement, including SNAP agency processes and staff experiences with implementing the no-interview demonstration, analyzing the differences in outcomes for SNAP applicants and recipients, and identifying key lessons to inform future policy or implementation.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This collection is a revision of a currently approved collection.

This rulemaking proposes important modifications to make the application of serious deficiency procedures in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program consistent, effective, and in line with current requirements under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. The serious deficiency process provides a systematic way for State agencies and sponsoring organizations to correct serious management problems, and when that effort fails, protect Child Nutrition Program integrity through due process. In response to public comments received on a prior rulemaking, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) proposes improvements to ensure that application of the serious deficiency process is fair and fully implemented. FNS proposes to add clarity to the serious deficiency process by defining key terms, establishing a timeline for full correction, and establishing criteria for determining when the serious deficiency process must be implemented. This rulemaking will also address termination for cause and disqualification, implementation of legal requirements for records maintained on individuals on the National Disqualified List, and participation of multi-State sponsoring organizations.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (``Department'') announces adjusted income eligibility guidelines to be used by State agencies in determining the income eligibility of persons applying to participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). These income eligibility guidelines are to be used in conjunction with the WIC Regulations.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) requests comments from the publicincluding the food industry and research communityto help inform future policy and decisions about potentially updating Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) cost estimates for the State of Hawaii. Specifically, FNS invites comments and ideas about food price data for the State of Hawaiiincluding communities in the State outside of the County of Honoluluthat may be available, potentially accessible to FNS, and of sufficient quality, format, sample size, and recent period to be used potentially by FNS to make cost adjustments for the State of Hawaii to the TFP pursuant to section 3(u)(2) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended. Comments must be received on or before March 4, 2024.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 requires the Secretary of Agriculture to make available an option to States to provide summer meals for non-congregate meal service in rural areas with no congregate meal service and to establish a permanent summer electronic benefits transfer for children program (Summer EBT) for the purpose of ensuring continued access to food when school is not in session for the summer. This interim final rule amends the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the National School Lunch Program's Seamless Summer Option (SSO) regulations to codify the flexibility for rural program operators to provide non-congregate meal service in the SFSP and SSO, collectively referred to as the summer meal programs. This rule also establishes regulations and codifies the Summer EBT Program in the Code of Federal Regulations.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed to make changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program's Quality Control (SNAP QC) system to strengthen and improve the integrity and accuracy of the system and to better align SNAP QC with requirements in the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA). When published, the proposed rule included an incorrect email address for comments; the reopening of the comment period is intended to allow additional time for the public to submit comments in the event the original comment submission was returned as undeliverable due to the incorrect email address.

This rule finalizes provisions of a proposed rule published on June 27, 2022. With this final rule, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is revising Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) regulations that cover collecting and reporting race and ethnicity data by State agencies on persons receiving benefits from SNAP. This rule removes regulatory language that provides an example that State agencies might collect race and ethnicity data by observation (also referred to as ``visual observation'') when participants do not voluntarily provide the information on the application form. In addition, based on feedback from the commenters, this rule prohibits using visual observation as a data collection method for race and ethnicity. Through this rulemaking, FNS intends to improve the quality of data collected for purposes of Federal civil rights law and policy including title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. USDA's Food and Nutrition Service is committed to promoting equity and inclusion through its Federal nutrition assistance programs. This regulatory change is consistent with this Administration's priorities and furthers FNS' commitment to building equitable and inclusive systems for nutrition access.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This collection is a revision of a currently approved collection for the reporting and recordkeeping burden associated with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) regulations.

This notice announces the surplus and purchased foods that the Department expects to make available for donation to States for use in providing nutrition assistance to the needy under The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. The foods made available under this notice must, at the discretion of the State, be distributed to eligible recipient agencies (ERAs) for use in preparing meals and/or for distribution to households for home consumption.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This collection is a revision of a currently approved collection. This information collection includes the requirement for case management services to individuals participating in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) program as mandated by the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (FNA), as amended. The current information collection also includes four other provisions of the FNA and SNAP regulations that are being merged into other existing information collections. Those provisions include State agencies notifying individuals who have been determined ill-suited by an E&T provider for a particular E&T component; State agency notification to inform Able- bodied Adults without Dependents (ABAWD) about work requirements and the ABAWD time limit through a written notice and oral explanation; the requirement that State agencies inform SNAP households not otherwise exempt from the general work requirements in writing of available employment and training services at the time of recertification if these individuals are members of households that contain at least one adult, with no elderly or disabled individuals, and with no earned income at the their last recertification or required report; and the addition of four data elements to the FNS-583 reports (SNAP Employment and Training Program Activity Report).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This is a revision of a currently approved information collection for Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) for the reporting burden associated with administering P-EBT. This revision is limited in nature and only includes collection activities essential to facilitating the orderly wind-down and close-out of the P-EBT program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (the Department) is issuing this notice of proposed rulemaking to improve the Food and Nutrition Service's (FNS) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) quality control (QC) system as required in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill). The proposed changes are intended to strengthen and improve the integrity and accuracy of the SNAP QC system and to better align SNAP with requirements in the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA). These changes include a significant adjustment to the SNAP QC system that involves changes to Federal and State agency sampling processes, as well as changes to the active case review process. Quality Control case sampling and review processes are key aspects of the system used to annually assess SNAP payment error rates. The Department requests comment on this rule's proposed provisions.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-108, notice is given that the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing to add a new system of records, entitled USDA/FNS-13, Mercury (``Mercury''), which is a Consumer Off the Shelf (COTS) workflow system designed to automate the correspondence tracking and management process within FNS. It will be used by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Child Nutrition Program (CNP), the Supplemental Nutrition and Safety Program (SNAS), and Regional Operations and Compliance (ROC).

Cooperative agreement recipients of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) plan to collect additional information from sub-grantee applicants associated with the Healthy Meals Incentive Initiative (HMI 2) related to School Food System Transformation. FNS already has approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the collection of information associated with the original cooperative agreement under the Uniform Grant Application for Non-Entitlement Discretionary Grants, as approved under OMB Control Number: 0584-0512 (Expiration Date: July 31, 2025). This notice solicits public comment on the additional information proposed for collection.

The Food and Nutrition Service is proposing to amend its regulations to make access and parity improvements within several food distribution programs, including the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and USDA Foods disaster response. The proposed provisions use plain language to make them easier to read and understand.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This collection is a new collection. The primary purpose of this study is to provide FNS with information about SNAP State agencies' use of risk assessment (RA) tools to reduce payment errors, the effects of these tools, and best practices for FNS and the SNAP State agencies to consider in the development and use of RA tools. RA tools may apply statistical models using SNAP household characteristics to estimate the relative risk of improper payment.

This notice announces the national average value of donated foods or, where applicable, cash in lieu of donated foods, to be provided in school year 2024 (July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024) for each lunch served by schools participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), and for each lunch and supper served by institutions participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

This Notice announces the annual adjustments to the national average payments, the amount of money the Federal Government provides States for lunches, afterschool snacks, and breakfasts served to children participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs; to the maximum reimbursement rates, the maximum per lunch rate from Federal funds that a State can provide a school food authority for lunches served to children participating in the National School Lunch Program; and to the rate of reimbursement for a half-pint of milk served to non-needy children in a school or institution that participates in the Special Milk Program for Children. The annual payments and rates adjustments for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs reflect changes in the Food Away From Home series of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. The annual rate adjustment for the Special Milk Program reflects changes in the Producer Price Index for Fluid Milk Products. Further adjustments are made to these rates to reflect higher costs of providing meals in Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands. The payments and rates are prescribed on an annual basis each July.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This collection is a reinstatement, with change, of a previously approved collection for which approval has expired for the WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2024 and 2026 Study.

In accordance with The Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, USDA FNS is providing notice of a new computer matching program (CMP) between FNS and the State agencies that administer the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The CMP allows State agencies access to the National Accuracy Clearinghouse (NAC), a national database operated by FNS, as a tool to prevent individuals from receiving SNAP benefits in more than one State simultaneously, commonly referred to as duplicate participation. State agencies provide information about SNAP applicants and participants to the NAC that is then compared to discover potential duplicate participation. The NAC CMP employs a Privacy-Preserving Record Linkage (PPRL) approach that identifies and links records that correspond to the same individual across different databases, without the need to collect or retain the names, Social Security numbers, or dates of birth of the individuals being matched. State agencies use the PPRL process to convert this information to a secure cryptographic hash before sharing it to the NAC. When a match is found, indicating potential duplicate participation, the NAC notifies the affected State agencies and facilitates communication between the State agencies as they each take action to resolve the match.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This collection is an extension, without change, of a currently approved collection for assisting State agencies and school nutrition professionals in recording, tracking, and managing the required training hours for state and local school district nutrition professionals, in four major areas (Nutrition, Operations, Administration, and Communications and Marketing), to meet the requirements of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 Professional Standards Rule. The HHFKA (section 306) requires Professional Standards for state and local school district nutrition professionals. In addition to hiring standards, mandatory annual training is required for all individuals involved in preparing school meals.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. The purpose of this new collection is to collect qualitative and quantitative stakeholder feedback through meetings, focus groups, interviews, other stakeholder interactions and surveys, as well as requests for administrative data, as part of the planning process for FNS regulatory actions, the semi- annual Regulatory Agenda, research studies, outreach, training and the development of guidance.