Food and Nutrition Service – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final rule incorporates into the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) regulations the provisions of the William F. Goodling Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 1998, which authorized afterschool care centers meeting certain criteria to be reimbursed for snacks served to at-risk children 18 years of age and younger. This rule establishes the eligibility of at-risk afterschool care centers to serve free snacks to children who participate in afterschool programs. The centers, which must be located in low-income areas, are reimbursed at the free rate for snacks. The intended effect of this rule is to support afterschool care programs through the provision of snacks that meet CACFP meal pattern requirements. The additional benefits provided by the 1998 reauthorization act and codified by this final rule were extended to institutions and children immediately after enactment. These changes were originally proposed by the Department in a rulemaking published on October 11, 2000.

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 2008 (July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008) 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 which participates in the Special Milk Program for Children. The payments and rates are prescribed on an annual basis each July. 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.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, this notice announces a meeting of the National Advisory Council on Maternal, Infant and Fetal Nutrition.

This final rule is part of the Department's effort to fulfill its responsibilities under the Faith-Based and Community Initiative pursuant to Executive Orders 13279 and 13280. Under this rule, State agencies will collect and report information related to institutions and organizations that participate in specified Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) nutrition assistance programs. This information will be a new collection for the affected programs. It will enable FNS to identify the faith-based and community organizations participating in Federal nutrition assistance programs and determine the level of participation of faith-based and community organizations in the programs. It will not adversely impact the application or participation of any organization or institution currently participating in, or seeking to participate in, FNS nutrition assistance programs.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on the proposed extension of this collection relating to State agency calculations of household expenses for Food Stamp Program purposes. The information collection requirement described in this notice is OMB Number 0584-0496: State Agency Options.

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on the proposed information collection for Food Stamp Program Regulations, Part 275Quality Control. Specifically, this is the burden associated with the collection of information for the sampling plan, the arbitration process, and the good cause process. This proposed collection is a revision of a collection currently approved under OMB No. 0584-0303.

This action proposes to revise the current bonding requirements imposed against participating retailers and wholesalers who have violated the Food Stamp Program rules and regulations. Currently, all violating retailers and wholesalers that are disqualified for a specified period of time or have a civil money penalty imposed in lieu of a disqualification for a specified period of time are required to submit a valid collateral bond usually on an annual basis if they wish to continue to participate in the Food Stamp Program. Over the years, securing a collateral bond has become increasingly more difficult for retailers and wholesalers to obtain. Thus, the intent of this proposed rule is to revise the current requirement in order to help alleviate the financial burden to those retailers and wholesalers who are required to submit such a bond and also to reduce the recordkeeping burden with respect to the FNS field offices which have to keep track of the expirations and renewals of these bonds. This proposed rule would also place in the Food Stamp Program regulations the longstanding policy FNS has adopted to accept irrevocable letters of credit in lieu of collateral bonds. Lastly, this rule would establish a specified period of time for retailers and wholesalers to be removed from the program for accepting food stamp benefits in payment for eligible food on credit, a violation of the Food Stamp Program regulations.

This final rule establishes requirements for the disclosure of children's free and reduced price meals or free milk eligibility information under the Child Nutrition Programs. The Child Nutrition Programs include the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program, Summer Food Service Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program. Within certain limitations, children's free and reduced price meal or free milk eligibility information may be disclosed, without parental/guardian consent, to persons directly connected to certain education programs, health programs, means-tested nutrition programs, the Comptroller General of the United States, and some law enforcement officials. Additionally, officials also may disclose children's free and reduced price meal or free milk eligibility information to persons directly connected with State Medicaid (Medicaid) and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) when parents/guardians do not decline to have their information disclosed. These regulations affect State agencies and local program operators that administer the Child Nutrition Programs and households which apply for and/or are approved for free and reduced price meals or free milk. The final rule reflects the disclosure provisions of the Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans Act of 1994 and comments received on the proposed rule published in anticipation of implementing those provisions. Additionally, this final rule includes the regulatory disclosure provisions implementing the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 and comments received on the interim rule issued to implement those provisions. This final rule also implements nondiscretionary provisions of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, allowing certain third party contractors access to children's eligibility status and will allow school officials to communicate with Medicaid and SCHIP officials to verify that children are eligible for free and reduced price school meals or free milk. The disclosure provisions are intended to reduce paperwork for administrators of certain programs that target low-income households and for low-income households which may benefit from those programs by allowing some sharing of household's free and reduced price meal eligibility information. This rule also includes several technical amendments.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This notice announces FNS' intent to request from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the data collection instrument for the CACFP Meal Claiming Data Collection Pilot Project.

This notice informs the public of the annual adjustments to the reimbursement rates for meals served in the Summer Food Service Program for Children (SFSP). These adjustments reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index and are required by the statute governing the Program. In addition, further adjustments are made to these rates to reflect the higher costs of providing meals in the States of Alaska and Hawaii, as authorized by the William F. Goodling Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 1998.

In this rule the Food and Nutrition Service proposes to codify prisoner verification and death matching procedures mandated by legislation and previously implemented through agency directive. The proposed rule will require that State food stamp agencies use disqualified recipient data to screen all program applicants prior to certification to assure that they are not currently disqualified from the program and thus ineligible to participate. The proposed rule also addresses requirements that State food stamp agencies participate in a computer matching program using a system of records that adhere to provisions of the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, as amended. Finally, publication of this proposed rule responds to findings of General Accounting Office and USDA Office of Inspector General audits that found, among other things, that the disqualified reporting subsystem process could be improved to enhance State agency ability to identify currently disqualified food stamp recipients.

This proposed rule reflects amendments made by section 102 of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 to the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act regarding substitutes for fluid milk in the National School Lunch Program. This rule would implement a legislative provision on milk substitutes that follows current regulations on menu exceptions for students with disabilities and would add new requirements for substitutions for fluid milk for children with medical or other special dietary needs. Specifically, this proposed rule would establish nutritional standards for nondairy beverage alternatives to fluid milk, as well as requirements for substitutions for fluid milk for non-disabled students with medical or special dietary needs. It would allow the parent or legal guardian of a child with medical or special dietary needs to request a fluid milk substitute. In addition, it would allow schools to select acceptable fluid milk substitutes that meet the nutritional standards established in this proposed rule, and would continue to make school food authorities responsible for substitution expenses that exceed the Federal reimbursement. This rule, as proposed, would ensure consistency among milk substitutes offered in the school lunch and breakfast programs, and would make certain that students who consume nondairy beverage alternates receive important nutrients found in fluid milk.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on a proposed information collection for which approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be requested. The proposed collection would be an extension of a currently approved collection under OMB No. 0584-0010 which is due to expire January 31, 2007.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on proposed information collections.

This rule proposes to revise and clarify requirements for the processing of donated foods, in order to incorporate processing options tested in demonstration projects, to more effectively ensure accountability for donated foods provided for processing, and to streamline current reporting and review requirements. Most significantly, it would require multi-State processors to enter into National Processing Agreements to process donated foods into end products, and would permit processors to substitute donated beef and pork with commercially purchased beef and pork of U.S. origin and of equal or better quality than the donated food. The rule would also rewrite regulatory provisions in plain language, to make them easier to read and understand for the general public.

This proposed rule would revise regulations governing the WIC food packages to align the WIC food packages with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and current infant feeding practice guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics, better promote and support the establishment of successful long-term breastfeeding, provide WIC participants with a wider variety of food, provide WIC State agencies with greater flexibility in prescribing food packages to accommodate participants with cultural food preferences, and serve participants with certain qualifying conditions under one food package to facilitate efficient management of medically fragile participants. The revisions largely reflect recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in its Report ``WIC Food Packages: Time for a Change,'' with certain cost containment and administrative modifications found necessary by the Department to ensure cost neutrality. The proposed improvements to the WIC food packages can be made without increasing the projected costs. The proposed rule would revise the maximum monthly allowances and minimum requirements for certain supplemental foods; revise the substitution rates for certain supplemental foods and allow additional foods as alternatives; redesign WIC food packages to enhance breastfeeding promotion and support; revise age specifications for assignment to infant food packages; add fruits and vegetables for WIC participants 6 months of age and older and eliminate juice from infants food packages; add whole grains to food packages for children and women and infant food meat for fully breastfed infants 6 through 11 months of age; revise the purpose, content, and requirements for the Food Package for the Medically Fragile, and address general provisions that apply to all food packages.

This rule proposes to amend regulations for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) by adding three requirements mandated by the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 concerning retail vendors authorized by WIC State agencies to provide supplemental food to WIC participants in exchange for WIC food instruments. This rulemaking would require WIC State agencies to notify WIC-authorized retail vendors of an initial violation in writing, for violations requiring a pattern of occurrences in order to impose a sanction, before documenting a subsequent violation, unless notification would compromise an investigation. In addition, State agencies would be required to maintain a list of State- licensed wholesalers, distributors, and retailers, and infant formula manufacturers registered with the Food and Drug Administration, and would require WIC-authorized retail vendors to purchase infant formula only from sources on the list. Further, State agencies would be required to prohibit the authorization of or payments to WIC-authorized vendors that derive more than 50 percent of their annual food sales revenue from WIC food instruments (``above-50-percent vendors'') and which provide incentive items or other free merchandise, except food or merchandise of nominal value, to program participants or customers unless the vendor provides the State agency with proof that the vendor obtained the incentive items or merchandise at no cost. The intent of these provisions is to, respectively, enhance due process for vendors; prevent defective infant formula from being consumed by infant WIC participants; and ensure that the WIC Program does not pay the cost of incentive items provided by above-50-percent vendors in the form of high food prices. Finally, this rule also proposes to adjust the vendor civil money penalty (CMP) levels to reflect inflation.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public to comment on the proposed information collections. The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) uses the Claims for Reimbursement, FNS-806-A and FNS-806-B, to collect data to determine the amount of reimbursement school food authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), and Special Milk Program for Children (SMP) are eligible to receive.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on proposed information collections.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on a proposed information collection. The proposed collection is a new collection. The purpose of the Education and Administrative Reporting System (EARS) form is to collect uniform and standard information on nutrition education activities funded by the Food Stamp Program. The data collected will inform management decisions, support policy initiatives, and provide documentation for legislative, budget and other requests that support planning within the agency.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) invites the general public and other public agencies to provide input on a proposed information collection as set forth in the Proposed Rulemaking entitled ``Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program'' (SFMNP) that was published in the Federal Register on May 26, 2005. The comment period is open to provide State agencies, local governments, and non-profit organizations the opportunity to comment on the data collection burden.

This notice announces the annual adjustments to: The national average payment rates for meals and supplements served in child care centers, outside-school-hours care centers, at-risk afterschool care centers, and adult day care centers; the food service payment rates for meals and supplements served in day care homes; and the administrative reimbursement rates for sponsoring organizations of day care homes, to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. Further adjustments are made to these rates to reflect the higher costs of providing meals in the States of Alaska and Hawaii. The adjustments contained in this notice are made on an annual basis each July, as required by the statutes and regulations governing the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on the proposed information collection of the FNS-380, Worksheet for Food Stamp Program Quality Control Reviews. This proposed collection is a revision of a collection currently approved under OMB No. 0584-0074.