Food and Nutrition Service November 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 for the assessment of the collection, analysis, validation, and reporting of SNAP E&T data collected by States.

This Notice supersedes the notice published in the August 7, 2019 issue of the Federal Register entitled National School Lunch, Special Milk, and School Breakfast Programs, National Average Payments/ Maximum Reimbursement Rates (FR Doc. 84-38590). It establishes new reimbursement rates for Guam and Virgin Islands to match the reimbursement rate provided to Puerto Rico, and corrects an incorrect date. Similar to FR Doc. 84-38590, 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. As stated above, Food and Nutrition Service is establishing new reimbursement rates for Guam and the Virgin Islands: It has approved a 17-percent increase in school meal reimbursement rates for Guam and the Virgin Islands to reflect their higher cost of providing school meals. The rate adjustment will take effect beginning July 1, 2019, for school year 2019-2020. This increase is based on data indicating that the cost of producing school lunches, breakfasts, and snacks are higher than those in the continental United States, as well as other factors impacting both Guam and the Virgin Islands school meal programs. The annual rate adjustment for the Special Milk Program reflects changes in the Producer Price Index for Fluid Milk Products. The payments and rates are prescribed on an annual basis each July. Overall, reimbursement rates this year for the National School Lunch, Breakfast Programs and the Special Milk Program either remained the same or increased compared to last year. Of note, the performance- based reimbursement for lunches certified as meeting the meal pattern increased from 6 cents to 7 cents.