Part 210 National School Lunch Programs

8/14/2019 Part 210 National School Lunch Programs

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SUBCHAPTER A—CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS

PART 210—NATIONAL SCHOOLLUNCH PROGRAM

Subpart A—General

Sec.210.1 General purpose and scope.210.2 Definitions.210.3 Administration.

Subpart B—Reimbursement Process forStates and School Food Authorities

210.4 Cash and donated food assistance toStates.

210.5 Payment process to States.210.6 Use of Federal funds.210.7 Reimbursement for school food au-

thorities.210.8 Claims for reimbursement.

Subpart C—Requirements for School FoodAuthority Participation

210.9 Agreement with State agency.210.10 Nutrition standards and menu plan-

ning approaches for lunches and require-ments for afterschool snacks.

210.11 Competitive food services.210.12 Student, parent and community in-

volvement.210.13 Facilities management.210.14 Resource management.210.15 Reporting and recordkeeping.210.16 Food service management companies.

Subpart D—Requirements for State AgencyParticipation

210.17 Matching Federal funds.210.18 Administrative reviews.210.19 Additional responsibilities.210.20 Reporting and recordkeeping.

Subpart E—State Agency and School FoodAuthority Responsibilities

210.21 Procurement.210.22 Audits.

210.23 Other responsibilities.

Subpart F—Additional Provisions

210.24 Withholding payments.210.25 Suspension, termination and grant

closeout procedures.210.26 Penalties.210.27 Educational prohibitions.210.28 Pilot project exemptions.210.29 Management evaluations.210.30 Regional office addresses.210.31 OMB control numbers.

A PPENDIX A TO P ART 210—A LTERNATE F OODS FOR M EALS

A PPENDIX B TO P ART 210—C ATEGORIES OF F OODS OF M INIMAL N UTRITIONAL V ALUE

A PPENDIX C TO P ART 210—C HILD N UTRITION L ABELING P ROGRAM

A UTHORITY : 42 U.S.C. 1751–1760, 1779.

S OURCE : 53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, unlessotherwise noted.

Subpart A—General§ 210.1 General purpose and scope.

(a) Purpose of the program. Section 2of the National School Lunch Act (42U.S.C. 1751), states: ‘‘It is declared tobe the policy of Congress, as a measureof national security, to safeguard thehealth and well-being of the Nation’schildren and to encourage the domesticconsumption of nutritious agriculturalcommodities and other food, by assist-ing the States, through grants-in-aidand other means, in providing an ade-quate supply of food and other facili-ties for the establishment, mainte-nance, operation, and expansion of non-profit school lunch programs.’’ Pursu-ant to this act, the Department pro-vides States with general and specialcash assistance and donations of foodsacquired by the Department to be usedto assist schools in serving nutritiouslunches to children each school day. Infurtherance of Program objectives, par-ticipating schools shall serve lunchesthat are nutritionally adequate, as setforth in these regulations, and shall tothe extent practicable, ensure that par-ticipating children gain a full under-standing of the relationship betweenproper eating and good health.

(b) Scope of the regulations. This partsets forth the requirements for partici-pation in the National School Lunchand Commodity School Programs. Itspecifies Program responsibilities of State and local officials in the areas of program administration, preparationand service of nutritious lunches, pay-ment of funds, use of program funds,program monitoring, and reporting andrecordkeeping requirements.

§210.2 Definitions.For the purpose of this part:

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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.2

7 CFR part 3015 means the UniformFederal Assistance Regulations pub-lished by the Department to implementcertain policies applicable to all De-partment programs. The applicableprovisions deal with competition fordiscretionary grants and cooperativeagreements, costs requiring prior ap-proval, acknowledgement of Depart-ment support in publications andaudiovisuals produced under Depart-ment programs, intergovernmental re-view of Department programs underExecutive Order 12372, and certain mis-cellaneous Department requirements.

7 CFR part 3016 means the Depart-ment’s Uniform Administrative Re-quirements for Grants and CooperativeAgreements to State and Local Gov-ernments. 7 CFR part 3016 covers re-quirements for awards and subawardsto State and local governmental orga-nizations under Department programs.

7 CFR part 3018 means the Depart-ment’s Common Rule regarding Gov-ernmentwide New Restrictions on Lob-bying. Part 3018 implements the re-quirements established by section 319of the 1990 Appropriations Act for theDepartment of Interior and Related

Agencies (Pub. L. 101–121).7 CFR part 3019 means the Depart-ment’s Uniform Administrative Re-quirements for Grants and Agreementswith Institutions of Higher Education,Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Orga-nizations. 7 CFR part 3019 covers re-quirements for awards and subawardsto nongovernmental, nonprofit organi-zations under Department programs.

7 CFR part 3052 means the Depart-ment’s regulations implementing OMBCircular A–133, ‘‘Audits of State, LocalGovernments, and Non-Profit Organi-zations.’’ (For availability of OMB Cir-culars referenced in this definition, see5 CFR 1310.3.)

Act means the National School LunchAct, as amended.

Afterschool care program means a pro-gram providing organized child careservices to enrolled school-age childrenafterschool hours for the purpose of care and supervision of children. Thoseprograms shall be distinct from any ex-tracurricular programs organized pri-marily for scholastic, cultural or ath-letic purposes.

Applicable credits shall have themeaning established in Office of Man-agement and Budget Circulars A–87,C(4) and A–122, Attachment A, A(5), re-spectively. For availability of OMB cir-culars referenced in this definition see5 CFR 1310.3.

Attendance factor means a percentagedeveloped no less than once each schoolyear which accounts for the differencebetween enrollment and attendance.The attendance factor may be devel-oped by the school food authority, sub-ject to State agency approval, or maybe developed by the State agency. Inthe absence of a local or State attend-ance factor, the school food authorityshall use an attendance factor devel-oped by FNS. When taking the attend-ance factor into consideration, schoolfood authorities shall assume that allchildren eligible for free and reducedprice lunches attend school at the samerate as the general school population.

Average Daily Participation means theaverage number of children, by eligi-bility category, participating in theProgram each operating day. Thesenumbers are obtained by dividing (a)the total number of free lunchesclaimed during a reporting period bythe number of operating days in thesame period; (b) the total number of re-duced price lunches claimed during areporting period by the number of oper-ating days in the same period; and (c)the total number of paid lunchesclaimed during a reporting period bythe number of operating days in thesame period.

Child means—(a) a student of highschool grade or under as determined bythe State educational agency, who isenrolled in an educational unit of highschool grade or under as described inparagraphs (a) and (b) of the definitionof ‘‘School,’’ including students whoare mentally or physically disabled asdefined by the State and who are par-ticipating in a school program estab-lished for the mentally or physicallydisabled; or (b) a person under 21 chron-ological years of age who is enrolled inan institution or center as described inparagraph (c) of the definition of ‘‘School;’’ or (c) For purposes of reim-bursement for meal supplements servedin afterschool care programs, an indi-vidual enrolled in an afterschool care


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Food and Nutrition Service, USDA § 210.2

program operated by an eligible schoolwho is 12 years of age or under, or inthe case of children of migrant workersand children with disabilities, not morethan 15 years of age.

CND means the Child Nutrition Divi-sion of the Food and Nutrition Serviceof the Department.

Commodity School Program means theProgram under which participatingschools operate a nonprofit lunch pro-gram in accordance with this part andreceive donated food assistance in lieuof general cash assistance. Schools par-ticipating in the Commodity SchoolProgram shall also receive special cashand donated food assistance in accord-ance with §210.4(c).

Contractor means a commercial en-terprise, public or nonprofit private or-ganization or individual that entersinto a contract with a school food au-thority.

Cost reimbursable contract means acontract that provides for payment of incurred costs to the extent prescribedin the contract, with or without a fixedfee.

Days means calendar days unless oth-erwise specified.

Department means the United StatesDepartment of Agriculture.

Distributing agency means a Stateagency which enters into an agreementwith the Department for the distribu-tion to schools of donated foods pursu-ant to part 250 of this chapter.

Donated foods means food commod-ities donated by the Department foruse in nonprofit lunch programs.

Fiscal year means a period of 12 cal-endar months beginning October 1 of any year and ending with September 30of the following year.

Fixed fee means an agreed uponamount that is fixed at the inception of the contract. In a cost reimbursablecontract, the fixed fee includes thecontractor’s direct and indirect admin-istrative costs and profit allocable tothe contract.

FNS means the Food and NutritionService, United States Department of Agriculture.

FNSRO means the appropriate Re-gional Office of the Food and NutritionService of the Department.

Food component means one of the fourfood groups which comprise reimburs-

able meals planned under a food-basedmenu planning approach. The four foodcomponents are: meat/meat alternate;grains/breads; fruits/vegetables; andmilk.

Food item means one of the five foodsoffered in lunches under a food-basedmenu planning approach: meat/meatalternate; grains/breads; two servingsof fruits/vegetables; and milk.

Food service management companymeans a commercial enterprise or anonprofit organization which is or maybe contracted with by the school foodauthority to manage any aspect of theschool food service.

Free lunch means a lunch servedunder the Program to a child from ahousehold eligible for such benefitsunder 7 CFR part 245 and for which nei-ther the child nor any member of thehousehold pays or is required to work.

Local educational agency means a pub-lic board of education or other publicor private nonprofit authority legallyconstituted within a State for eitheradministrative control or direction of,or to perform a service function for,public or private nonprofit elementaryschools or secondary schools in a city,county, township, school district, orother political subdivision of a State,or for a combination of school districtsor counties that is recognized in aState as an administrative agency forits public or private nonprofit elemen-tary schools or secondary schools. Theterm also includes any other public orprivate nonprofit institution or agencyhaving administrative control and di-rection of a public or private nonprofitelementary school or secondary school,including residential child care institu-tions, Bureau of Indian Affairs schools,and educational service agencies andconsortia of those agencies, as well asthe State educational agency in aState or territory in which the Stateeducational agency is the sole edu-cational agency for all public or pri-vate nonprofit schools.

Lunch means a meal service thatmeets the applicable nutrition stand-ards and portion sizes in § 210.10 forlunches.

Menu item means, under NutrientStandard Menu Planning or AssistedNutrient Standard Menu Planning, anysingle food or combination of foods. All


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.2

menu items or foods offered as part of the reimbursable meal may be consid-ered as contributing towards meetingthe nutrition standards provided in§ 210.10, except for those foods that areconsidered as foods of minimal nutri-tional value as provided for in§ 210.11(a)(2) which are not offered aspart of a menu item in a reimbursablemeal. For the purposes of a reimburs-able lunch, a minimum of three menuitems must be offered, one of whichmust be an entree (a combination of foods or a single food item that is of-fered as the main course) and one of which must be fluid milk. Under offerversus serve, a student shall select, ata minimum, an entree and one othermenu item. If more than three menuitems are offered, the student may de-cline up to two menu items; however,the entree cannot be declined.

National School Lunch Program meansthe Program under which participatingschools operate a nonprofit lunch pro-gram in accordance with this part.General and special cash assistance anddonated food assistance are madeavailable to schools in accordance withthis part.

Net cash resources means all monies,as determined in accordance with theState agency’s established accountingsystem, that are available to or haveaccrued to a school food authority’snonprofit school food service at anygiven time, less cash payable. Suchmonies may include, but are not lim-ited to, cash on hand, cash receivable,earnings on investments, cash on de-posit and the value of stocks, bonds orother negotiable securities.

Nonprofit means, when applied toschools or institutions eligible for theProgram, exempt from income taxunder section 501(c)(3) of the InternalRevenue Code of 1986.

Nonprofit school food service means allfood service operations conducted bythe school food authority principallyfor the benefit of schoolchildren, all of the revenue from which is used solelyfor the operation or improvement of such food services.

Nonprofit school food service accountmeans the restricted account in whichall of the revenue from all food serviceoperations conducted by the schoolfood authority principally for the ben-

efit of school children is retained andused only for the operation or improve-ment of the nonprofit school food serv-ice.

Nutrient Standard Menu Planning/As-sisted Nutrient Standard Menu Planningmeans ways to develop lunch menusbased on the analysis for nutrients inthe menu items and foods offered overa school week to determine if specificlevels for a set of key nutrients andcalories were met in accordance with§ 210.10(i)(5). However, for the purposesof Assisted Nutrient Standard MenuPlanning, lunch menu planning andanalysis are completed by other enti-ties and must incorporate the produc-tion quantities needed to accommodatethe specific service requirements of aparticular school or school food au-thority in accordance with § 210.10(j).

OIG means the Office of the InspectorGeneral of the Department.

Point of Service means that point inthe food service operation where a de-termination can accurately be madethat a reimbursable free, reduced priceor paid lunch has been served to an eli-gible child.

Program means the National SchoolLunch Program and the CommoditySchool Program.

Reduced price lunch means a lunchserved under the Program: (a) to achild from a household eligible for suchbenefits under 7 CFR part 245; (b) forwhich the price is less than the schoolfood authority designated full price of the lunch and which does not exceedthe maximum allowable reduced pricespecified under 7 CFR part 245; and (c)for which neither the child nor anymember of the household is required towork.

Reimbursement means Federal cashassistance including advances paid orpayable to participating schools forlunches meeting the requirements of § 210.10 and served to eligible children.

Revenue, when applied to nonprofitschool food service, means all moniesreceived by or accruing to the non-profit school food service in accordancewith the State agency’s established ac-counting system including, but notlimited to, children’s payments, earn-ings on investments, other local reve-nues, State revenues, and Federal cashreimbursements.


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School means: (a) An educational unitof high school grade or under, recog-nized as part of the educational systemin the State and operating under publicor nonprofit private ownership in a sin-gle building or complex of buildings;(b) any public or nonprofit privateclasses of preprimary grade when theyare conducted in the aforementionedschools; or (c) any public or nonprofitprivate residential child care institu-tion, or distinct part of such institu-tion, which operates principally for thecare of children, and, if private, is li-censed to provide residential child careservices under the appropriate licens-ing code by the State or a subordinatelevel of government, except for residen-tial summer camps which participatein the Summer Food Service Programfor Children, Job Corps centers fundedby the Department of Labor, and pri-vate foster homes. The term ‘‘residen-tial child care institutions’’ includes,but is not limited to: homes for thementally, emotionally or physicallyimpaired, and unmarried mothers andtheir infants; group homes; halfwayhouses; orphanages; temporary sheltersfor abused children and for runawaychildren; long-term care facilities forchronically ill children; and juveniledetention centers. A long-term care fa-cility is a hospital, skilled nursing fa-cility, intermediate care facility, ordistinct part thereof, which is intendedfor the care of children confined for 30days or more.

School food authority means the gov-erning body which is responsible forthe administration of one or moreschools; and has the legal authority tooperate the Program therein or be oth-erwise approved by FNS to operate theProgram.

School week means the period of timeused to determine compliance with thenutrition standards and the appro-priate calorie and nutrient levels in§ 210.10. Further, if applicable, schoolweek is the basis for conducting Nutri-ent Standard Menu Planning or As-sisted Nutrient Standard Menu Plan-ning for lunches as provided in§ 210.10(i) and §210.10(j). The periodshall be a normal school week of fiveconsecutive days; however, to accom-modate shortened weeks resulting fromholidays and other scheduling needs,

the period shall be a minimum of threeconsecutive days and a maximum of seven consecutive days. Weeks inwhich school lunches are offered lessthan three times shall be combinedwith either the previous or the comingweek.

School year means a period of 12 cal-endar months beginning July 1 of anyyear and ending June 30 of the fol-lowing year.

Secretary means the Secretary of Ag-riculture.

Statemeans any of the 50 States, Dis-trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth

of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands,Guam, and, as applicable, AmericanSamoa and the Commonwealth of theNorthern Marianas.

State agency means (a) the State edu-cational agency; (b) any other agencyof the State which has been designatedby the Governor or other appropriateexecutive or legislative authority of the State and approved by the Depart-ment to administer the Program inschools, as specified in § 210.3(b); or (c)the FNSRO, where the FNSRO admin-isters the Program as specified in§ 210.3(c).

State educational agency means, as theState legislature may determine, (a)the chief State school officer (such asthe State Superintendent of Public In-struction, Commissioner of Education,or similar officer), or (b) a board of education controlling the State depart-ment of education.

Student with disabilities means anychild who has a physical or mental im-pairment as defined in § 15b.3 of the De-partment’s nondiscrimination regula-tions (7 CFR part 15b).

Subsidized lunch (paid lunch) means alunch served to children who are eithernot eligible for or elect not to receivethe free or reduced price benefits of-fered under 7 CFR part 245. The Depart-ment subsidizes each paid lunch withboth general cash assistance and do-nated foods. Although a paid lunch stu-dent pays for a large portion of his orher lunch, the Department’s subsidyaccounts for a significant portion of the cost of that lunch.

Yogurt means commercially preparedcoagulated milk products obtained bythe fermentation of specific bacteria,


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.3

that meet milk fat or milk solid re-quirements and to which flavoringfoods or ingredients may be added.These products are covered by the Foodand Drug Administration’s Definitionand Standard of Identity for yogurt,lowfat yogurt, and nonfat yogurt, 21CFR 131.200, 21 CFR 131.203, and 21 CFR131.206, respectively.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 54FR 12580, Mar. 28, 1989; 56 FR 32939, July 17,1991; 58 FR 42487, Aug. 10, 1993; 60 FR 31207,June 13, 1995; 62 FR 10189, Mar. 6, 1997; 64 FR50740, Sept. 20, 1999; 65 FR 26912, May 9, 2000;71 FR 39515, July 13, 2006; 72 FR 10892, Mar.12, 2007; 72 FR 61490, Oct. 31, 2007; 72 FR 63790,Nov. 13, 2007]

§ 210.3 Administration.(a) FNS. FNS will act on behalf of the

Department in the administration of the Program. Within FNS, the CNDwill be responsible for Program admin-istration.

(b) States. Within the States, the re-sponsibility for the administration of the Program in schools, as defined in§ 210.2, shall be in the State educationalagency. If the State educational agen-cy is unable to administer the Programin public or private nonprofit residen-tial child care institutions or nonprofitprivate schools, then Program adminis-tration for such schools may be as-sumed by FNSRO as provided in para-graph (c) of this section, or such otheragency of the State as has been des-ignated by the Governor or other ap-propriate executive or legislative au-thority of the State and approved bythe Department to administer suchschools. Each State agency desiring toadminister the Program shall enterinto a written agreement with the De-partment for the administration of theProgram in accordance with the appli-cable requirements of this part; parts235 and 245 of this chapter; parts 15, 15a,15b, 3015 and 3016 of this title; and FNSinstructions.

(c) FNSRO. The FNSRO will admin-ister the Program in nonprofit privateschools or public or nonprofit privateresidential child care institutions if the State agency is prohibited by lawfrom disbursing Federal funds paid tosuch schools. In addition, the FNSROwill continue to administer the Pro-gram in those States in which non-

profit private schools or public or non-profit private residential child care in-stitutions have been under continuousFNS administration since October 1,1980, unless the administration of theProgram in such schools is assumed bythe State. The FNSRO will, in eachState in which it administers the Pro-gram, assume all responsibilities of aState agency as set forth in this partand part 245 of this chapter as appro-priate. References in this part to‘‘State agency’’ include FNSRO, as ap-plicable, when it is the agency admin-istering the Program.

(d) School food authorities. The schoolfood authority shall be responsible forthe administration of the Program inschools. State agencies shall ensurethat school food authorities administerthe Program in accordance with theapplicable requirements of this part;part 245 of this chapter; parts 15, 15a,15b, and 3016 or 3019, as applicable, of this title; and FNS instructions.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 71FR 39515, July 13, 2006]

Subpart B—Reimbursement Proc-

ess for States and SchoolFood Authorities

§ 210.4 Cash and donated food assist-ance to States.

(a) General. To the extent funds areavailable, FNS will make cash assist-ance available in accordance with theprovisions of this section to each Stateagency for lunches and meal supple-ments served to children under the Na-tional School Lunch and CommoditySchool Programs. To the extent do-nated foods are available, FNS willprovide donated food assistance to dis-tributing agencies for each lunchserved in accordance with the provi-

sions of this part and part 250 of thischapter.

(b) Assistance for the National SchoolLunch Program. The Secretary willmake cash and/or donated food assist-ance available to each State agencyand distributing agency, as appro-priate, administering the NationalSchool Lunch Program, as follows:

(1) Cash assistance for lunches: Cashassistance payments are composed of a


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general cash assistance payment, au-thorized under section 4 of the Act, anda special cash assistance payment, au-thorized under section 11 of the Act.General cash assistance is provided toeach State agency for all lunchesserved to children in accordance withthe provisions of the National SchoolLunch Program. Special cash assist-ance is provided to each State agencyfor lunches served under the NationalSchool Lunch Program to children de-termined eligible for free or reducedprice lunches in accordance with part245 of this chapter. The total generalcash assistance paid to each State forany fiscal year shall not exceed thelesser of amounts reported to FNS asreimbursed to school food authoritiesin accordance with § 210.5(d)(3) or thetotal calculated by multiplying thenumber of lunches reported in accord-ance with § 210.5(d)(1) for each month of service during the fiscal year, by theapplicable national average paymentrate prescribed by FNS. The total spe-cial assistance paid to each State forany fiscal year shall not exceed thelesser of amounts reported to FNS asreimbursed to school food authoritiesin accordance with § 210.5(d)(3) or thetotal calculated by multiplying thenumber of free and reduced pricelunches reported in accordance with§ 210.5(d)(1) for each month of serviceduring the fiscal year by the applicablenational average payment rate pre-scribed by FNS. In accordance withsection 11 of the Act, FNS will pre-scribe annual adjustments to the permeal national average payment rate(general cash assistance) and the spe-cial assistance national average pay-ment rates (special cash assistance)which are effective on July 1 of eachyear. These adjustments, which reflectchanges in the food away from homeseries of the Consumer Price Index forall Urban Consumers, are annually an-nounced by Notice in July of each yearin the F EDERAL R EGISTER . FNS willalso establish maximum per meal ratesof reimbursement within which a Statemay vary reimbursement rates toschool food authorities. These max-imum rates of reimbursement are es-tablished at the same time and an-nounced in the same Notice as the na-tional average payment rates.

(2) Donated food assistance. For eachschool year, FNS will provide distrib-uting agencies with donated foods forlunches served under the NationalSchool Lunch Program as providedunder part 250 of this chapter. The perlunch value of donated food assistanceis adjusted by the Secretary annuallyto reflect changes as required undersection 6 of the Act. These adjust-ments, which reflect changes in thePrice Index for Foods Used in Schoolsand Institutions, are effective on July 1of each year and are announced by No-tice in the F EDERAL R EGISTER in Julyof each year.

(3) Cash assistance for meal supple-ments. For those eligible schools (as de-fined in § 210.10(n)(1)) operating after-school care programs and electing toserve meal supplements to enrolledchildren, funds shall be made availableto each State agency, each school yearin an amount no less than the sum of the products obtained by multiplying:

(i) The number of meal supplementsserved in the afterschool care programwithin the State to children from fami-lies that do not satisfy the incomestandards for free and reduced priceschool meals by 2.75 cents;

(ii) The number of meal supplementsserved in the afterschool care programwithin the State to children from fami-lies that satisfy the income standardfor free school meals by 30 cents;

(iii) The number of meal supplementsserved in the afterschool care programwithin the State to children from fami-lies that satisfy the income standardfor reduced price school meals by 15cents.

(4) The rates in paragraph (b)(3) arethe base rates established in August1981 for the CACFP. FNS shall pre-scribe annual adjustments to theserates in the same Notice as the Na-tional Average Payment Rates forlunches. These adjustments shall en-sure that the reimbursement rates formeal supplements served under thispart are the same as those imple-mented for meal supplements in theCACFP.

(c) Assistance for the Commodity SchoolProgram. FNS will make special cashassistance available to each Stateagency for lunches served in com-modity schools in the same manner as


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.5

special cash assistance is provided inthe National School Lunch Program.Payment of such amounts to Stateagencies is subject to the reporting re-quirements contained in § 210.5(d). FNSwill provide donated food assistance inaccordance with part 250 of this chap-ter. Of the total value of donated foodassistance to which it is entitled, theschool food authority may elect to re-ceive cash payments of up to 5 centsper lunch served in its commodityschool(s) for donated foods processingand handling expenses. Such expensesinclude any expenses incurred by or onbehalf of a commodity school for proc-essing or other aspects of the prepara-tion, delivery, and storage of donatedfoods. The school food authority mayhave all or part of these cash paymentsretained by the State agency for use onits behalf for processing and handlingexpenses by the State agency or it mayauthorize the State agency to transferto the distributing agency all or anypart of these payments for use on itsbehalf for these expenses. Payment of such amounts to State agencies is sub-ject to the reporting requirements con-tained in § 210.5(d). The total value of donated food assistance is calculated

on a school year basis by adding:(1) The applicable national average

payment rate (general cash assistance)prescribed by the Secretary for the pe-riod of July 1 through June 30 multi-plied by the total number of lunchesserved during the school year under theCommodity School Program; and

(2) The national per lunch averagevalue of donated foods prescribed bythe Secretary for the period of July 1through June 30 multiplied by the totalnumber of lunches served during theschool year under the CommoditySchool Program.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 58FR 42487, Aug. 10, 1993; 60 FR 31207, June 13,1995; 65 FR 26912, May 9, 2000]

§ 210.5 Payment process to States.(a) Grant award. FNS will specify the

terms and conditions of the State agen-cy’s grant in a grant award documentand will generally make paymentsavailable by means of a Letter of Cred-it issued in favor of the State agency.The State agency shall obtain funds forreimbursement to participating school

food authorities through procedures es-tablished by FNS in accordance with 7CFR part 3016. State agencies shalllimit requests for funds to such timesand amounts as will permit promptpayment of claims or authorized ad-vances. The State agency shall dis-burse funds received from such re-quests without delay for the purposefor which drawn. FNS may, at its op-tion, reimburse a State agency byTreasury Check. FNS will pay byTreasury Check with funds available insettlement of a valid claim if paymentfor that claim cannot be made withinthe grant closeout period specified inparagraph (d) of this section.

(b) Cash-in-lieu of donated foods. AllFederal funds to be paid to any Statein place of donated foods will be madeavailable as provided in part 240 of thischapter.

(c) Recovery of funds. FNS will re-cover any Federal funds made availableto the State agency under this partwhich are in excess of obligations re-ported at the end of each fiscal year inaccordance with the reconciliation pro-cedures specified in paragraph (d) of this section. Such recoveries shall bereflected by a related adjustment inthe State agency’s Letter of Credit.

(d) Substantiation and reconciliation process. Each State agency shall main-tain Program records as necessary tosupport the reimbursement paymentsmade to school food authorities under§ 210.7 and §210.8 and the reports sub-mitted to FNS under this paragraph.The State agency shall ensure suchrecords are retained for a period of 3years or as otherwise specified in§ 210.23(c).

(1) Monthly report. Each State agencyshall submit a final Report of SchoolProgram Operations (FNS–10) to FNSfor each month. The final reports shallbe limited to claims submitted in ac-cordance with § 210.8 of this part. Forthe month of October, the final reportshall include the total number of chil-dren approved for free lunches, thetotal number of children approved forreduced price lunches, and the totalnumber of children enrolled in partici-pating public schools, private schools,and residential child care institutions,respectively, as of the last day of oper-ation in October. The final reports


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shall be postmarked and/or submittedno later than 90 days following the lastday of the month covered by the re-port. States shall not receive Programfunds for any month for which the finalreport is not submitted within thistime limit unless FNS grants an excep-tion. Upward adjustments to a State’sreport shall not be made after 90 daysfrom the month covered by the reportunless authorized by FNS. Downwardadjustments to a State’s report shallalways be made regardless of when it isdetermined that such adjustments arenecessary. FNS authorization is not re-quired for downward adjustments. Anyadjustments to a State’s report shallbe reported to FNS in accordance withprocedures established by FNS.

(2) Quarterly report. Each State agen-cy shall also submit to FNS a quar-terly Financial Status Report (SF–269)on the use of Program funds. Such re-ports shall be postmarked and/or sub-mitted no later than 30 days after theend of each fiscal year quarter.

(3) End of year report. Each Stateagency shall submit a final FinancialStatus Report (SF–269) for each fiscalyear. This final fiscal year grant close-out report shall be postmarked and/or

submitted to FNS within 120 days afterthe end of each fiscal year or partthereof that the State agency adminis-tered the Program. Obligations shall bereported only for the fiscal year inwhich they occur. FNS will not be re-sponsible for reimbursing Program ob-ligations reported later than 120 daysafter the close of the fiscal year inwhich they were incurred. Grant close-out procedures are to be carried out inaccordance with 7 CFR part 3016.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 54FR 12580, Mar. 28, 1989; 56 FR 32939, July 17,1991; 71 FR 39516, July 13, 2006]

§ 210.6 Use of Federal funds.General. State agencies shall use Fed-

eral funds made available under theProgram to reimburse or make advancepayments to school food authorities inconnection with lunches and meal sup-plements served in accordance with theprovisions of this part; except that, withthe approval of FNS, any State agencymay reserve an amount up to one per-cent of the funds earned in any fiscalyear under this part for use in carrying

out special developmental projects. Ad-vance payments to school food authori-ties may be made at such times and insuch amounts as are necessary to meetthe current fiscal obligations. All Fed-eral funds paid to any State in place of donated foods shall be used as providedin part 240 of this chapter.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 58FR 42487, Aug. 10, 1993]

§ 210.7 Reimbursement for school foodauthorities.

(a) General. Reimbursement pay-ments to finance nonprofit school foodservice operations shall be made onlyto school food authorities operatingunder a written agreement with theState agency. Subject to the provisionsof § 210.8(c), such payments may bemade for lunches and meal supple-ments served in accordance with provi-sions of this part and part 245 in thecalendar month preceding the calendarmonth in which the agreement is exe-cuted. These reimbursement paymentsinclude general cash assistance for alllunches served to children under theNational School Lunch Program andspecial cash assistance payments forfree or reduced price lunches served tochildren determined eligible for suchbenefits under the National SchoolLunch and Commodity School Pro-grams. Reimbursement payments shallalso be made for meal supplementsserved to eligible children in after-school care programs in accordancewith the rates established in§ 210.4(b)(3). Approval shall be in ac-cordance with part 245 of this chapter.

(b) Assignment of rates. At the begin-ning of each school year, State agen-cies shall establish the per meal ratesof reimbursement for school food au-thorities participating in the Program.These rates of reimbursement may beassigned at levels based on financialneed; except that, the rates are not toexceed the maximum rates of reim-bursement established by the Sec-retary under § 210.4(b) and are to permitreimbursement for the total number of lunches in the State from funds avail-able under § 210.4. Within each schoolfood authority, the State agency shallassign the same rate of reimbursementfrom general cash assistance funds forall lunches served to children under the


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.7

Program. Assigned rates of reimburse-ment may be changed at any time bythe State agency, provided that noticeof any change is given to the schoolfood authority. The total general andspecial cash assistance reimbursementpaid to any school food authority forlunches served to children during theschool year are not to exceed the sumof the products obtained by multi-plying the total reported number of lunches, by type, served to eligiblechildren during the school year by theapplicable maximum per lunch reim-bursements prescribed for the schoolyear for each type of lunch.

(c) Reimbursement limitations. To beentitled to reimbursement under thispart, each school food authority shallensure that Claims for Reimbursementare limited to the number of free, re-duced price and paid lunches and mealsupplements that are served to chil-dren eligible for free, reduced price andpaid lunches and meal supplements, re-spectively, for each day of operation.

(1) Lunch count system. To ensure thatthe Claim for Reimbursement accu-rately reflects the number of lunchesand meal supplements served to eligi-ble children, the school food authorityshall, at a minimum:

(i) Correctly approve each child’s eli-gibility for free and reduced pricelunches and meal supplements based onthe requirements prescribed under 7CFR part 245;

(ii) Maintain a system to issue bene-fits and to update the eligibility of children approved for free or reducedprice lunches and meal supplements.The system shall:

(A) Accurately reflect eligibility sta-tus as well as changes in eligibilitymade after the initial approval processdue to verification findings, transfers,reported changes in income or house-hold size, etc.; and

(B) Make the appropriate changes ineligibility after the initial approvalprocess on a timely basis so that themechanism the school food authorityuses to identify currently eligible chil-dren provides a current and accuraterepresentation of eligible children.Changes in eligibility which result inincreased benefit levels shall be madeas soon as possible but no later than 3operating days of the date the school

food authority makes the final decisionon a child’s eligibility status. Changesin eligibility which result in decreasedbenefit levels shall be made as soon aspossible but no later than 10 operatingdays of the date the school food au-thority makes the final decision on thechild’s eligibility status.

(iii) Base Claims for Reimbursementon lunch counts, taken daily at thepoint of service, which correctly iden-tify the number of free, reduced priceand paid lunches served to eligible chil-dren;

(iv) Correctly record, consolidate andreport those lunch and supplementcounts on the Claim for Reimburse-ment; and

(v) Ensure that Claims for Reim-bursement do not request payment forany excess lunches produced, as prohib-ited in § 210.10(a)(2), or non-Programlunches (i.e., a la carte or adultlunches) or for more than one mealsupplement per child per day.

(2) Point of service alternatives. (i)State agencies may authorize alter-natives to the point of service lunchcounts provided that such alternativesresult in accurate, reliable counts of the number of free, reduced price andpaid lunches served, respectively, foreach serving day. State agencies areencouraged to issue guidance whichclearly identifies acceptable point of service alternatives and instructionsfor proper implementation. School foodauthorities may select one of the Stateagency approved alternatives withoutprior approval.

(ii) In addition, on a case-by-casebasis, State agencies may authorizeschool food authorities to use other al-ternatives to the point of service lunchcount; provided that such alternativesresult in an accurate and reliable lunchcount system. Any request to use an al-ternative lunch counting method whichhas not been previously authorizedunder paragraph (2)(i) is to be sub-mitted in writing to the State agencyfor approval. Such request shall pro-vide detail sufficient for the Stateagency to assess whether the proposedalternative would provide an accurateand reliable count of the number of lunches, by type, served each day to el-igible children. The details of each ap-proved alternative shall be maintained


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on file at the State agency for reviewby FNS.

(d) The State agency shall reimbursethe school food authority for meal sup-plements served in eligible schools (asdefined in § 210.10(n)(1)) operating after-school care programs under the NSLPin accordance with the rates estab-lished in §210.4(b).

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 54FR 12581, Mar. 28, 1989; 56 FR 32939, July 17,1991; 58 FR 42487, Aug. 10, 1993; 60 FR 31207,June 13, 1995; 65 FR 26912, May 9, 2000]

§ 210.8 Claims for reimbursement.(a) Internal controls. The school food

authority shall establish internal con-trols which ensure the accuracy of lunch counts prior to the submission of the monthly Claim for Reimbursement.At a minimum, these internal controlsshall include: an on-site review of thelunch counting and claiming systememployed by each school within the ju-risdiction of the school food authority;comparisons of daily free, reducedprice and paid lunch counts againstdata which will assist in the identifica-tion of lunch counts in excess of thenumber of free, reduced price and paidlunches served each day to children eli-gible for such lunches; and a system forfollowing up on those lunch countswhich suggest the likelihood of lunchcounting problems.

(1) On-site reviews. Every school year,each school food authority with morethan one school shall perform no lessthan one on-site review of the lunchcounting and claiming system em-ployed by each school under its juris-diction. The on-site review shall takeplace prior to February 1 of each schoolyear. Further, if the review disclosesproblems with a school’s meal countingor claiming procedures, the school foodauthority shall: ensure that the schoolimplements corrective action; and,within 45 days of the review, conductsa follow-up on-site review to determinethat the corrective action resolved theproblems. Each on-site review shall en-sure that the school’s claim is based onthe counting system authorized by theState agency under §210.7(c) of thispart and that the counting system, asimplemented, yields the actual numberof reimbursable free, reduced price and

paid lunches, respectively, served foreach day of operation.

(2) School food authority claims review process. Prior to the submission of amonthly Claim for Reimbursement,each school food authority shall reviewthe lunch count data for each schoolunder its jurisdiction to ensure the ac-curacy of the monthly Claim for Reim-bursement. The objective of this reviewis to ensure that monthly claims in-clude only the number of free, reducedprice and paid lunches served on anyday of operation to children currentlyeligible for such lunches.

(i) Any school food authority thatwas found by its most recent adminis-trative review conducted in accordancewith § 210.18, to have no meal countingand claiming violations may:

(A) Develop internal control proce-dures that ensure accurate mealcounts. The school food authority shallsubmit any internal controls developedin accordance with this paragraph tothe State agency for approval and, inthe absence of specific disapprovalfrom the State agency, shall imple-ment such internal controls. The Stateagency shall establish procedures topromptly notify school food authoritiesof any modifications needed to theirproposed internal controls or of denialof unacceptable submissions. If theState agency disapproves the proposedinternal controls of any school food au-thority, it reserves the right to requirethe school food authority to complywith the provisions of paragraph (a)(3)of this section; or

(B) Comply with the requirements of paragraph (a)(3) of this section.

(ii) Any school food authority thatwas identified in the most recent ad-ministrative review conducted in ac-cordance with § 210.18, or in any otheroversight activity, as having mealcounting and claiming violations shallcomply with the requirements in para-graph (a)(3) of this section.

(3) Edit checks. (i) The following pro-cedure shall be followed for school foodauthorities identified in paragraph(a)(2)(ii) of this section, by other schoolfood authorities at State agency op-tion, or, at their own option, by schoolfood authorities identified in paragraph(a)(2)(i) of this section: the school foodauthority shall compare each school’s


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.8

daily counts of free, reduced price andpaid lunches against the product of thenumber of children in that school cur-rently eligible for free, reduced priceand paid lunches, respectively, timesan attendance factor.

(ii) School food authorities that areidentified in subsequent administrativereviews conducted in accordance with§ 210.18 as not having meal countingand claiming violations and that arecorrectly complying with the proce-dures in paragraph (a)(3)(i) of this sec-tion have the option of developing in-ternal controls in accordance withparagraph (a)(2)(i) of this section.

(4) Follow-up activity. The school foodauthority shall promptly follow-upthrough phone contact, on-site visitsor other means when the internal con-trols used by schools in accordancewith paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this sectionor the claims review process used byschools in accordance with paragraphs(a)(2)(ii) and (a)(3) of this section sug-gest the likelihood of lunch count prob-lems. When problems or errors areidentified, the lunch counts shall becorrected prior to submission of themonthly Claim for Reimbursement.Improvements to the lunch count sys-tem shall also be made to ensure thatthe lunch counting system consistentlyresults in lunch counts of the actualnumber of reimbursable free, reducedprice and paid lunches served for eachday of operation.

(5) Recordkeeping. School food au-thorities shall maintain on file, eachmonth’s Claim for Reimbursement andall data used in the claims review proc-ess, by school. Records shall be re-tained as specified in § 210.23(c) of thispart. School food authorities shallmake this information available to theDepartment and the State agency uponrequest.

(b) Monthly claims. To be entitled toreimbursement under this part, eachschool food authority shall submit tothe State agency, a monthly Claim forReimbursement, as described in para-graph (c) of this section.

(1) Submission timeframes. A finalClaim for Reimbursement shall bepostmarked or submitted to the Stateagency not later than 60 days followingthe last day of the full month coveredby the claim. State agencies may es-

tablish shorter deadlines at their dis-cretion. Claims not postmarked and/orsubmitted within 60 days shall not bepaid with Program funds unless other-wise authorized by FNS.

(2) State agency claims review process.The State agency shall review eachschool food authority’s Claim for Re-imbursement, on a monthly basis, inan effort to ensure that monthlyclaims are limited to the number of free and reduced price lunches served,by type, to eligible children.

(i) The State agency shall, at a min-imum, compare the number of free andreduced price lunches claimed to thenumber of children approved for freeand reduced price lunches enrolled inthe school food authority for themonth of October times the days of op-eration times the attendance factoremployed by the school food authorityin accordance with paragraph (a)(3) of this section or the internal controlsused by schools in accordance withparagraph (a)(2)(i) of this section. Atits discretion, the State agency mayconduct this comparison against datawhich reflects the number of childrenapproved for free and reduced pricelunches for a more current month(s) ascollected pursuant to paragraph (c)(2)of this section.

(ii) In lieu of conducting the claimsreview specified in paragraph (b)(2)(i)of this section, the State agency mayconduct alternative analyses for thoseClaims for Reimbursement submittedby residential child care institutions.Such alternatives analyses shall meetthe objective of ensuring that themonthly Claims for Reimbursementare limited to the numbers of free andreduced price lunches served, by type,to eligible children.

(3) Follow-up activity. The State agen-cy shall promptly follow-up throughphone contact, on-site visits, or othermeans when the claims review processsuggests the likelihood of lunch countproblems.

(4) Corrective action. The State agencyshall promptly take corrective actionwith respect to any Claim for Reim-bursement which includes more thanthe number of lunches served, by type,to eligible children. In taking correc-tive action, State agencies may makeadjustments on claims filed within the


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60-day deadline if such adjustments arecompleted within 90 days of the lastday of the claim month and are re-flected in the final Report of SchoolProgram Operations (FNS–10) for theclaim month required under § 210.5(d) of this part. Upward adjustments in Pro-gram funds claimed which are not re-flected in the final FNS–10 for theclaim month shall not be made unlessauthorized by FNS. Except that, up-ward adjustments for the current andprior fiscal years resulting from anyreview or audit may be made, at thediscretion of the State agency. Down-ward adjustments in amounts claimedshall always be made, without FNS au-thorization, regardless of when it is de-termined that such adjustments arenecessary.

(c) Content of claim. The Claim for Re-imbursement shall include data in suf-ficient detail to justify the reimburse-ment claimed and to enable the Stateagency to provide the Report of SchoolProgram Operations required under§ 210.5(d) of this part. Such data shallinclude, at a minimum, the number of free, reduced price and paid lunchesand meal supplements served to eligi-ble children. The claim shall be signedby a school food authority official.

(1) Consolidated claim. The Stateagency may authorize a school food au-thority to submit a consolidated Claimfor Reimbursement for all schoolsunder its jurisdiction, provided that, thedata on each school’s operations re-quired in this section are maintainedon file at the local office of the schoolfood authority and the claim separatesconsolidated data for commodityschools from data for other schools.Unless otherwise approved by FNS, theClaim for Reimbursement for anymonth shall include only lunches andmeal supplements served in that monthexcept if the first or last month of Pro-gram operations for any school yearcontains 10 operating days or less, suchmonth may be combined with theClaim for Reimbursement for the ap-propriate adjacent month. However,Claims for Reimbursement may notcombine operations occurring in twofiscal years. If a single State agencyadministers any combination of theChild Nutrition Programs, a schoolfood authority shall be able to use a

common claim form with respect toclaims for reimbursement for mealsserved under those programs.

(2) October data. For the month of Oc-tober, the State agency shall also ob-tain, either through the Claim for Re-imbursement or other means, the totalnumber of children approved for freelunches and meal supplements, thetotal number of children approved forreduced price lunches and meal supple-ments, and the total number of chil-dren enrolled in the school food author-ity as of the last day of operation in

October. The school food authorityshall submit this data to the Stateagency no later than December 31 of each year. State agencies may estab-lish shorter deadlines at their discre-tion. In addition, the State agency mayrequire school food authorities to pro-vide this data for a more currentmonth if for use in the State agencyclaims review process under paragraph(c)(2) of this section.

(d) Advance funds. The State agencymay advance funds available for theProgram to a school food authority inan amount equal to the amount of re-imbursement estimated to be neededfor one month’s operation. Following

the receipt of claims, the State agencyshall make adjustments, as necessary,to ensure that the total amount of pay-ments received by the school food au-thority for the fiscal year does not ex-ceed an amount equal to the number of lunches and meal supplements by reim-bursement type served to childrentimes the respective payment rates as-signed by the State in accordance with§ 210.7(b). The State agency shall re-cover advances of funds to any schoolfood authority failing to comply withthe 60-day claim submission require-ments in paragraph (b) of this section.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 54FR 12581, Mar. 28, 1989; 56 FR 32940, July 17,

1991; 58 FR 42487, Aug. 10, 1993; 60 FR 31207,June 13, 1995; 64 FR 50740, Sept. 20, 1999]

Subpart C—Requirements forSchool Food Authority Partici-pation

§ 210.9 Agreement with State agency.(a) Application. An official of a school

food authority shall make written ap-plication to the State agency for any


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.9

school in which it desires to operatethe Program. Applications shall pro-vide the State agency with sufficientinformation to determine eligibility.The school food authority shall alsosubmit for approval a Free and Re-duced Price Policy Statement in ac-cordance with part 245 of this chapter.

(b) Agreement. Each school food au-thority approved to participate in theprogram shall enter into a writtenagreement with the State agency thatmay be amended as necessary. Nothingin the preceding sentence shall be con-strued to limit the ability of the Stateagency to suspend or terminate theagreement in accordance with § 210.25.If a single State agency administersany combination of the Child NutritionPrograms, that State agency shall pro-vide each school food authority with asingle agreement with respect to theoperation of those programs. Theagreement shall contain a statement tothe effect that the ‘‘School Food Au-thority and participating schools underits jurisdiction, shall comply with allprovisions of 7 CFR parts 210 and 245.’’This agreement shall provide that eachschool food authority shall, with re-

spect to participating schools under itsjurisdiction:(1) Maintain a nonprofit school food

service and observe the limitations onthe use of nonprofit school food servicerevenues set forth in § 210.14(a) and thelimitations on any competitive schoolfood service as set forth in § 210.11(b);

(2) Limit its net cash resources to anamount that does not exceed 3 monthsaverage expenditures for its nonprofitschool food service or such otheramount as may be approved in accord-ance with §210.19(a);

(3) Maintain a financial managementsystem as prescribed under § 210.14(c);

(4) Comply with the requirements of

the Department’s regulations regard-ing financial management (7 CFR part3015 and 7 CFR part 3016, or 7 CFR part3019, as applicable);

(5) Serve lunches, during the lunchperiod, which meet the minimum re-quirements prescribed in § 210.10;

(6) Price the lunch as a unit;(7) Serve lunches free or at a reduced

price to all children who are deter-mined by the local educational agency

to be eligible for such meals under 7CFR part 245;

(8) Claim reimbursement at the as-signed rates only for reimbursable free,reduced price and paid lunches servedto eligible children in accordance with7 CFR part 210. Agree that the schoolfood authority official signing theclaim shall be responsible for reviewingand analyzing meal counts to ensureaccuracy as specified in § 210.8 gov-erning claims for reimbursement. Ac-knowledge that failure to submit accu-rate claims will result in the recoveryof an overclaim and may result in thewithholding of payments, suspension ortermination of the program as speci-fied in § 210.25. Acknowledge that if failure to submit accurate claims re-flects embezzlement, willfulmisapplication of funds, theft, or fraud-ulent activity, the penalties specifiedin § 210.26 shall apply;

(9) Count the number of free, reducedprice and paid reimbursable mealsserved to eligible children at the pointof service, or through another countingsystem if approved by the State agen-cy;

(10) Submit Claims for Reimburse-ment in accordance with § 210.8;

(11) Comply with the requirements of the Department’s regulations regard-ing nondiscrimination (7 CFR parts 15,15a, 15b);

(12) Make no discrimination againstany child because of his or her eligi-bility for free or reduced price meals inaccordance with the approved Free andReduced Price Policy Statement;

(13) Enter into an agreement to re-ceive donated foods as required by 7CFR part 250;

(14) Maintain, in the storage, prepa-ration and service of food, proper sani-tation and health standards in con-formance with all applicable State andlocal laws and regulations, and complywith the food safety inspection require-ment of §210.13(b);

(15) Accept and use, in as large quan-tities as may be efficiently utilized inits nonprofit school food service, suchfoods as may be offered as a donationby the Department;

(16) Maintain necessary facilities forstoring, preparing and serving food;

(17) Upon request, make all accountsand records pertaining to its school


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food service available to the Stateagency and to FNS, for audit or review,at a reasonable time and place. Suchrecords shall be retained for a period of 3 years after the date of the final Claimfor Reimbursement for the fiscal yearto which they pertain, except that if audit findings have not been resolved,the records shall be retained beyondthe 3 year period as long as required forresolution of the issues raised by theaudit;

(18) Maintain files of currently ap-proved and denied free and reducedprice applications, respectively, andthe names of children approved for freelunches based on documentation certi-fying that the child is included in ahousehold approved to receive benefitsunder the Food Stamp Program, FoodDistribution Program for Householdson Indian Reservations (FDPIR) orTemporary Assistance for Needy Fami-lies (TANF). If the applications and/ordocumentation are maintained at theschool food authority level, they shallbe readily retrievable by school;

(19) Retain the individual applica-tions for free and reduced price lunchesand meal supplements submitted byfamilies for a period of 3 years after theend of the fiscal year to which theypertain or as otherwise specified underparagraph (b)(17) of this section.

(20) No later than March 1, 1997, andno later than December 31 of each yearthereafter, provide the State agencywith a list of all elementary schoolsunder its jurisdiction in which 50 per-cent or more of enrolled children havebeen determined eligible for free or re-duced price meals as of the last oper-ating day the preceding October. TheState agency may designate a monthother than October for the collection of this information, in which case the listmust be provided to the State agencywithin 60 calendar days following theend of the month designated by theState agency. In addition, each schoolfood authority shall provide, whenavailable for the schools under its ju-risdiction, and upon the request of asponsoring organization of day carehomes of the Child and Adult CareFood Program, information on theboundaries of the attendance areas forthe elementary schools identified ashaving 50 percent or more of enrolled

children certified eligible for free or re-duced price meals.

(c) Afterschool care requirements.Those school food authorities with eli-gible schools (as defined in§ 210.10(n)(1)) that elect to serve mealsupplements during afterschool careprograms, shall agree to:

(1) Serve meal supplements whichmeet the minimum requirements pre-scribed in §210.10;

(2) Price the meal supplement as aunit;

(3) Serve meal supplements free or ata reduced price to all children who aredetermined by the school food author-ity to be eligible for free or reducedprice school meals under 7 CFR part245;

(4) If charging for meals, the chargefor a reduced price meal supplementshall not exceed 15 cents;

(5) Claim reimbursement at the as-signed rates only for meal supplementsserved in accordance with the agree-ment;

(6) Claim reimbursement for no morethan one meal supplement per child perday;

(7) Review each afterschool care pro-gram two times a year; the first reviewshall be made during the first fourweeks that the school is in operationeach school year, except that an after-school care program operating yearround shall be reviewed during the firstfour weeks of its initial year of oper-ation, once more during its first yearof operation, and twice each schoolyear thereafter; and

(8) Comply with all requirements of this part, except that, claims for reim-bursement need not be based on ‘‘pointof service’’ meal supplement counts (asrequired by § 210.9(b)(9)).

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 54FR 12581, Mar. 28, 1989; 56 FR 32941, July 17,1991; 58 FR 42488, Aug. 10, 1993; 60 FR 31208,June 13, 1995; 62 FR 901, Jan. 7, 1997; 63 FR9104, Feb. 24, 1998; 64 FR 50740, Sept. 20, 1999;64 FR 72471, Dec. 28, 1999; 65 FR 26912, May 9,2000; 70 FR 34630, June 15, 2005; 71 FR 39516,July 13, 2006; 72 FR 63791, Nov. 13, 2007]


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.10

§ 210.10 Nutrition standards and menuplanning approaches for lunchesand requirements for afterschoolsnacks.

(a) What are the general require-ments? —(1) General nutrition require-ments. Schools must provide nutritiousand well-balanced meals to all the chil-dren they serve.

(i) Requirements for lunch. For chil-dren age 2 or older, schools must offerlunches that meet, at a minimum, thenutrition standards in paragraph (b) of this section. Compliance with the nu-trition standards and the appropriatenutrient and calorie levels is deter-mined by averaging lunches planned tobe offered over a school week. Underany menu planning approach, schoolsmust plan and produce at least enoughfood to meet the appropriate calorieand nutrient levels for the ages/gradesof the children in the school (see para-graphs (c), (d), (i)(1) or (l) of this sec-tion, depending on the menu planningapproach used). Also, if schools use oneof the food-based menu planning ap-proaches, they must plan and produceat least enough food to offer each childthe minimum quantities under themeal pattern (see paragraph (k) of thissection). Schools offering lunches toinfants must meet the meal pattern re-quirements in paragraph (o) of this sec-tion.

(ii) Requirements for afterschool snacks.Schools offering afterschool snacks inafterschool care programs must meetthe meal pattern requirements in para-graph (n) of this section. Schools mustplan and produce enough food to offereach child the minimum quantitiesunder the meal pattern in paragraph(n) of this section. The component re-quirements for meal supplementsserved under the Child and Adult CareFood Program authorized under part226 of this chapter also apply to after-school snacks served in accordancewith paragraph (n) of this section.

(2) Unit pricing. Schools must priceeach meal as a unit. Schools need toconsider participation trends in an ef-fort to provide one reimbursable lunchand, if applicable, one reimbursableafterschool snack for each child everyday. If there are leftover meals, schoolsmay offer them to the students butcannot get reimbursement for them.

(3) Production and menu records.Schools must keep production andmenu records for the meals theyproduce. These records must show howthe meals contribute to the requiredfood components, food items or menuitems every day. In addition, forlunches, these records must show howthe lunches contribute to the nutritionstandards in paragraph (b) of this sec-tion and the appropriate calorie andnutrient levels for the ages/grades of the children in the school (see para-graphs (c), (d), or (i)(1) or (l) of this sec-tion, depending on the menu planningapproach used) over the school week. If applicable, schools or school food au-thorities must maintain nutritionalanalysis records to demonstrate thatlunches meet, when averaged over eachschool week:

(i) The nutrition standards providedin paragraph (b) of this section; and

(ii) The nutrient and calorie levelsfor children for each age or grade groupin accordance with paragraphs (c) or(i)(1) of this section or developed underparagraph (l) of this section.

(b) What are the specific nutritionstandards for lunches? Children age 2and above must be offered lunches thatmeet the following nutrition standardsfor their age/grade group:

(1) Provision of one-third of the Rec-ommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs)for protein, calcium, iron, vitamin Aand vitamin C in the appropriate levelsfor the ages/grades (see paragraphs (c),(d), (i)(1) or (l) of this section, depend-ing on the menu planning approachused);

(2) Provision of the lunchtime energyallowances (calories) in the appropriatelevels (see paragraphs (c), (d),(i)(1) or(l) of this section, depending on themenu planning approach used);

(3) These applicable recommenda-tions from the 1995 Dietary Guidelinesfor Americans:

(i) Eat a variety of foods;(ii) Limit total fat to 30 percent of

total calories;(iii) Limit saturated fat to less than

10 percent of total calories;(iv) Choose a diet low in cholesterol;(v) Choose a diet with plenty of grain

products, vegetables, and fruits; and(vi) Choose a diet moderate in salt

and sodium.


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(4) These measures of compliancewith the applicable recommendationsof the 1995 Dietary Guidelines forAmericans:

(i) Limit the percent of calories fromtotal fat to 30 percent of the actualnumber of calories offered;

(ii) Limit the percent of caloriesfrom saturated fat to less than 10 per-cent of the actual number of caloriesoffered;

(iii) Reduce sodium and cholesterollevels; and

(iv) Increase the level of dietaryfiber.

(5) School food authorities have sev-eral ways to plan menus. The minimumlevels of nutrients and calories thatlunches must offer depends on themenu planning approach used and the

ages/grades served. The menu planningapproaches are:

(i) Nutrient standard menu planning(see paragraphs (c) and (i) of this sec-tion);

(ii) Assisted nutrient standard menuplanning (see paragraphs (c) and (j) of this section);

(iii) Traditional food-based menuplanning (see paragraphs (d)(1) and (k)of this section);

(iv) Enhanced food-based menu plan-ning (see paragraphs (d)(2) and (k) of this section); or

(v) Alternate menu planning (seeparagraph (l) of this section).

(c) What are the levels for nutrients andcalories for lunches planned under thenutrient standard or assisted nutrientstandard menu planning approaches? —(1)Required levels. The required levels are:

(2) Optional levels. Optional levels are:


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(3) Customized levels. Schools mayalso develop a set of nutrient and cal-orie levels for a school week. These lev-els are customized for the age groups of the children in the particular school orschool food authority.

(d) What are the nutrient and calorielevels for lunches planned under the food-based menu planning approaches? —(1)Traditional approach. For the tradi-tional food-based menu planning ap-proach, the required levels are:

(2) Enhanced approach. For the en-hanced food-based menu planning ap-proach, the required levels are:


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(e) Must schools offer choices at lunch?FNS encourages schools to offer chil-dren a selection of foods and menuitems at lunch. Choices provide varietyand encourage consumption. Schoolsmay offer choices of reimbursablelunches or foods within a reimbursablelunch. Children who are eligible forfree or reduced price lunches must be

allowed to take any reimbursablelunch or any choices offered as part of a reimbursable lunch. Schools may es-tablish different unit prices for eachlunch offered provided that the benefitsmade available to children eligible forfree or reduced price lunches are notaffected.

(f) What are the requirements for lunch periods? —(1) Timing. Schools must offerlunches meeting the requirements of this section during the period theschool has designated as the lunch pe-riod. Schools must offer lunches be-tween 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Schoolsmay request an exemption from thesetimes only from FNS.

(2) Lunch periods for young children.With State agency approval, schoolsare encouraged to serve children agesone through five over two service peri-ods. Schools may divide the quantitiesand/or the menu items, foods, or fooditems offered each time any way theywish.

(3) Adequate lunch periods. FNS en-courages schools to provide sufficientlunch periods that are long enough to

give all students enough time to beserved and to eat their lunches.

(g) What exceptions and variations areallowed in meals? —(1) Exceptions for med-ical or special dietary needs. Schoolsmust make substitutions in lunchesand afterschool snacks for studentswho are considered to have a disabilityunder 7 CFR part 15b and whose dis-ability restricts their diet. Schoolsmay also make substitutions for stu-dents who do not have a disability butwho cannot consume the regular lunchor afterschool snack because of med-ical or other special dietary needs.Substitutions must be made on a caseby case basis only when supported by astatement of the need for substitutionsthat includes recommended alternatefoods, unless otherwise exempted byFNS. Such statement must, in the caseof a student with a disability, be signedby a physician or, in the case of a stu-dent who is not disabled, by a recog-nized medical authority.

(2) Variations for ethnic, religious, oreconomic reasons. Schools should con-sider ethnic and religious preferenceswhen planning and preparing meals.Variations on an experimental or con-tinuing basis in the food componentsfor the food-based menu planning ap-proaches in paragraphs (k) or (n) of this section may be allowed by FNS.Any variations must be nutritionallysound and needed to meet ethnic, reli-gious, or economic needs.


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.10

(3) Exceptions for natural disasters. If there is a natural disaster or other ca-tastrophe, FNS may temporarily allowschools to serve meals for reimburse-ment that do not meet the require-ments in this section.

(h) What must schools do about nutri-tion disclosure? To the extent thatschool food authorities identify foodsin a menu, or on the serving line orthrough other available means of com-municating with program participants,school food authorities must identifyproducts or dishes containing morethan 30 parts fully hydrated alternateprotein products (as specified in appen-dix A of this part) to less than 70 partsbeef, pork, poultry or seafood on anuncooked basis, in a manner whichdoes not characterize the product ordish solely as beef, pork, poultry orseafood. Additionally, FNS encouragesschools to inform the students, par-ents, and the public about efforts theyare making to meet the nutritionstandards (see paragraph (b) of this sec-tion) for school lunches.

(i) What are the requirements forlunches under the nutrient standardmenu planning approach? —(1) Nutrient

levels —(i) Adjusting nutrient levels foryoung children. Schools with childrenwho are age 2 must at least meet thenutrition standards in paragraph (b) of this section and the preschool nutrientand calorie levels in paragraph (c)(1) of this section over a school week.Schools may also use the preschool nu-trient and calorie levels in paragraph(c)(2) of this section or may calculatenutrient and calorie levels for two yearolds. FNS has a method for calculatingthese levels in guidance materials formenu planning.

(ii) Minimum levels for nutrients.Lunches must at least offer the nutri-ent and calorie levels for the requiredgrade groups in the table in paragraph(c)(1) of this section. Schools may alsooffer lunches meeting the nutrient andcalorie levels for the age groups inparagraph (c)(2) of this section. If onlyone grade or age group is outside eitherof these established levels, schools mayfollow the levels for the majority of thechildren. Schools may also customizethe nutrient and calorie levels for thechildren they serve. FNS has a method

for calculating these levels in guidancematerials for menu planning.

(2) Reimbursable lunches —(i) Contentsof a reimbursable lunch. A reimbursablelunch must include at least three menuitems. One of those menu items mustbe an entree, and one must be fluidmilk as a beverage. An entree is a com-bination of foods or is a single fooditem offered as the main course. Allmenu items or foods offered in a reim-bursable lunch contribute to the nutri-tion standards in paragraph (b) of thissection and to the levels of nutrientsand calories that must be met in para-graphs (c) or (i)(1) of this section. Un-less offered as part of a menu item in areimbursable lunch, foods of minimalnutritional value (see appendix B topart 210) are not included in the nutri-ent analysis. Reimbursable lunchesplanned under the nutrient standardmenu planning approach must meetthe nutrition standards in paragraph(b) of this section and the appropriatenutrient and calorie levels in eitherparagraph (c) or paragraph (i)(1) of thissection.

(ii) Offer versus serve. Schools mustoffer at least three menu items for

lunches. Senior high (as defined by theState educational agency) school stu-dents must select at least two menuitems and are allowed to decline amaximum of two menu items. The stu-dent must always take the entree. Theprice of a reimbursable lunch does notchange if the student does not take amenu item or requests smaller por-tions. At the discretion of the schoolfood authority, students below the sen-ior high level may also participate inoffer versus serve.

(3) Doing the analysis. Schools usingnutrient standard menu planning mustconduct the analysis on all menu itemsand foods offered in a reimbursable

lunch. The analysis is conducted over aschool week. Unless offered as part of amenu item in a reimbursable lunch,foods of minimal nutritional value (seeappendix B to part 210) are not includedin the nutrient analysis.

(4) Software elements —(i) The ChildNutrition Database. The nutrient anal-ysis is based on the Child NutritionDatabase. This database is part of thesoftware used to do a nutrient analysis.


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Software companies or others devel-oping systems for schools may contactFNS for more information about thedatabase.

(ii) Software evaluation. FNS or anFNS designee evaluates any nutrientanalysis software before it may be usedin schools. FNS or its designee deter-mines if the software, as submitted,meets the minimum requirements. Theapproval of software does not meanthat FNS or USDA endorses it. Thesoftware must be able to do all func-tions after the basic data is entered.The required functions include weight-ed averages and the optional combinedanalysis of the lunch and breakfastprograms.

(5) Nutrient analysis procedures —(i)Weighted averages. Schools must in-clude all menu items and foods offeredin reimbursable lunches in the nutrientanalysis. Menu items and foods are in-cluded based on the portion sizes andprojected serving amounts. They arealso weighted based on their propor-tionate contribution to the lunches of-fered. This means that menu items orfoods more frequently offered areweighted more heavily than those notoffered as frequently. Schools calculateweighting as indicated by FNS guid-ance and by the guidance provided bythe software. Through September 30,2009, schools are not required to con-duct a weighted analysis.

(ii) Analyzed nutrients. The analysisincludes all menu items and foods of-fered over a school week. The analysismust determine the levels of: Calories,protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron,calcium, total fat, saturated fat, so-dium, cholesterol and dietary fiber.

(iii) Combining the analysis of thelunch and breakfast programs. At theiroption, schools may combine the anal-ysis of lunches offered under this partand breakfasts offered under part 220 of this Chapter. The analysis is done pro-portionately to the levels of participa-tion in each program based on FNSguidance.

(6) Comparing the results of the nutri-ent analysis. Once the procedures inparagraph (i)(5) of this section are com-pleted, schools must compare the re-sults of the analysis to the appropriatenutrient and calorie levels, by age/grade groups, in paragraph (c) of this

section or those developed under para-graph (i)(1) of this section. This com-parison determines the school week’saverage. Schools must also make com-parisons to the nutrition standards inparagraph (b) of this section to deter-mine how well they are meeting thenutrition standards over the schoolweek.

(7) Adjustments to the menus. Onceschools know the results of the nutri-ent analysis based on the procedures inparagraphs (i)(5) and (i)(6) of this sec-tion, they must adjust future menu cy-cles to reflect production and howoften the menu items and foods are of-fered. Schools may need to reanalyzemenus when the students’ selectionschange and, consequently, productionlevels change. Schools may need tochange the menu items and foods of-fered given the students’ selections andmay need to modify the recipes andother specifications to make sure thatthe nutrition standards in paragraph(b) and either paragraphs (c) or (i)(1) of this section are met.

(8) Standardized recipes. If a schoolfollows the nutrient standard menuplanning approach, it must develop and

follow standardized recipes. A stand-ardized recipe is a recipe that was test-ed to provide an established yield andquantity using the same ingredientsfor both measurement and preparationmethods. Any standardized recipes de-veloped by USDA/FNS are in the ChildNutrition Database. If a school has itsown recipes, they must be standardizedand analyzed to determine the levels of calories, nutrients, and dietary compo-nents listed in paragraph (i)(5)(ii) of this section. Schools must add anylocal recipes to their local database asoutlined in FNS guidance.

(9) Processed foods. The Child Nutri-tion Database includes a number of processed foods. Schools may use pur-chased processed foods and menu itemsthat are not in the Child NutritionDatabase. Schools or the State agencymust add any locally purchased proc-essed foods and menu items to theirlocal database as outlined in FNS guid-ance. Schools or the State agency mustobtain the levels of calories, nutrients,and dietary components listed in para-graph (i)(5)(ii) of this section.


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.10

(10) Menu substitutions. Schools mayneed to substitute foods or menu itemsin a menu that was already analyzed. If the substitution(s) occurs more thantwo weeks before the planned menu isserved, the school must reanalyze therevised menu. If the substitution(s) oc-curs two weeks or less before theplanned menu is served, the school doesnot need to do a reanalysis. However,schools should always try to substitutesimilar foods.

(11) Meeting the nutrition standards.The school’s analysis shows whethertheir menus are meeting the nutritionstandards in paragraph (b) of this sec-tion and the appropriate levels of nu-trients and calories in paragraph (c) of this section or customized levels devel-oped under paragraph (i)(1) of this sec-tion. If the analysis shows that themenu(s) are not meeting these stand-ards, the school needs to take action tomake sure that the lunches meet thenutrition standards and the calorie,nutrient, and dietary component lev-els. Actions may include technical as-sistance and training and may be takenby the State agency, the school foodauthority or by the school as needed.

(12) Other Child Nutrition Programsand nutrient standard menu planning.School food authorities that operatethe Summer Food Service Program(part 225 of this chapter) and/or theChild and Adult Care Food Program(part 226 of this chapter) may, withState agency approval, prepare lunchesfor these programs using the nutrientstandard menu planning approach forchildren age two and over. FNS hasguidance on the levels of nutrients andcalories for adult lunches under theChild and Adult Care Food Program.However, afterschool snacks continueto use the appropriate program’s mealpattern.

(j) What are the requirements forlunches under the assisted nutrient stand-ard menu planning approach? —(1) Defini-tion of assisted nutrient standard menu

planning. Some school food authoritiesmay not be able to do all of the proce-dures necessary for nutrient standardmenu planning. The assisted nutrientstandard menu planning approach pro-vides schools with menu cycles devel-oped and analyzed by other sources.These sources include the State agen-

cy, other school food authorities, con-sultants, or food service managementcompanies.

(2) Elements of assisted nutrient stand-ard menu planning. School food authori-ties using menu cycles developed underassisted nutrient standard menu plan-ning must follow the procedures inparagraphs (i)(1) through (i)(10) of thissection. The menu cycles must also in-corporate local food preferences andaccommodate local food service oper-ations. The menus cycles must meetthe nutrition standards in paragraph(b) of this section and meet the nutri-ent and calorie levels for nutrientstandard menu planning in paragraph(c) or paragraph (i)(1) of this section.The supplier of the assisted nutrientstandard menu planning approach mustalso develop and provide recipes, foodproduct specifications, and preparationtechniques. All of these componentssupport the nutrient analysis results of the menus cycles used by the receivingschool food authorities.

(3) State agency approval. Prior to itsuse, the State agency must approve theinitial menu cycle, recipes and otherspecifications of the assisted nutrient

standard menu planning approach. TheState agency needs to ensure that allthe steps required for nutrient analysiswere followed. School food authoritiesmay also ask the State agency for as-sistance with implementation of theirassisted nutrient standard menu plan-ning approach.

(4) Required adjustments. After the ini-tial service of the menu cycle devel-oped under the assisted nutrient stand-ard menu planning approach, the nutri-ent analysis must be reassessed and ap-propriate adjustments made as dis-cussed in paragraph (i)(7) of this sec-tion.

(5) Final responsibility for meeting the

nutrition standards. The school food au-thority using the assisted nutrientstandard menu planning approach re-tains responsibility for meeting the nu-trition standards in paragraph (b) of this section and the calorie and nutri-ent levels in paragraph (c) or paragraph(i)(1) of this section.

(6) Adjustments to the menus. If the nu-trient analysis shows that the lunchesoffered are not meeting the nutrition


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standards in paragraph (b) of this sec-tion and the calorie and nutrient levelsin paragraph (c) or paragraph (i)(1) of this section, the State agency, schoolfood authority or school must take ac-tion to make sure the lunches offeredmeet these requirements. Actions need-ed include technical assistance andtraining.

(7) Other Child Nutrition Programs andassisted nutrient standard menu plan-ning. School food authorities that oper-ate the Summer Food Service Program(part 225 of this chapter) and/or the

Child and Adult Care Food Program(part 226 of this chapter) may, withState agency approval, prepare lunchesfor these programs using the assistednutrient standard menu planning ap-proach for children age two and over.FNS has guidance on the levels of nu-trients and calories for adult lunches

under the Child and Adult Care FoodProgram. However, afterschool snackscontinue to use the appropriate pro-gram’s meal pattern.

(k) What are the requirements forlunches under the food-based menu plan-ning approaches? There are two menuplanning approaches based on mealpatterns, not nutrient analysis. Theseapproaches are the traditional food-based menu planning approach and theenhanced food-based menu planning ap-proach. Schools using one of these ap-

proaches offer food components in atleast the minimum quantities requiredfor the various grade groups.

(1) Quantities for the traditional food-based menu planning approach —(i) Min-imum quantities. At a minimum, schoolsmust offer five food items in the quan-tities in the following table:

(ii) Use of Group IV quantities. Schoolsthat are able to provide quantities of

food to children solely on the basis of their ages or grade level should do so.


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.10

Schools that cannot serve children onthe basis of age or grade level mustprovide all school age children GroupIV portions as specified in the table inparagraph (k)(1)(i) of this section.Schools serving children on the basis of age or grade level must plan andproduce sufficient quantities of food toprovide Groups I-IV no less than theamounts specified for those children inthe table in paragraph (k)(1)(i) of thissection, and sufficient quantities of food to provide Group V no less thanthe specified amounts for Group IV.FNS recommends that schools plan andproduce sufficient quantities of food toprovide Group V children the largeramounts specified in the table in para-

graph (k)(1)(i) of this section. Schoolsthat provide increased portion sizes forGroup V may comply with children’srequests for smaller portion sizes of thefood items; however, schools must planand produce sufficient quantities of food to at least provide the servingsizes required for Group IV. Schoolsmust ensure that lunches are servedwith the objective of providing the perlunch minimums for each age andgrade level as specified in the table inparagraph (k)(1)(i) of this section.

(2) Quantities for the enhanced food-based menu planning approach. Schoolsmust at least offer five food items inthe quantities in the following table:

(3) Requirements for the meat/meat al-ternate component. The quantity of themeat/meat alternate component mustbe the edible portion as served. If theportion size of a food item for this com-ponent is excessive, the school must re-

duce that portion and supplement itwith another meat/meat alternate tomeet the full requirement. This compo-nent must be served in a main dish orin a main dish and only one other fooditem. Schools without daily choices in


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this component should not serve anyone meat alternate or form of meat (forexample, ground, diced, pieces) morethan three times in the same week.

(i) Enriched macaroni. Enriched maca-roni with fortified protein as defined inappendix A to this part may be used tomeet part of the meat/meat alternaterequirement when used as specified inappendix A to this part. An enrichedmacaroni product with fortified proteinas defined in appendix A to this partmay be used to meet part of the meat/meat alternate component or thegrains/breads component but not asboth food components in the samelunch.

(ii) Nuts and seeds. Nuts and seeds andtheir butters are allowed as meat alter-nates in accordance with program guid-ance. Acorns, chestnuts, and coconutsmust not be used because of their lowprotein and iron content. Nut and seedmeals or flours may be used only as al-lowed under appendix A to this part.Nuts or seeds may be used to meet nomore than one-half of the meat/meatalternate component with anothermeat/meat alternate to meet the fullrequirement.

(iii) Yogurt. Yogurt may be used tomeet all or part of the meat/meat al-ternate requirement. Yogurt may be ei-ther plain or flavored, unsweetened orsweetened. Noncommercial and/or non-standardized yogurt products, such asfrozen yogurt, homemade yogurt, yo-gurt flavored products, yogurt bars, yo-gurt covered fruit and/or nuts or simi-lar products are not creditable. Fourounces (weight) or 1 ⁄ 2 cup (volume) of yogurt equals one ounce of the meat/meat alternate requirement.

(4) Requirements for the vegetable/fruitcomponent.

(i) General. Full strength vegetable orfruit juice may be used to meet nomore than one-half of the vegetable/fruit requirement. Cooked dry beans orpeas may be counted as either a vege-table or as a meat alternate but not asboth in the same meal.

(ii) Minimum quantities for the en-hanced food-based menu planning. Underthe enhanced food-based menu plan-ning approach, children in kinder-garten through grade six are offeredvegetables/fruits in minimum dailyservings plus an additional one-half

cup in any combination over a five dayperiod.

(5) Requirements for the grains/breadscomponent —(i) Enriched or whole grains.All grains/breads must be enriched orwhole grain or made with enriched orwhole grain meal or flour.

(ii) Daily and weekly servings. The re-quirement for the grain/bread compo-nent is based on minimum dailyservings plus total servings over a fiveday period. Schools serving lunch 6 or7 days per week should increase theweekly quantity by approximately 20percent ( 1 ⁄ 5 th) for each additional day.When schools operate less than 5 daysper week, they may decrease the week-ly quantity by approximately 20 per-cent ( 1 ⁄ 5 th) for each day less than five.The servings for biscuits, rolls, muf-fins, and other grain/bread varieties arespecified in the Food Buying Guide forChild Nutrition Programs (PA 1331), anFNS publication.

(iii) Minimums under the traditional food-based menu planning approach.Schools must offer at least one-half serving of the grain/bread componentto children in Group I and at least oneserving to children in Groups II-Vdaily. Schools which serve lunch atleast 5 days a week shall serve a totalof at least five servings of grains/breadsto children in Group I and eightservings per week to children in GroupsII-V.

(iv) Desserts under the enhanced food-based menu planning approach. Underthe enhanced food-based menu plan-ning approach, schools may count upto one grain-based dessert per day forchildren in grades K-12 towards meet-ing the grains/breads component.

(6) Offer versus serve. Schools mustoffer all five required food items. Sen-ior high (as defined by the State edu-cational agency) school students maydecline up to two of the five food items.At the school food authority’s option,students below senior high may declineone or two of the five food items. Theprice of a reimbursable lunch does notchange if the student does not take amenu item or requests smaller por-tions.

(7) Meal pattern exceptions for outlyingareas. Schools in American Samoa,Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islandsmay serve a starchy vegetable such as


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.10

yams, plantains, or sweet potatoes tomeet the grain/bread requirement.

(l) What are the requirements forlunches planned using an alternate menu

planning approach? —(1) Definition. Al-ternate menu planning approaches arethose adopted or developed by schoolfood authorities or State agencies thatdiffer from the standard approaches es-tablished in paragraphs (i) through (k)of this section. There are two types of alternate approaches. First, there arespecific modifications provided in para-graph (l)(2) of this section. Second,there are major changes to the stand-ard menu planning approaches or newmenu planning approaches developedby school food authorities or Stateagencies (see paragraph (l)(3) of thissection).

(2) Use of modifications. There arethree modifications available toschools using one of the food-basedmenu planning approaches for lunches.State agencies may or may not requireprior approval or may establish guide-lines for using these modifications.

(i) Modification to the meat/meat alter-nate component. The required minimumquantities of the meat/meat alternatecomponent in the food-based menuplanning approaches may be offered asa weekly total with a one ounce (or itsequivalent for certain meat alternates)minimum daily serving size. Thismodification does not apply if the min-imum serving of meat/meat alternateis less than one ounce.

(ii) Modification to age/grade groupsunder the traditional food-based menu

planning approach. Schools using thetraditional food-based menu planningapproach may:

(A) For children in grades K–6, usethe portion sizes in Group IV in thetable in paragraph (k)(1) of this sectionand follow the nutrient levels for chil-dren in grades K–6 in paragraphs (c)(1)and (d)(2) of this section; and/or

(B) For children in grades 7–12, usethe portion sizes in Group IV in thetable in paragraph (k)(1) of this sectionand follow the nutrient levels for chil-dren in grades 7–12 in paragraphs (c)(1)and (d)(2) of this section.

(iii) Modification for the majority of children. Under the traditional or en-hanced food-based menu planning ap-proaches, if only one age or grade is

outside the established levels, schoolsmay follow the levels for the majorityof children for both quantities (seeparagraph (k)) and the nutrition stand-ards in paragraphs (b) and (d) of thissection.

(3) Use and approval of major changesor new alternate approaches. Within theguidelines established for developingalternate menu planning approaches,school food authorities or State agen-cies may modify one of the establishedmenu planning approaches in para-graphs (i) through (k) of this section ormay develop their own menu planningapproach. The alternate menu planningapproach must be available in writingfor review and monitoring purposes. Noformal plan is required; guidance mate-rial, a handbook or protocol is suffi-cient. As appropriate, the materialmust address how the guidelines inparagraph (l)(4) of this section are met.A State agency that develops an alter-nate approach that is exempt fromFNS approval under paragraph(l)(3)(iii) of this section must notifyFNS in writing when implementing thealternate approach.

(i) Approval of local level approaches.

Any school food authority-developedmenu planning approach must haveprior State agency review and ap-proval.

(ii) Approval of State agency approaches. Unless exempt under para-graph (l)(3)(iii) of this section, anyState agency-developed menu planningapproach must have prior FNS ap-proval.

(iii) State agency approaches not subject to approval. A State agency-devel-oped menu planning approach does notneed FNS approval if:

(A) Five or more school food authori-ties in the State use it; and

(B) The State agency maintains on-going oversight of the operation andevaluation of the approach and makesany needed adjustments to its policiesand procedures to ensure that the ap-propriate guidelines of paragraph (l)(4)of this section are met.

(4) Elements for major changes or newapproaches. Any alternate menu plan-ning approach must:

(i) Offer fluid milk, as provided inparagraph (m) of this section;


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(ii) Include offer versus serve for sen-ior high students. Alternate menuplanning approaches should follow theoffer versus serve procedures in para-graphs (i)(2)(ii) and (k)(6) of this sec-tion, as appropriate. If these require-ments are not followed, the plan mustindicate:

(A) The affected age/grade groups;(B) The number and type of items

(and, if applicable, the quantities forthe items) that constitute a reimburs-able lunch under offer versus serve;

(C) How such procedures will reduceplate waste; and

(D) How a reasonable level of caloriesand nutrients for the lunch as taken isprovided;

(iii) Meet the Recommended DietaryAllowances and lunchtime energy al-lowances (nutrient levels) and indicatethe age/grade groups served and howthe nutrient levels are met for thoseage/grade groups;

(iv) Follow the requirements for com-petitive foods in § 210.11 and appendix Bto this part;

(v) Follow the requirements forcounting food items and products to-wards the meal patterns. These re-quirements are found in paragraphs(k)(3) through (k)(5) and paragraph (m)of this section, in appendices Athrough C to this part, and in instruc-tions and guidance issued by FNS. Thisonly applies if the alternate approachis a food-based menu planning ap-proach;

(vi) Identify a reimbursable lunch atthe point of service;

(A) To the extent possible, the proce-dures provided in paragraph (i)(2)(i) of this section for the nutrient standardor assisted nutrient standard menuplanning approaches or for food-basedmenu planning approaches provided inparagraph (k) of this section must befollowed. Any instructions or guidanceissued by FNS that further defines theelements of a reimbursable lunch mustbe followed when using the existingregulatory provisions.

(B) Any alternate approach that devi-ates from the provisions in paragraph(i)(2)(i) or paragraph (k) of this sectionmust indicate what constitutes a reim-bursable lunch, including the numberand type of items (and, if applicable,the quantities for the items) which

comprise the lunch, and how a reim-bursable lunch is to be identified at thepoint of service;

(vii) Explain how the alternate menuplanning approach can be monitoredunder the applicable provisions of § 210.18 and §210.19, including a descrip-tion of the records that will be main-tained to document compliance withthe program’s administrative and nu-trition requirements. However, if theprocedures under § 210.19 cannot be usedto monitor the alternate approach, adescription of procedures which willenable the State agency to assess com-pliance with the nutrition standards inparagraphs (b)(1) through (b)(4) of thissection must be included; and

(viii) Follow the requirements forweighted analysis and for approvedsoftware for nutrient standard menuplanning approaches as required byparagraphs (i)(4) and (i)(5) of this sec-tion unless a State agency-developedapproach meets the criteria in para-graph (l)(3)(iii) of this section. ThroughSeptember 30, 2009, schools are not re-quired to conduct a weighted analysis.

(m) What are the requirements for offer-ing milk? —(1) Types of milk. (i) Under allmenu planning approaches for stu-dents, schools must offer students fluidmilk in a variety of fat contents.Schools may offer flavored orunflavored milk and lactose-free fluidmilk.

(ii) All milk served in the Programmust be pasteurized fluid milk whichmeets State and local standards forsuch milk. However, infants under 1year of age must be served breast milkor iron-fortified infant formula. Allmilk must have vitamins A and D atlevels specified by the Food and DrugAdministration and must be consistentwith State and local standards for suchmilk.

(2) Inadequate milk supply. If a schoolcannot get a supply of milk, it can stillparticipate in the Program under thefollowing conditions:

(i) If emergency conditions tempo-rarily prevent a school that normallyhas a supply of fluid milk from obtain-ing delivery of such milk, the Stateagency may allow the school to servemeals during the emergency periodwith an alternate form of milk or with-out milk.


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.10

(ii) If a school is unable to obtain asupply of any type of fluid milk on acontinuing basis, the State agency mayapprove the service of meals withoutfluid milk if the school uses an equiva-lent amount of canned milk or drymilk in the preparation of the meals.In Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa,Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Is-lands, if a sufficient supply of fluidmilk cannot be obtained, ‘‘milk’’ in-cludes reconstituted or recombinedmilk, or as otherwise allowed by FNSthrough a written exception.

(3) Restrictions on the sale of milk. Aschool participating in the Program, ora person approved by a school partici-pating in the Program, must not di-rectly or indirectly restrict the sale ormarketing of fluid milk (as describedin paragraph(m)(1)(ii) of this section)at any time or in any place on schoolpremises or at any school-sponsoredevent.

(n) Supplemental food. Eligible schoolsoperating afterschool care programsmay be reimbursed for one meal sup-plement served to an eligible child (asdefined in §210.2) per day.

(1) Eligible schools mean schoolsthat:

(i) Operate school lunch programsunder the National School Lunch Act;

(ii) Sponsor afterschool care pro-grams as defined in §210.2; and

(iii) Were participating in the Childand Adult Care Food Program as of May 15, 1989.

(2) Meal supplements shall containtwo different components from the fol-lowing four:

(i) A serving of fluid milk as a bev-erage, or on cereal, or used in part foreach purpose;

(ii) A serving of meat or meat alter-nate. Nuts and seeds and their butterslisted in program guidance are nutri-tionally comparable to meat or othermeat alternates based on available nu-tritional data. Acorns, chestnuts, andcoconuts are excluded and shall not beused as meat alternates due to theirlow protein content. Nut or seed mealsor flours shall not be used as a meat al-ternate except as defined under appen-dix A: Alternate Foods for Meals of this part;

(iii) A serving of vegetable(s) orfruit(s) or full-strength vegetable or

fruit juice, or an equivalent quantity of any combination of these foods. Juicemay not be served when milk is servedas the only other component;

(iv) A serving of whole-grain or en-riched bread; or an equivalent servingof cornbread, biscuits, rolls, muffins,etc., made with whole-grain or en-riched meal or flour; or a serving of cooked whole-grain or enriched pastaor noodle products such as macaroni,or cereal grains such as rice, bulgur, orcorn grits; or an equivalent quantity of any combination of these foods.

(3) Snacks served to infants agesbirth through 11 months must meet therequirements described in paragraph(n)(3)(iv) of this section. Foods in-cluded in the snack must be of a tex-ture and a consistency that are appro-priate for the age of the infant beingserved. The foods must be served dur-ing a span of time consistent with theinfant’s eating habits. For those in-fants whose dietary needs are more in-dividualized, exceptions to the mealpattern must be made in accordancewith the requirements found in para-graph (g)(1) of this section.

(i) Breastmilk and iron-fortified for-

mula. Either breastmilk or iron-for-tified infant formula, or portions of both, must be served for the entire firstyear. Snacks containing breastmilkand snacks containing iron-fortified in-fant formula supplied by the school areeligible for reimbursement. However,infant formula provided by a parent (orguardian) and breastmilk fed directlyby the infant’s mother, during a visitto the school, contribute to a reimburs-able snack only when the school sup-plies at least one component of the in-fant’s snack.

(ii) Fruit juice. Juice should not be of-fered to infants until they are 6 monthsof age and ready to drink from a cup.Feeding fruit juice only from a cup willhelp develop behaviors that may pre-vent early childhood caries. Fruit juiceserved as part of the meal pattern forinfants 8 through 11 months must befull-strength.

(iii) Solid foods. Solid foods of an ap-propriate texture and consistency arerequired only when the infant is devel-opmentally ready to accept them. Theschool should consult with the infant’s


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parent (or guardian) in making the de-cision to introduce solid foods. Solidfoods should be introduced one at atime, on a gradual basis, with the in-tent of ensuring the infant’s health andnutritional well-being.

(iv) Infant meal pattern. Infant snacksmust have, at a minimum, breastmilkor iron-fortified infant formula, or por-tions of both, in the appropriateamount indicated for the infant’s age.For some breastfed infants who regu-larly consume less than the minimumamount of breastmilk per feeding, a

serving of less than the minimumamount of breastmilk may be offered.In these situations, additionalbreastmilk must be offered if the in-fant is still hungry. Some infants maybe developmentally ready to accept anadditional food component. Snacks arereimbursable when schools provide allof the components in the meal patternthat the infant is developmentallyready to accept.

(A) Birth through 3 months. 4 to 6 fluidounces of breastmilk or iron-fortifiedinfant formula—only breastmilk oriron-fortified formula is required tomeet the infant’s nutritional needs.

(B) 4 through 7 months. 4 to 6 fluid

ounces of breastmilk or iron-fortifiedinfant formula—only breastmilk oriron-fortified formula is required tomeet the infant’s nutritional needs.

(C) 8 through 11 months. 2 to 4 fluidounces of breastmilk, iron-fortified in-

fant formula, or full strength fruitjuice; and 0 to 1 ⁄ 2 slice of crusty bread(if developmentally ready) or 0 to 2cracker type products (if develop-mentally ready), which are made fromwhole-grain or enriched meal or flour,and suitable as a finger food for an in-fant.

(4) The minimum amounts of foodcomponents to be served as meal sup-plements as set forth in paragraphs(n)(2) and (n)(3) of this section are asfollows. Select two different compo-

nents from the four listed. (Juice maynot be served when milk is served asthe only other component.)

S NACK P ATTERN FOR INFANTS

Birth through 3months

4 through 7months

8 through 11months

4–6 fluid ounces offormula 1 orbreastmilk 2,3 .

4–6 fluid ounces offormula 1 orbreastmilk 2,3 .

2–4 fluid ounces offormula 1 ,breastmilk 2,3 , orfruit juice 4 ; and

0– 1 ⁄ 2 slice ofbread 5 or 0–2crackers 5 .

1 Infant formula must be iron-fortified.2 Breastmilk or iron-fortified formula, or portions of both,

may be served; however, it is recommended that breastmilkbe served in place of formula from birth through 11 months.

3 For some breastfed infants who regularly consume lessthan the minimum amount of breastmilk per feeding, a servingof less than the minimum amount of breastmilk may be of-fered, with additional breastmilk offered if the infant is stillhungry.

4 Fruit juice must be full-strength.5 A serving of this component must be made from whole-

grain or enriched meal or flour. It is required only when the in-fant is developmentally ready to accept it.

S UPPLEMENTS FOR INFANTS

Birth through 3 months 4 through 7 months 8 through 11 months

Supplement (snack) 4–6 fl. oz. breast milk 2,3 orformula 1

4–6 fl. oz. breast milk 2,3 orformula 1

2–4 fl. oz breast milk 2,3 , formula 1 , orfruit juice 4 ;

0– 1 ⁄ 2 bread 5 or0–2 crackers 5 .

1 Infant formula shall be iron-fortified.2 It is recommended that breast milk be served in place of formula from birth through 11 months.3 For some breastfed infants who regularly consume less than the minimum amount of breast milk per feeding, a serving of

less than the minimum amount of breast milk may be offered with additional breast milk offered if the infant is still hungry.4 Fruit juice shall be full-strength.5 Bread and bread alternates shall be made from whole-grain or enriched meal or flour. A serving of this component shall be

optional.

(o) What are the requirements for theinfant lunch pattern? —(1) Definitions. (i)Infant cereal means any iron-fortifieddry cereal especially formulated andgenerally recognized as cereal for in-fants which is routinely mixed withbreast milk or iron-fortified infant for-mula prior to consumption.

(ii) Infant formula means any iron-fortified formula intended for dietaryuse solely as a food for normal, healthyinfants. Formulas specifically formu-lated for infants with inborn errors of metabolism or digestive or absorptiveproblems are not included in this defi-nition. Infant formula, when served,


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.10

must be in liquid state at rec-ommended dilution.

(2) Feeding lunches to infants. Lunchesserved to infants ages birth through 11months must meet the requirementsdescribed in paragraph (o)(5) of thissection. Foods included in the lunchmust be of a texture and a consistencythat are appropriate for the age of theinfant being served. The foods must beserved during a span of time consistentwith the infant’s eating habits. Forthose infants whose dietary needs aremore individualized, exceptions to themeal pattern must be made in accord-ance with the requirements found inparagraph (g)(1) of this section.

(3) Breastmilk and iron-fortified for-mula. Either breastmilk or iron-for-tified infant formula, or portions of both, must be served for the entire firstyear. Meals containing breastmilk andmeals containing iron-fortified infantformula supplied by the school are eli-gible for reimbursement. However, in-fant formula provided by a parent (orguardian) and breastmilk fed directlyby the infant’s mother, during a visitto the school, contribute to a reimburs-able lunch only when the school sup-plies at least one component of the in-fant’s meal.

(4) Solid foods. For infants ages 4through 7 months, solid foods of an ap-propriate texture and consistency arerequired only when the infant is devel-opmentally ready to accept them. Theschool should consult with the infant’sparent (or guardian) in making the de-cision to introduce solid foods. Solidfoods should be introduced one at atime, on a gradual basis, with the in-tent of ensuring the infant’s health andnutritional well-being.

(5) Infant meal pattern. Infant lunchesmust have, at a minimum, each of thefood components indicated, in theamount that is appropriate for the in-fant’s age. For some breastfed infantswho regularly consume less than theminimum amount of breastmilk perfeeding, a serving of less than the min-

imum amount of breastmilk may be of-fered. In these situations, additionalbreastmilk must be offered if the in-fant is still hungry. Lunches may in-clude portions of breastmilk and iron-fortified infant formula as long as thetotal number of ounces meets, or ex-ceeds, the minimum amount requiredof this food component. Similarly, tomeet the component requirements forvegetables and fruit, portions of bothmay be served.

(i) Birth through 3 months. 4 to 6 fluidounces of breastmilk or iron-fortifiedinfant formula—only breastmilk oriron-fortified formula is required tomeet the infant’s nutritional needs.

(ii) 4 through 7 months. Breastmilk oriron-fortified formula is required.Some infants may be developmentallyready for solid foods of an appropriatetexture and consistency. Lunches arereimbursable when schools provide allof the components in the meal patternthat the infant is developmentallyready to accept.

(A) 4 to 8 fluid ounces of breastmilkor iron-fortified infant formula; and

(B) 0 to 3 tablespoons of iron-fortifieddry infant cereal; and

(C) 0 to 3 tablespoons of fruit or vege-table.

(iii) 8 through 11 months. Breastmilkor iron-fortified formula and solidfoods of an appropriate texture andconsistency are required.

(A) 6 to 8 fluid ounces of breastmilkor iron-fortified infant formula; and

(B) 2 to 4 tablespoons of iron-fortifieddry infant cereal; and/or 1 to 4 table-spoons of meat, fish, poultry, egg yolk,or cooked dry beans or peas; or 1 ⁄ 2 to 2ounces (weight) of cheese; or 1 to 4ounces (volume) of cottage cheese; or 1to 4 ounces (weight) of cheese food orcheese spread; and

(C) 1 to 4 tablespoons of fruit or vege-table.

(6) Infant meal pattern table. The min-imum amounts of food components toserve to infants, as described in para-graph (o)(5) of this section, are:


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LUNCH P ATTERN FOR INFANTS

Birth through 3 months 4 through 7 months 8 through 11 months

4–6 fluid ounces of formula 1 orbreastmilk 2,3 .

4–8 fluid ounces of formula 1 orbreastmilk 2,3 ; and

0–3 tablespoons of infant cereal 1,4 ; and0–3 tablespoons of fruit or vegetable or

both 4 .

6–8 fluid ounces of formula 1 orbreastmilk 2,3 ; and

2–4 tablespoons of infant cereal 1 ; and/or1–4 tablespoons of meat, fish, poultry,

egg yolk, cooked dry beans or peas;or

1 ⁄ 2 –2 ounces of cheese; or1–4 ounces (volume) of cottage cheese;

or1–4 ounces (weight) of cheese food or

cheese spread; and1–4 tablespoons of fruit or vegetable or

both.1

Infant formula and dry infant cereal must be iron-fortified.2 Breastmilk or formula, or portions of both, may be served; however, it is recommended that breastmilk be served in place offormula from birth through 11 months.

3 For some breastfed infants who regularly consume less than the minimum amount of breastmilk per feeding, a serving of lessthan the minimum amount of breastmilk may be offered, with additional breastmilk offered if the infant is still hungry.

4 A serving of this component is required only when the infant is developmentally ready to accept it.

[60 FR 31208, June 13, 1995, 60 FR 57146, Nov.14, 1995, as amended at; 62 FR 10189, Mar. 6,1997; 64 FR 61773, Nov. 15, 1999; 65 FR 26913,May 9, 2000; 65 FR 31371, May 17, 2000; 65 FR36317, June 8, 2000; 67 FR 36783, May 28, 2002;69 FR 70872, Dec. 8, 2004; 70 FR 70033, Nov. 21,2005]

§ 210.11 Competitive food services.(a) Definitions. For the purpose of this

section:(1) Competitive foods means any foods

sold in competition with the Programto children in food service areas duringthe lunch periods.

(2) Food of minimal nutritional valuemeans: (i) In the case of artificiallysweetened foods, a food which providesless than five percent of the ReferenceDaily Intakes (RDI) for each of eightspecified nutrients per serving; and (ii)in the case of all other foods, a foodwhich provides less than five percent of the RDI for each of eight specified nu-trients per 100 calories and less thanfive percent of the RDI for each of eight specified nutrients per serving.The eight nutrients to be assessed forthis purpose are—protein, vitamin A,vitamin C, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine,calcium, and iron. All categories of food of minimal nutritional value andpetitioning requirements for changingthe categories are listed in appendix Bof this part.

(b) General. State agencies and schoolfood authorities shall establish suchrules or regulations as are necessary tocontrol the sale of foods in competitionwith lunches served under the Pro-

gram. Such rules or regulations shallprohibit the sale of foods of minimalnutritional value, as listed in appendixB of this part, in the food service areasduring the lunch periods. The sale of other competitive foods may, at thediscretion of the State agency andschool food authority, be allowed inthe food service area during the lunchperiod only if all income from the saleof such foods accrues to the benefit of the nonprofit school food service or theschool or student organizations ap-proved by the school. State agenciesand school food authorities may im-pose additional restrictions on the saleof and income from all foods sold atany time throughout schools partici-pating in the Program.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 59FR 23614, May 6, 1994]

§ 210.12 Student, parent and commu-nity involvement.

(a) General. School food authoritiesshall promote activities to involve stu-dents and parents in the Program.Such activities may include menuplanning, enhancement of the eatingenvironment, Program promotion, andrelated student-community support ac-tivities. School food authorities are en-couraged to use the school food serviceprogram to teach students about goodnutrition practices and to involve theschool faculty and the general commu-nity in activities to enhance the Pro-gram.


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.13

(b) Food service management compa-nies. School food authorities con-tracting with a food service manage-ment company shall comply with theprovisions of § 210.16(a) regarding theestablishment of an advisory board of parents, teachers and students.

(c) Residential child care institutions.Residential child care institutionsshall comply with the provisions of this section, to the extent possible.

§ 210.13 Facilities management.(a) Health standards. The school food

authority shall ensure that food stor-age, preparation and service is in ac-cordance with the sanitation andhealth standards established underState and local law and regulations.

(b) Food safety inspections. Schoolsshall obtain a minimum of two foodsafety inspections during each schoolyear conducted by a State or local gov-ernmental agency responsible for foodsafety inspections. They shall post in apublicly visible location a report of themost recent inspection conducted, andprovide a copy of the inspection reportto a member of the public upon re-quest. Sites participating in more thanone child nutrition program shall only

be required to obtain two food safetyinspections per school year if the nutri-tion programs offered use the same fa-cilities for the production and serviceof meals.

(c) Storage. The school food authorityshall ensure that the necessary facili-ties for storage, preparation and serv-ice of food are maintained. Facilitiesfor the handling, storage, and distribu-tion of purchased and donated foodsshall be such as to properly safeguardagainst theft, spoilage and other loss.

[54 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 64FR 50740, Sept. 20, 1999; 70 FR 34630, June 15,2005]

§ 210.14 Resource management.(a) Nonprofit school food service.

School food authorities shall maintaina nonprofit school food service. Reve-nues received by the nonprofit schoolfood service are to be used only for theoperation or improvement of such foodservice, except that, such revenues shallnot be used to purchase land or build-ings, unless otherwise approved byFNS, or to construct buildings. Ex-

penditures of nonprofit school foodservice revenues shall be in accordancewith the financial management systemestablished by the State agency under§ 210.19(a) of this part. School food au-thorities may use facilities, equipment,and personnel supported with nonprofitschool food revenues to support a non-profit nutrition program for the elder-ly, including a program funded underthe Older Americans Act of 1965 (42U.S.C. 3001 et seq. ).

(b) Net cash resources. The school foodauthority shall limit its net cash re-

sources to an amount that does not ex-ceed 3 months average expenditures forits nonprofit school food service orsuch other amount as may be approvedby the State agency in accordance with§ 210.19(a).

(c) Financial assurances. The schoolfood authority shall meet the require-ments of the State agency for compli-ance with § 210.19(a) including any sepa-ration of records of nonprofit schoolfood service from records of any otherfood service which may be operated bythe school food authority as providedin paragraph (a) of this section.

(d) Use of donated foods. The schoolfood authority shall enter into an

agreement with the distributing agen-cy to receive donated foods as requiredby part 250 of this chapter. In addition,the school food authority shall acceptand use, in as large quantities as maybe efficiently utilized in its nonprofitschool food service, such foods as maybe offered as a donation by the Depart-ment.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 60FR 31215, June 13, 1995]

§ 210.15 Reporting and recordkeeping.(a) Reporting summary. Participating

school food authorities are required tosubmit forms and reports to the Stateagency or the distributing agency, asappropriate, to demonstrate compli-ance with Program requirements.These reports include, but are not lim-ited to:

(1) A Claim for Reimbursement and,for the month of October and as other-wise specified by the State agency, sup-porting data as specified in accordancewith § 210.8 of this part;

(2) An application and agreement forProgram operations between the school


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food authority and the State agency,and a Free and Reduced Price PolicyStatement as required under § 210.9;

(3) A written response to reviews per-taining to corrective action taken forProgram deficiencies;

(4) A commodity school’s preferencewhether to receive part of its donatedfood allocation in cash for processingand handling of donated foods as re-quired under §210.19(b);

(5) A written response to audit find-ings pertaining to the school food

authority’s operation as required under§ 210.22;

(6) Information on civil rights com-plaints, if any, and their resolution asrequired under § 210.23; and

(7) The number of food safety inspec-tions obtained per school year by eachschool under its jurisdiction.

(b) Recordkeeping summary. In orderto participate in the Program, a schoolfood authority shall maintain recordsto demonstrate compliance with Pro-gram requirements. These records in-clude but are not limited to:

(1) Documentation of participationdata by school in support of the Claim

for Reimbursement and data used inthe claims review process, as requiredunder § 210.8(a), (b), and (c) of this part;

(2) Production and menu records and,if appropriate, nutrition analysisrecords as required under § 210.10,whichever is applicable.

(3) Participation records to dem-onstrate positive action toward pro-viding one lunch per child per day asrequired under § 210.10(a)(2), whicheveris applicable;

(4) Currently approved and denied ap-plications for free and reduced pricelunches and a description of theverification activities, including

verified applications, and any accom-panying source documentation in ac-cordance with 7 CFR 245.6a of thisTitle; and

(5) Food safety inspection records todemonstrate compliance with§ 210.13(b).

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 54FR 12582, Mar. 28, 1989; 56 FR 32941, July 17,1991; 60 FR 31215, June 13, 1995; 65 FR 26912,26922, May 9, 2000; 70 FR 34630, June 15, 2005]

§ 210.16 Food service managementcompanies.

(a) General. Any school food author-ity (including a State agency acting inthe capacity of a school food authority)may contract with a food service man-agement company to manage its foodservice operation in one or more of itsschools. However, no school or schoolfood authority may contract with afood service management company tooperate an a la carte food service un-less the company agrees to offer free,reduced price and paid reimbursablelunches to all eligible children. Anyschool food authority that employs afood service management company inthe operation of its nonprofit schoolfood service shall:

(1) Adhere to the procurement stand-ards specified in § 210.21 when con-tracting with the food service manage-ment company;

(2) Ensure that the food service oper-ation is in conformance with the schoolfood authority’s agreement under theProgram;

(3) Monitor the food service operationthrough periodic on-site visits;

(4) Retain control of the quality, ex-tent, and general nature of its foodservice, and the prices to be chargedthe children for meals;

(5) Retain signature authority on theState agency-school food authorityagreement, free and reduced price pol-icy statement and claims;

(6) Ensure that all federally donatedfoods received by the school food au-thority and made available to the foodservice management company accrueonly to the benefit of the school foodauthority’s nonprofit school food serv-ice and are fully utilized therein;

(7) Maintain applicable health certifi-cation and assure that all State andlocal regulations are being met by afood service management company pre-paring or serving meals at a schoolfood authority facility;

(8) Establish an advisory board com-posed of parents, teachers, and stu-dents to assist in menu planning;

(9) Obtain written approval of invita-tions for bids and requests for pro-posals before their issuance when re-quired by the State agency. The schoolfood authority must incorporate allState agency required changes to its


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.16

solicitation documents before issuingthose documents; and

(10) Ensure that the State agency hasreviewed and approved the contractterms and that the school food author-ity has incorporated all State agencyrequired changes into the contract oramendment before any contract oramendment to an existing food servicemanagement company contract is exe-cuted. Any changes made by the schoolfood authority or a food service man-agement company to a State agencypre-approved prototype contract orState agency approved contract termmust be approved in writing by theState agency before the contract is ex-ecuted. When requested, the schoolfood authority must submit all pro-curement documents, including re-sponses submitted by potential con-tractors, to the State agency, by thedue date established by the State agen-cy.

(b) Invitation to bid. In addition to ad-hering to the procurement standardsunder § 210.21, school food authoritiescontracting with food service manage-ment companies shall ensure that:

(1) The invitation to bid or request

for proposal contains a 21-day cyclemenu developed in accordance with theprovisions of § 210.10, to be used as astandard for the purpose of basing bidsor estimating average cost per meal. Aschool food authority with no capa-bility to prepare a cycle menu may,with State agency approval, requirethat each food service managementcompany include a 21-day cycle menu,developed in accordance with the pro-visions of § 210.10, with its bid or pro-posal. The food service managementcompany must adhere to the cycle forthe first 21 days of meal service.Changes thereafter may be made withthe approval of the school food author-

ity.(2) Any invitation to bid or request

for proposal indicate that nonperform-ance subjects the food service manage-ment company to specified sanctions ininstances where the food service man-agement company violates or breachescontract terms. The school food au-thority shall indicate these sanctionsin accordance with the procurementprovisions stated in § 210.21.

(c) Contracts. Contracts that permitall income and expenses to accrue tothe food service management companyand ‘‘cost-plus-a-percentage-of-cost’’and ‘‘cost-plus-a-percentage-of-in-come’’ contracts are prohibited. Con-tracts that provide for fixed fees suchas those that provide for managementfees established on a per meal basis areallowed. Contractual agreements withfood service management companiesshall include provisions which ensurethat the requirements of this section

are met. Such agreements shall also in-clude the following:(1) The food service management

company shall maintain such recordsas the school food authority will needto support its Claim for Reimburse-ment under this part, and shall, at aminimum, report claim information tothe school food authority promptly atthe end of each month. Such recordsshall be made available to the schoolfood authority, upon request, and shallbe retained in accordance with§ 210.23(c).

(2) The food service managementcompany shall have State or local

health certification for any facilityoutside the school in which it proposesto prepare meals and the food servicemanagement company shall maintainthis health certification for the dura-tion of the contract.

(3) No payment is to be made formeals that are spoiled or unwholesomeat time of delivery, do not meet de-tailed specifications as developed bythe school food authority for each foodcomponent specified in § 210.10, or donot otherwise meet the requirements of the contract. Specifications shall coveritems such a grade, purchase units,style, condition, weight, ingredients,formulations, and delivery time.

(d) Duration of contract. The contractbetween a school food authority andfood service management companyshall be of a duration of no longer than


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1 year; and options for the yearly re-newal of a contract signed after Feb-ruary 16, 1988, may not exceed 4 addi-tional years. All contracts shall in-clude a termination clause whereby ei-ther party may cancel for cause with60-day notification.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 60FR 31215, June 13, 1995; 65 FR 26912, May 9,2000; 72 FR 61491, Oct. 31, 2007]

Subpart D—Requirements for StateAgency Participation

§ 210.17 Matching Federal funds.(a) State revenue matching. For each

school year, the amount of State reve-nues appropriated or used specificallyby the State for program purposesshall not be less than 30 percent of thefunds received by such State under sec-tion 4 of the National School LunchAct during the school year beginningJuly 1, 1980; provided that, the Staterevenues derived from the operation of such programs and State revenues ex-pended for salaries and administrativeexpenses of such programs at the Statelevel are not considered in this com-putation. However, if the per capita in-come of any State is less than the percapita income of the United States, thematching requirements so computedshall be decreased by the percentage bywhich the State per capita income isbelow the per capita income of theUnited States.

(b) Private school exemption. No Statein which the State agency is prohibitedby law from disbursing State appro-priated funds to nonpublic schoolsshall be required to match general cashassistance funds expended for mealsserved in such schools, or to disburseto such schools any of the State reve-nues required to meet the requirementsof paragraph (a) of this section. Fur-thermore, the requirements of this sec-tion do not apply to schools in whichthe Program is administered by aFNSRO.

(c) Territorial waiver. AmericanSamoa and the Commonwealth of theNorthern Mariana Islands shall be ex-empted from the matching require-ments of paragraph (a) of this section if their respective matching require-ments are under $100,000.

(d) Applicable revenues. The followingState revenues, appropriated or usedspecifically for program purposeswhich are expended for any school yearshall be eligible for meeting the appli-cable percentage of the matching re-quirements prescribed in paragraph (a)of this section for that school year:

(1) State revenues disbursed by theState agency to school food authoritiesfor program purposes, including rev-enue disbursed to nonprofit privateschools where the State administersthe program in such schools;

(2) State revenues made available toschool food authorities and transferredby the school food authorities to thenonprofit school food service accountsor otherwise expended by the schoolfood authorities in connection with thenonprofit school food service program;and

(3) State revenues used to finance thecosts (other than State salaries orother State level administrative costs)of the nonprofit school food serviceprogram, i.e.:

(i) Local program supervision;(ii) Operating the program in partici-

pating schools; and(iii) The intrastate distribution of

foods donated under part 250 of thischapter to schools participating in theprogram.

(e) Distribution of matching revenues.All State revenues made availableunder paragraph (a) of this section areto be disbursed to school food authori-ties participating in the Program, ex-cept as provided for under paragraph (b)of this section. Distribution of match-ing revenues may be made with respectto a class of school food authorities aswell as with respect to individualschool food authorities.

(f) Failure to match. If, in any schoolyear, a State fails to meet the Staterevenue matching requirement, as pre-scribed in paragraph (a) of this section,the general cash assistance funds uti-lized by the State during that schoolyear shall be subject to recall by andrepayment to FNS.

(g) Reports. Within 120 days after theend of each school year, each Stateagency shall submit an Annual Reportof Revenues (FNS–13) to FNS. This re-port identifies the State revenues to becounted toward the State revenue


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.18

matching requirements specified inparagraph (a) of this section.

(h) Accounting system. The Stateagency shall establish or cause to beestablished a system whereby all ex-pended State revenues counted inmeeting the matching requirementsprescribed in paragraph (a) of this sec-tion are properly documented and ac-counted for.

§ 210.18 Administrative reviews.(a) Implementation dates. For the

school year beginning July 1, 1992, eachState agency shall conduct administra-tive reviews as prescribed under thissection. However, FNS will approve aState agency’s written request if FNSdetermines that the State agency hasdemonstrated good cause to delay im-plementation of the provisions speci-fied under this section to January 1,1993. At State agency discretion, Stateagencies may begin implementation of the provisions of this section on Au-gust 16, 1991. FNS review responsibil-ities are specified under § 210.29 of thispart.

(b) Definitions. The following defini-tions are provided in order to clarifyState agency administrative review re-quirements:

(1) Administrative reviews means theinitial comprehensive on-site evalua-tion of all school food authorities par-ticipating in the Program in accord-ance with the provisions of this sec-tion. The term ‘‘administrative re-view’’ is used to reflect a review of both critical and general areas in ac-cordance with paragraphs (g) and (h) of this section, and includes other areasof Program operations determined bythe State agency to be important toProgram performance.

(2) Critical areas means the followingtwo performance standards described indetail in paragraph (g) of this sectionwhich serve as measures of compliancewith Program regulations:

(i) Performance Standard 1—Certifi-cation/Counting/Claiming—All free, re-duced price and paid lunches claimedfor reimbursement are served only tochildren eligible for free, reduced priceand paid lunches, respectively; andcounted, recorded, consolidated and re-ported through a system which consist-ently yields correct claims.

(ii) Performance Standard 2—Meal Ele-ments. Lunches claimed for reimburse-ment within the school food authoritycontain meal elements (food items/components, menu items or otheritems, as applicable) as required under§ 210.10.

(3) Documented corrective action meanswritten notification required of theschool food authority to certify thatthe corrective action required for eachviolation has been completed and tonotify the State agency of the dates of

completion. Documented corrective ac-tion may be provided at the time of thereview or may be submitted to theState agency within specified time-frames.

(4) Follow-up reviews means anyvisit(s) to the school food authoritysubsequent to the administrative re-view to ensure corrective actions aretaken.

(5) General areas means the areas of review specified in paragraph (h) of this section.

(6) Large school food authority means,in any State:

(i) All school food authorities thatparticipate in the Program and haveenrollments of 40,000 children or moreeach; or

(ii) If there are less than two schoolfood authorities with enrollments of 40,000 or more, the two largest schoolfood authorities that participate in theProgram and have enrollments of 2,000children or more each.

(7) Participation factor means the per-centages of children approved by theschool for free lunches, reduced pricelunches, and paid lunches, respectively,who are participating in the Program.The free participation factor is derivedby dividing the number of free lunchesclaimed for any given period by the

product of the number of children ap-proved for free lunches for the same pe-riod times the operating days in thatperiod. A similar computation is usedto determine the reduced price andpaid participation factors. The numberof children approved for paid lunches isderived by subtracting the number of children approved for free and reducedprice lunches for any given period fromthe total number of children enrolled


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in the reviewed school for the same pe-riod of time, if available. If such enroll-ment figures are not available, themost recent total number of childrenenrolled shall be used. If school foodauthority participation factors are un-available or unreliable, State-widedata shall be employed.

(8) Review period means the period of time covered by the administrative re-view or follow-up review. The reviewperiod is specified in paragraph (f)(2) of this section.

(9) Review threshold means the degreeof error in a critical area of reviewwhich, if exceeded during an adminis-trative review or follow-up review of aschool food authority, may trigger afollow-up review of that school food au-thority.

(10) Small school food authority means,in any State, a school food authoritythat participates in the Program and isnot a large school food authority, asdefined in this section.

(c) Timing of reviews. The first year of the first 5-year review cycle began onJuly 1, 1992, or as otherwise authorizedunder paragraph (a) of this section andshall end on June 30, 1994. For each

State agency, the first 5-year reviewcycle shall end on June 30, 1998. Admin-istrative reviews and follow-up reviewsshall be conducted as follows:

(1) Administrative reviews. At a min-imum, State agencies shall conduct ad-ministrative reviews of all school foodauthorities at least once during each 5-year review cycle; provided that eachschool food authority is reviewed atleast once every 6 years. The on-siteportion of the administrative reviewshall be completed during the schoolyear in which the review was begun.

(2) Expanded review cycle. State agen-cies are encouraged to conduct admin-istrative reviews of large school foodauthorities and of any school food au-thorities which may benefit from amore frequent interval than the min-imum 5-year cycle required in para-graph (c)(1) of this section.

(3) Exceptions. FNS may, on an indi-vidual school food authority basis, ap-prove written requests for 1-year exten-sions to the 6-year review intervalspecified in paragraph (c)(1) of this sec-tion if FNS determines this require-

ment conflicts with efficient Stateagency management of the Program.

(4) Follow-up reviews. The State agen-cy is encouraged to conduct first fol-low-up reviews in the same school yearas the administrative review; but in noevent shall first follow-up reviews beconducted later than December 31 of the school year following the adminis-trative review. Subsequent follow-upreviews shall be scheduled in accord-ance with paragraph (i)(5) of this sec-tion.

(d) Scheduling school food authorities.The State agency shall use its own cri-teria to schedule school food authori-ties for administrative reviews; pro-vided that the requirements of para-graph (c) of this section are met. Stateagencies are encouraged to take intoconsideration the findings of theclaims review process required under§ 210.8(b)(2) of this part in the selectionof school food authorities.

(1) Schedule of reviews. To ensure nounintended overlap occurs, the Stateagency shall inform FNS of the antici-pated schedule of school food authorityreviews upon request.

(2) Reporting follow-up review activity.

At such time as the State agency de-termines that a follow-up review isneeded, the State agency shall notifyFNS of the names of those large schoolfood authorities exceeding any one of the critical area review thresholdsspecified in paragraph (i) of this sec-tion.

(3) Exceptions. In any school year inwhich FNS or OIG conducts a review orinvestigation of a school food author-ity in accordance with §210.19(a)(5) of this part, the State agency shall, un-less otherwise authorized by FNS,delay conduct of a scheduled adminis-trative review until the followingschool year. The State agency shalldocument any exception authorizedunder this paragraph.

(e) Number of schools to review. TheState agency is encouraged to reviewall schools meeting the school selec-tion criteria specified in paragraph(e)(1) of this section. At a minimum,the State agency shall review the num-ber of schools specified in paragraph(e)(1) of this section and shall selectthe schools to be reviewed on the basis


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.18

of the school selection criteria speci-fied in paragraph (e)(2) of this section.

(1) Minimum number of schools. Exceptfor residential child care institutions,the State agency shall review allschools with a free average daily par-ticipation of 100 or more and a free par-ticipation factor of 100 percent ormore. In no event shall the State agen-cy review less than the minimum num-ber of schools illustrated in table A:

TABLE A

No. of schools in the school food author-ityMinimum no. of

schools to be re-viewed

1 to 5 .................................................... 16 to 10 .................................................. 2

11 to 20 ................................................. 321 to 40 ................................................. 441 to 60 ................................................. 661 to 80 ................................................. 881 to 100 ............................................... 10

101 or more ............................................. 1 121 Twelve plus 5 percent of the number of schools over 100.

Fractions shall be rounded to the nearest whole number.

(2) School selection criteria. (i) Selec-tion of additional schools to meet theminimum number of schools requiredunder paragraph (e)(1) of this section,shall be based on the following criteria:

(A) Elementary schools with a freeaverage daily participation of 100 ormore and a free participation factor of 97 percent or more;

(B) Secondary schools with a free av-erage daily participation of 100 or moreand a free participation factor of 77percent or more; and

(C) Combination schools with a freeaverage daily participation of 100 ormore and a free participation factor of 87 percent or more. A combinationschool means a school with a mixtureof elementary and secondary grades.

(ii) When the number of schools se-lected on the basis of the criteria es-tablished in paragraph (A) throughparagraph (C) of this paragraph are notsufficient to meet the minimum num-ber of schools required under paragraph(e)(1) of this section, the schools se-lected for review shall be selected onthe basis of State agency criteriawhich may include low participationschools, recommendations from a foodservice director based on findings fromthe on-site visits or the claims reviewprocess required under § 210.8(a) of thispart; or any school in which the daily

lunch counts appear questionable, e.g.,identical or very similar claiming pat-terns, and/or large changes in freelunch counts.

(3) Pervasive problems. If the Stateagency review finds pervasive problemsin a school food authority, FNS mayauthorize the State agency to cease re-view activities prior to reviewing therequired number of schools under para-graph (e)(1) of this section. Where FNSauthorizes the State agency to ceasereview activity, FNS may either con-duct the review activity itself or referthe school food authority to OIG.

(f) Scope of review. During the courseof an administrative review, each Stateagency shall monitor compliance withthe critical and general areas identi-fied in paragraphs (g) and (h) of thissection.

(1) Review form. State agencies shalluse the administrative review formprescribed by FNS for the critical areasof review specified in paragraph (g) of this section. State agencies may usetheir own administrative review formfor the general areas of review speci-fied in paragraph (h) of this section.

(2) Review period. (i) The review pe-

riod for administrative reviews and fol-low-up reviews shall cover, at a min-imum, the most recent month forwhich a Claim for Reimbursement wassubmitted; provided that such Claimfor Reimbursement covers at least 10operating days.

(ii) Subject to FNS approval, theState agency may conduct a reviewearly in the school year, prior to thesubmission of a Claim for Reimburse-ment. In such cases, the review periodshall be the prior month of operationin the current school year, providedthat such month includes at least 10operating days.

(3) Audit findings. To prevent duplica-tion of effort, the State agency mayuse any recent and currently applicablefindings from Federally-required auditactivity or from any State-imposedaudit requirements. Such findings maybe used only insofar as they pertain tothe reviewed school(s) or the overalloperation of the school food authorityand they are relevant to the review pe-riod. The State agency shall documentthe source and the date of the audit.


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(g) Critical areas of review. The per-formance standards listed in this para-graph are deemed critical since compli-ance in these areas is directly linked tothe service of a reimbursable lunch.

(1) Performance Standard 1 (All free, re-duced price and paid lunches claimed forreimbursement are served only to childreneligible for free, reduced price and paidlunches, respectively; and are counted, re-corded, consolidated and reported througha system which consistently yields correctclaims.) The State agency shall deter-mine that the free and reduced priceeligibility determinations are correct.In addition, the State agency shall de-termine that for each day of operationfor the review period, the number of free, reduced price and paid lunchesclaimed for each reviewed school is notmore than the number of lunchesserved to children eligible for free, re-duced price and paid lunches, respec-tively, in those schools for the reviewperiod. The State agency shall also de-termine that a lunch counting systemis being used which accurately counts,records, consolidates and reports thereimbursable lunches served, by type.

(i) For each school reviewed, theState agency shall:

(A) Determine the number of childreneligible for free, reduced price and paidlunches, by type, for the review period.To make this determination:

(1) The State agency shall:( i) Review all approved free and re-

duced price applications for children inthe reviewed schools back to the begin-ning of the school year to determinewhether each child’s application iscomplete and correctly approved in ac-cordance with all applicable provisionsof 7 CFR part 245; or

( ii ) Review all approved free and re-duced price applications effective forthe review period for children in the re-viewed schools; or

( iii ) Review all approved free and re-duced price applications effective onthe day(s) the review is conducted forchildren in the reviewed schools.

(2) In lieu of reviewing all of the freeand reduced price applications as re-quired under paragraph (g)(1)(i)(A)( 1) of this section, the State agency may re-view a statistically valid sample of those applications. If the State agencychooses to review a statistically valid

sample of applications, the State agen-cy shall ensure that the sample size islarge enough so that there is a 95 per-cent chance that the actual error ratefor all applications is not less than 2percentage points less than the errorrate found in the sample (i.e., the lowerbound of the one-sided 95 percent con-fidence interval is no more than 2 per-centage points less than the point esti-mate). In addition, the State agencyshall determine the need for follow-upreviews and base fiscal action upon theerror rate found in the sample.

(3) Evaluate whether the previousyear’s eligibility determinations areused after 30 operating days followingthe first day of school, or as otherwiseestablished by the State agency; pro-vided that the State agency-developedtimeframe does not exceed the 30 oper-ating day limit.

(4) In the case where children are de-termined eligible for free lunches basedon documentation from the local foodstamp, Food Distribution Program onIndian Reservations (FDPIR) or Tem-porary Assistance for Needy Families(TANF) office which certifies that thechildren are currently members of

households receiving benefits under theFood Stamp Program, FDPIR orTANF, determine that the certificationfrom the Food Stamp Program, FDPIRor TANF is official; all the informationrequired under § 245.6 of this part iscomplete; and such children were en-rolled in the school under review dur-ing the review period.

(B) Evaluate the system for issuingbenefits and updating eligibility statusby validating the mechanism(s) the re-viewed school uses to provide benefitsto eligible children, e.g., master list.The State agency shall determinewhether the system is adequate and,within the timeframes established in§ 210.7(c)(1)(ii)(B), reflects changes dueto verification findings, transfers, re-ported changes in household size or in-come, or from a household’s decision todecline school lunch benefits or any no-tification from the household that it isno longer certified to receive foodstamp, Food Distribution Program forHouseholds on Indian Reservations(FDPIR) or Temporary Assistance forNeedy Families (TANF) benefits.


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.18

(C) Determine whether the lunchcounting system yields correct claims.At a minimum, the State agency shalldetermine whether:

(1) The daily lunch counts, by type,for the review period are more than theproduct of the number of children de-termined by the school/school food au-thority to be eligible for free, reducedprice, and paid lunches for the reviewperiod times an attendance factor. If the lunch count, for any type, appearsquestionable or significantly exceedsthe product of the number of eligibles,for that type, times an attendance fac-tor, documentation showing good causemust be available for review by theState agency.

(2) Each type of food service line pro-vides accurate point of service lunchcounts, by type, and those lunch countsare correctly counted and recorded. If an alternative counting system is em-ployed (in accordance with § 210.7(c)(2)),the State agency shall ensure that itprovides accurate counts of reimburs-able lunches, by type, and is correctlyimplemented as approved by the Stateagency.

(3) All lunches are correctly counted,recorded, consolidated and reported forthe day they are served.

(ii) For each school food authorityreviewed, the State agency shall reviewlunch count records to ensure that thelunch counts submitted by each re-viewed school are correctly consoli-dated, recorded, and reported by theschool food authority on the Claim forReimbursement.

(2) Performance Standard 2 (Lunchesclaimed for reimbursement within theschool food authority contain meal ele-ments (food items/components, menu itemsor other items, as applicable) as requiredunder § 210.10. For each school re-viewed, the State agency must:

(i) For the day of the review, observethe serving line(s) to determine wheth-er all required meal elements (fooditems/components, menu items orother items, as applicable) as requiredunder § 210.10 are offered.

(ii) For the day of the review, observea significant number of the Programlunches counted at the point of servicefor each type of serving line, to deter-mine whether those lunches containthe required number of meal elements

(food items/components, menu items orother items, as applicable) as requiredunder § 210.10.

(iii) Review menu records for the re-view period to determine whether allrequired meal elements (food items/components, menu items or otheritems, as applicable) as required under§ 210.10 have been offered.

(h) General areas of review. The gen-eral areas listed in this paragraph re-flect major Program requirements. Thegeneral areas of review shall include,but are not limited to, the followingareas:

(1) Free and reduced price process. Inthe course of the review of each schoolfood authority, the State agency shall:

(i) Review the implementation of thefree and reduced price policy statementto ensure it is implemented as ap-proved.

(ii) Evaluate whether the requiredminimum number of applications areverified with respect to the selectionmethod used.

(iii) Determine that applications forverification are selected through ran-dom or focused sampling in accordancewith the provisions of § 245.6a of this

title and FNS Instructions, and that nodiscrimination exists in the selectionprocess.

(iv) Establish that verification iscompleted by December 15. If the ad-ministrative review occurs prior to theDecember 15 deadline, the State agencyshall evaluate the verification activi-ties that have occurred to date and as-sess whether these activities representa good faith effort that will result incompliance with the requirements of § 245.6a of this title.

(v) Confirm that the verificationprocess is complete for each applica-tion verified by or on behalf of the re-viewed schools. Verification is consid-ered complete either when a child’s eli-gibility for the level of benefits forwhich he or she was approved is con-firmed, changed to a higher level of benefit, or a letter of adverse actionhas been sent.

(vi) Ensure that verification recordsare maintained as required by§ 245.6a(c) of this title.

(vii) Determine that, for each re-viewed school, the lunch count system


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does not overtly identify children eligi-ble for free and reduced price lunches.

(viii) Review a representative sampleof denied applications to evaluatewhether the determining official cor-rectly denied applicants for free and re-duced price lunches.

(2) Food quantities. For each schoolreviewed, the State agency must ob-serve a significant number of Programlunches counted at the point of servicefor each type of serving line to deter-mine whether those lunches appear toprovide meal elements (food items/components, menu items or otheritems, as applicable) in the quantitiesrequired under § 210.10. If visual obser-vation suggests that quantities are in-sufficient, the State agency shall re-quire the reviewed schools to providedocumentation demonstrating that therequired amounts of food were avail-able for service for each day of the re-view period.

(3) Civil rights. The State agency shallexamine the school food authority’scompliance with the civil rights provi-sions specified in § 210.23(b) of this part.

(4) Monitoring responsibilities. TheState agency shall ensure that theschool food authority conducts on-sitereviews in accordance with § 210.8(a)(1)of this part and monitors claims in ac-cordance with § 210.8(a)(2) and (a)(3) of this part.

(5) Reporting and recordkeeping. TheState agency shall determine that theschool food authority submits reportsand maintains records as requiredunder 7 CFR parts 210 and 245.

(i) Follow-up reviews. All school foodauthorities found to have a criticalarea violation in excess of any one of the review thresholds specified in thisparagraph are subject to follow-up re-views. State agencies shall notify FNSof the names of large school food au-thorities exceeding critical area reviewthresholds in accordance with para-graph (d)(2) of this section. The Stateagency shall conduct a first follow-upreview of any large school food author-ity found on an administrative reviewto have critical area violations in ex-cess of any one of the review thresh-olds. State agencies shall also conducta first follow-up review of at least 25percent of the small school food au-thorities found on a review to have

critical area violations in excess of anyone of the review thresholds. Stateagencies shall conduct additional fol-low-up reviews of any school food au-thority which has a critical area viola-tion exceeding a review threshold onthe first follow-up or any subsequentfollow-up review regardless of whethersuch review is conducted by FNS or theState agency.

(1) Selection of small school food au-thorities. In determining which smallschool food authorities to include in

the follow-up review sample, Stateagencies shall select those school foodauthorities which have the most seri-ous problems, including, but not lim-ited to, systemic accountability prob-lems, large overclaims, significantlunch pattern violations, etc.

(2) Selection of schools. (i) If the crit-ical area violation(s) responsible forfollow-up review activity are limited toschool food authority level problems(e.g. centralized application processingor centralized kitchen), the State agen-cy may limit the follow-up review tothe school food authority level.

(ii) If the critical area violation(s) re-

sponsible for follow-up review activitywere identified in the review of aschool(s), then State agencies shall re-view at least the minimum number of schools required under paragraph (e)(1)of this section. State agencies shallmeet the minimum number of schoolsrequirement by selecting those schoolsfound, on a previous review, to havesignificant critical area violations. If any additional schools must be selectedto meet the minimum required num-ber, the State agency shall select fromthose schools which meet State agen-cy-developed criteria identified underparagraph (e)(2)(ii) of this section.

(3) Review thresholds. The reviewthresholds apply only to the criticalareas of review and are designed tolimit follow-up reviews to those schoolfood authorities with serious problems.The provisions of paragraph (i) of thissection apply when:

(i) For Performance Standard 1—(A) A number of the reviewed schools

in a school food authority, as specifiedin Table B, have an inadequate system


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.18

for certification, issuing benefits or up-dating eligibility status; or for count-ing, recording, consolidating or report-ing lunches, by type; or

(B) The school food authority has aninadequate system for consolidatinglunch counts, by type, or for reportingclaims; or, if applicable, for certifi-cation, issuing benefits or updating eli-gibility status.

(C) At the school and school food au-thority level, a system for certifi-cation, issuing benefits or updating eli-gibility status is inadequate if 10 per-cent or more (but not less than 100lunches) of the free and reduced pricelunches claimed for the review period(for any school reviewed) are claimedincorrectly due to errors of certifi-cation, benefit issuance or updating of eligibility status.

TABLE B

Number of schools reviewed

Number ofschools vio-lating per-formance

standard 1

1 to 5 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 16 to 10 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 211 to 20 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 321 to 30 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4

31 to 40 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 541 to 50 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 651 to 60 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 761 to 70 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 871 to 80 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 981 to 90 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1091 to 100 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 11101 o r more . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 11 *

* 11 plus the number identified above for the appropriateincrement.

(ii) For Performance Standard 2—10percent or more of the total number of Program lunches observed in a schoolfood authority are missing one or moreof the required meal elements (fooditems/components, menu items orother items, as applicable) as requiredunder § 210.10.

(4) Scope of follow-up reviews. On anyfollow-up review, the State agency isencouraged to review all of the criticaland general areas of review specified inparagraph (g) and (h) of this section forthose schools which were not reviewedduring the administrative review. At aminimum, the State agency shall:

(i) For each school selected for re-view (or for the school food authority,as applicable,) review the critical areasfor which the review thresholds were

exceeded by the school food authorityon a previous review;

(ii) Determine whether the schoolfood authority has satisfactorily com-pleted the corrective actions in accord-ance with paragraph (k) of this sectionrequired for both critical and generalareas within the timeframes estab-lished by the State agency;

(iii) Evaluate whether these correc-tive actions resolved the problem(s);and

(iv) If the State agency did not evalu-ate the certification, count and milk/meal service procedures for the SchoolBreakfast Program (7 CFR part 220)and/or the Special Milk Program forChildren (7 CFR part 215) or offeringmeal supplements in after hour careprograms (7 CFR part 210) in thoseschools selected for the administrativereview and participating in those Pro-grams, the State agency shall do so forthose schools selected for the first fol-low-up review.

(5) Critical area violations identified ina follow-up review. Critical area viola-tions identified on a follow-up reviewshall be addressed as follows:

(i) If, during a follow-up review, theState agency determines, that correc-tive actions have not been satisfac-torily completed in accordance withthe documented corrective action, theState agency shall: require the schoolfood authority to resolve the problemsand to submit documented correctiveaction to the State agency ; take fiscalaction for critical area violations asspecified in paragraph (m) of this sec-tion; and withhold Program paymentsin accordance with paragraph (l) of thissection, until such time as a follow-upreview, requested by the school foodauthority, indicates the problem hasbeen corrected. If the State agency de-termines that the corrective actionshave been completed as specified in thedocumented corrective action, butthose corrective actions do not effec-tively resolve the problem, the Stateagency shall follow the requirementsfor new critical area violations speci-fied in paragraphs (i)(5)(ii) and (iii) of this section.

(ii) If new critical area violations areobserved that exceed a review thresh-old, the State agency shall: Requirethe school food authority to resolve


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the problems and to submit docu-mented corrective action to the Stateagency; take fiscal action as specifiedin paragraph (m) of this section; andconduct a follow-up review within 6 op-erating months of the first follow-upreview.

(iii) If new critical area violationsare observed which do not exceed re-view thresholds, the State agencyshall: Require the school food author-ity to resolve the problem and to sub-mit documented corrective action tothe State agency within specified time-frames; and take fiscal action in ac-cordance with paragraph (m) of thissection. If adequate documented cor-rective action is not received withinthose timeframes, the State agencyshall withhold Program payments inaccordance with paragraph (l) of thissection, until such time as adequatedocumented corrective action is re-ceived.

(6) General area violations identified ina follow-up review. General area viola-tions identified in a follow-up reviewshall be addressed as follows:

(i) If, during a follow-up review, theState agency determines that correc-tive actions have not been taken in ac-cordance with the documented correc-tive action, the State agency shallwithhold Program payments in accord-ance with paragraph (l) of this section,until such time as the State agency re-ceives adequate documented correctiveaction.

(ii) If the State agency determinesthat the corrective actions taken didnot effectively resolve the problem, orif new general area violations are ob-served on a follow-up review, the Stateagency shall require the school foodauthority to resolve the problem andto submit documented corrective ac-tion to the State agency within speci-fied timeframes. If adequate docu-mented corrective action is not re-ceived within those timeframes, theState agency shall withhold Programpayments in accordance with para-graph (l) of this section, until suchtime as adequate documented correc-tive action is received.

(7) Exceptions. FNS may, on an indi-vidual school food authority basis, ap-prove written requests for exceptionsto the follow-up review requirement

specified in paragraph (i)(1) of this sec-tion if FNS determines that the re-quirement conflicts with efficientState agency management of the pro-gram.

(j) Exit conference and notification.The State agency shall hold an exitconference at the close of the adminis-trative review and of any subsequentfollow-up review to discuss the viola-tions observed, the extent of the viola-tions and a preliminary assessment of the actions needed to correct the viola-tions. The State agency shall discussan appropriate deadline(s) for comple-tion of corrective action, provided thatthe deadline(s) results in the comple-tion of corrective action on a timelybasis. After every review, the Stateagency shall provide written notifica-tion of the review findings to theschool food authority’s Superintendent(or equivalent in a non-public schoolfood authority) or authorized rep-resentative. The written notificationshall include the review findings, theneeded corrective actions, the dead-lines for completion of the correctiveaction, and the potential fiscal action.As a part of the denial of all or a partof a Claim for Reimbursement or with-holding payment in accordance withthe provisions of this section, the Stateagency shall provide the school foodauthority a written notice which de-tails the grounds on which the denialof all or a part of the Claim for Reim-bursement or withholding payment isbased. This notice, which shall be sentby certified mail, return receipt re-quested, shall also include a statementindicating that the school food author-ity may appeal the denial of all or apart of a Claim for Reimbursement orwithholding payment and the entity(i.e., FNS or State agency) to whichthe appeal should be directed. TheState agency shall notify the schoolfood authority, in writing, of the ap-peal procedures as specified in§ 210.18(q) for appeals of State agencyfindings, and for appeals of FNS find-ings, provide a copy of § 210.29(d)(3) of the regulations.

(k) Corrective action. Corrective ac-tion is required for any violation undereither the critical or general areas of the review. Corrective action shall beapplied to all schools in the school food


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.18

authority, as appropriate, to ensurethat previously deficient practices andprocedures are revised system-wide.

Corrective actions may include train-ing, technical assistance, recalculationof data to ensure the correctness of anyclaim that the school food authority ispreparing at the time of the review, orother actions. Fiscal action shall betaken in accordance with paragraph(m) of this section.

(1) Extensions of the timeframes. If ex-traordinary circumstances arise wherea school food authority is unable tocomplete the required corrective ac-tion within the timeframes specified bythe State agency, the State agencymay extend the timeframes upon writ-ten request of the school food author-ity.

(2) Documented corrective action. Docu-mented corrective action is requiredfor any degree of violation of generalor critical areas identified in an admin-istrative review or on any follow-up re-view. Documented corrective actionmay be provided at the time of the re-view; however, it shall be postmarkedor submitted to the State agency nolater than 30 days from the deadline forcompletion of each required correctiveaction, as specified under paragraph (j)of this section or as otherwise extendedby the State agency under paragraph(k)(1) of this section. The State agencyshall maintain any documented correc-tive action on file for review by FNS.

(l) Withholding payment. At a min-imum, the State agency shall withholdProgram payments to a school food au-thority as follows:

(1) Cause. (i) The State agency shallwithhold all Program payments to aschool food authority if documentedcorrective action for critical area vio-lation(s) which exceed the reviewthreshold(s) is not provided within thedeadlines specified in paragraph (k)(2)of this section; and/or

(ii) The State agency shall withholdall Program payments to a school foodauthority if, in the event that a follow-up review is not conducted, the Stateagency finds that corrective action fora critical area violation which exceed-ed the review threshold was not com-pleted within the deadlines specified inparagraph (j) of this section or as oth-erwise extended by the State agency

under paragraph (k)(1) of this section;and/or

(iii) The State agency shall withholdall Program payments to a school foodauthority if, on a follow-up review, theState agency finds a critical area vio-lation which exceeded the reviewthreshold on a previous review and con-tinues to exceed the review thresholdon a follow-up review.

(iv) The State agency may withholdpayments at its discretion, if the Stateagency finds that documented correc-tive action is not provided within thedeadlines specified in paragraph (k)(2)of this section, that corrective actionis not complete or that corrective ac-tion was not taken as specified in thedocumented corrective action for ageneral area violation or for a criticalarea violation which did not exceed thereview threshold.

(2) Duration. In all cases, Programpayments shall be withheld until suchtime as corrective action is completed,and documented corrective action isreceived and deemed acceptable by theState agency or as otherwise specifiedin paragraph (i)(5) of this section. Sub-sequent to the State agency’s accept-ance of the corrective actions (and afollow-up review, when required), pay-ments will be released for all lunchesserved in accordance with the provi-sions of this part during the period thepayments were withheld. In very seri-ous cases, the State agency will evalu-ate whether the degree of non-compli-ance warrants termination in accord-ance with §210.25 of this part.

(3) Exceptions. The State agency may,at its discretion, reduce the amount re-quired to be withheld from a schoolfood authority pursuant to paragraph(l)(1)(i) through (iii) of this section byas much as 60 percent of the total Pro-gram payments when it is determinedto be in the best interest of the Pro-gram. FNS may authorize a Stateagency to limit withholding of funds toan amount less than 40 percent of thetotal Program payments, if FNS deter-mines such action to be in the best in-terest of the Program.

(4) Failure to withhold payments. FNSmay suspend or withhold Program pay-ments, in whole or in part, to thoseState agencies failing to withhold Pro-gram payments in accordance with


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paragraph (l)(1) of this section and maywithhold administrative funds in ac-cordance with §235.11(b) of this title.The withholding of Program paymentswill remain in effect until such time asthe State agency documents compli-ance with paragraph (l)(1) of this sec-tion to FNS. Subsequent to the docu-mentation of compliance, any withheldadministrative funds will be releasedand payment will be released for anylunches served in accordance with theprovisions of this part during the pe-riod the payments were withheld.

(m) Fiscal action. For purposes of thecritical areas of the administrative re-view and any follow-up reviews, fiscalaction is required for all violations of Performance Standards 1 and 2. Exceptthat, on an administrative review, theState agency may limit fiscal actionfrom the point corrective action occursback through the beginning of the re-view period for errors identified underparagraphs (g)(1)(i)(A) and (g)(1)(i)(B)of this section, provided corrective ac-tion occurs. Fiscal action shall betaken in accordance with the provi-sions identified under § 210.19(c) of thispart.

(n) Miscellaneous reporting require-ment. Each State agency shall report toFNS the results of reviews by March 1of each school year, on a form des-ignated by FNS. In such annual re-ports, the State agency shall includethe results of all administrative re-views and follow-up reviews conductedin the preceding school year.

(o) Summary of reporting requirements.Each State agency shall report to FNS:

(1) The names of those large schoolfood authorities exceeding any one of the critical area review thresholds asdescribed in paragraph (d)(2) of thissection.

(2) The results of reviews by March 1of each school year on a form des-ignated by FNS, as specified underparagraph (n) of this section.

(p) Recordkeeping. Each State agencyshall keep records which document thedetails of all reviews and demonstratethe degree of compliance with the crit-ical and general areas of review.Records shall be retained by the Stateagency as specified in § 210.23(c) of thispart. Such records shall include docu-mentation of administrative reviews

and follow-up reviews. As appropriate,the records shall include documentedcorrective action, and documentationof withholding of payments and fiscalaction, including recoveries made. Ad-ditionally, the State agency must haveon file:

(1) Criteria for selecting schools onfirst and follow-up reviews in accord-ance with paragraphs (e)(2)(ii) and(i)(2)(ii) of this section.

(2) Its system for selecting smallschool food authorities for follow-upreviews in accordance with paragraph(i)(1) of this section.

(3) Documentation demonstratingcompliance with the statistical sam-pling requirements in accordance withparagraph (g)(1)(i)(A)(1) of this section,if applicable.

(q) School food authority appeal of State agency findings. Except for FNS-conducted reviews authorized under§ 210.29(d)(2), each State agency shallestablish an appeal procedure to be fol-lowed by a school food authority re-questing a review of a denial of all or apart of the Claim for Reimbursementor withholding payment arising fromadministrative or follow-up review ac-tivity conducted by the State agencyunder § 210.18 of this part. State agen-cies may use their own appeal proce-dures provided the same procedures areapplied to all appellants in the Stateand the procedures meet the followingrequirements: appellants are assured of a fair and impartial hearing before anindependent official at which they maybe represented by legal counsel; deci-sions are rendered in a timely mannernot to exceed 120 days from the date of the receipt of the request for review;appellants are afforded the right to ei-ther a review of the record with theright to file written information, or ahearing which they may attend in per-son; and adequate notice is given of thetime, date, place and procedures of thehearing. If the State agency has not es-tablished its own appeal procedures orthe procedures do not meet the abovelisted criteria, the State agency shallobserve the following procedures at aminimum:

(1) The written request for a reviewshall be postmarked within 15 calendardays of the date the appellant receivedthe notice of the denial of all or a part


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.19

of the Claim for Reimbursement orwithholding of payment, and the Stateagency shall acknowledge the receiptof the request for appeal within 10 cal-endar days;

(2) The appellant may refute the ac-tion specified in the notice in personand by written documentation to thereview official. In order to be consid-ered, written documentation must befiled with the review official not laterthan 30 calendar days after the appel-lant received the notice. The appellantmay retain legal counsel, or may berepresented by another person. A hear-ing shall be held by the review officialin addition to, or in lieu of, a review of written information submitted by theappellant only if the appellant so speci-fies in the letter of request for review.Failure of the appellant school foodauthority’s representative to appear ata scheduled hearing shall constitutethe appellant school food authority’swaiver of the right to a personal ap-pearance before the review official, un-less the review official agrees to re-schedule the hearing. A representativeof the State agency shall be allowed toattend the hearing to respond to theappellant’s testimony and to answerquestions posed by the review official;

(3) If the appellant has requested ahearing, the appellant and the Stateagency shall be provided with at least10 calendar days advance written no-tice, sent by certified mail, return re-ceipt requested, of the time, date andplace of the hearing;

(4) Any information on which theState agency’s action was based shallbe available to the appellant for in-spection from the date of receipt of therequest for review;

(5) The review official shall be anindependent and impartial officialother than, and not accountable to,any person authorized to make deci-sions that are subject to appeal underthe provisions of this section;

(6) The review official shall make adetermination based on informationprovided by the State agency and theappellant, and on Program regulations;

(7) Within 60 calendar days of theState agency’s receipt of the requestfor review, by written notice, sent bycertified mail, return receipt re-quested, the review official shall in-

form the State agency and the appel-lant of the determination of the reviewofficial. The final determination shalltake effect upon receipt of the writtennotice of the final decision by theschool food authority;

(8) The State agency’s action shallremain in effect during the appealprocess;

(9) The determination by the Statereview official is the final administra-tive determination to be afforded tothe appellant.

(r) FNS review activity. The term‘‘State agency’’ and all the provisionsspecified in paragraphs (a)–(h) of thissection refer to FNS when FNS con-ducts administrative reviews or follow-up reviews in accordance with§ 210.29(d)(2). FNS will notify the Stateagency of the review findings and theneed for corrective action and fiscal ac-tion. The State agency shall pursueany needed follow-up activity.

[56 FR 32942, July 17, 1991; 56 FR 55527, Oct.28, 1991, as amended at 57 FR 38584, Aug. 26,1992; 57 FR 40729, Sept. 4, 1992; 59 FR 1894,Jan. 13, 1994; 60 FR 31215, June 13, 1995; 60 FR57147, Nov. 14, 1995; 64 FR 50740, 50741, Sept.20, 1999; 64 FR 72471, Dec. 28, 1999; 65 FR 26922,May 9, 2000]

§ 210.19 Additional responsibilities.(a) General Program management. Each

State agency shall provide an adequatenumber of consultative, technical andmanagerial personnel to administerprograms and monitor performance incomplying with all Program require-ments.

(1) Compliance with nutrition stand-ards. (i) Beginning with School Year1996–1997, State agencies shall evaluatecompliance, over the school week, withthe nutrition standards for lunchesand, as applicable, for breakfasts. Re-view activity may be confined tolunches served under the Program un-less a menu planning approach is usedexclusively in the School BreakfastProgram or unless the school food au-thority only offers breakfasts underthe School Breakfast Program. Forlunches, compliance with the require-ments in §210.10(b) and § 210.10(c), (d),or (i)(1) or the procedures developedunder § 210.10(l), as applicable, is as-sessed. For breakfasts, see § 220.13(f)(3)of this chapter.


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(A) These evaluations may be con-ducted at the same time a school foodauthority is scheduled for an adminis-trative review in accordance with§ 210.18. State agencies may also con-duct these evaluations in conjunctionwith technical assistance visits, otherreviews, or separately.

(B) The type of evaluation conductedby the State agency shall be deter-mined by the menu planning approachchosen by the school food authority. Ata minimum, the State agency shall re-view at least one school for each typeof menu planning approach used in theschool food authority.

(C) In addition, State agencies areencouraged to review breakfasts of-fered under the School Breakfast Pro-gram as well if the school food author-ity requires technical assistance fromthe State agency to meet the nutritionstandards or if corrective action isneeded. Such review shall determinecompliance with the appropriate re-quirements in § 220.13(f)(3) of this chap-ter and may be done at the time of theinitial review or as part of a follow-upto assess compliance with the nutritionstandards.

(ii) At a minimum, State agenciesshall conduct evaluations of compli-ance with the nutrition standards in§ 210.10 and § 220.8 of this Chapter atleast once during each 5-year reviewcycle provided that each school foodauthority is evaluated at least onceevery 6 years, except that the first cycleshall begin July 1, 1996, and shall endon June 30, 2003. The compliance eval-uation for the nutrition standards shallbe conducted on the menu for any weekof the current school year in whichsuch evaluation is conducted. The weekselected must continue to representthe current menu planning ap-proach(es).

(iii) For school food authoritieschoosing the nutrient standard or as-sisted nutrient standard menu plan-ning approaches provided in § 210.10(i),§ 210.10(j), § 220.8(e) or § 220.8(f) of thischapter, or developed under the proce-dures in § 210.10(l) or §220.8(h) of thischapter, the State agency shall assessthe nutrient analysis to determine if the school food authority is properlyapplying the methodology in theseparagraphs, as applicable. Part of this

assessment shall be an independent re-view of menus and production recordsto determine if they correspond to theanalysis conducted by the school foodauthority and if the menu, as offered,over a school week, corresponds to thenutrition standards set forth in§ 210.10(b) and the appropriate calorieand nutrient levels in § 210.10(c) or§ 210.10(i)(1), whichever is applicable.

(iv) For school food authoritieschoosing the food-based menu planningapproaches provided in § 210.10(k) or§ 220.8(g) of this chapter or developedunder the procedures in § 210.10(l) or§ 220.8(h) of this chapter, the Stateagency must determine if the nutritionstandards in § 210.10 and § 220.8 of thischapter are met. The State agencyshall conduct a nutrient analysis in ac-cordance with the procedures in§ 210.10(i) or §220.8(e) of this chapter, asappropriate, except that the Stateagency may:

(A) Use the nutrient analysis of anyschool or school food authority that of-fers lunches or breakfasts using thefood-based menu planning approachesprovided in § 210.10(k) and § 220.8(g) of this chapter and that conducts its ownnutrient analysis under the criteria forsuch analysis established in § 210.10 and§ 220.8 of this chapter for the nutrientstandard and assisted nutrient stand-ard menu planning approaches; or

(B) Develop its own method for com-pliance reviews, subject to USDA ap-proval.

(v) If the menu for the school weekfails to comply with the nutritionstandards specified in § 210.10(b) and/or§ 220.8(a) and the appropriate nutrientlevels in either § 210.10(c), §210.10(d), or§ 210.10(i)(1) whichever is applicable,and/or § 220.8(b), § 220.8(c) or § 220.8(e)(1)of this chapter, whichever is applica-ble, the school food authority shall de-velop, with the assistance and concur-rence of the State agency, a correctiveaction plan designed to rectify thosedeficiencies. The State agency shallmonitor the school food authority’sexecution of the plan to ensure thatthe terms of the corrective action planare met.

(vi) For school food authorities fol-lowing an alternate approach as pro-vided under § 210.10(l) or §220.8(h) of this chapter that does not allow for use


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of the monitoring procedures in para-graphs (a)(1)(ii) or (a)(1)(iii) of this sec-tion, the State agency shall monitorcompliance following the proceduresdeveloped in accordance with § 210.10(l)or § 220.8(h) of this chapter, whicheveris appropriate.

(vii) If a school food authority failsto meet the terms of the corrective ac-tion plan, the State agency shall deter-mine if the school food authority isworking in good faith towards compli-ance and, if so, may renegotiate thecorrective action plan, if warranted.However, if the school food authorityhas not been acting in good faith tomeet the terms of the corrective actionplan and refuses to renegotiate theplan, the State agency shall determineif a disallowance of reimbursementfunds as authorized under paragraph (c)of this section is warranted.

(2) Assurance of compliance for fi-nances. Each State agency shall ensurethat school food authorities complywith the requirements to account forall revenues and expenditures of theirnonprofit school food service. Schoolfood authorities shall meet the require-ments for the allowability of nonprofitschool food service expenditures in ac-cordance with this part and, 7 CFR part3015 and 7 CFR part 3016, or 7 CFR part3019, as applicable. All costs resultingfrom contracts that do not meet the re-quirements of this part are unallowablenonprofit school food service accountexpenses. When the school food author-ity fails to incorporate State agencyrequired changes to solicitation or con-tract documents, all costs resultingfrom the subsequent contract awardare unallowable charges to the non-profit school food service account. TheState agency shall ensure compliancewith the requirements to limit netcash resources and shall provide for ap-proval of net cash resources in excessof three months’ average expenditures.Each State agency shall monitor,through review or audit or by othermeans, the net cash resources of thenonprofit school food service in eachschool food authority participating inthe Program. In the event that netcash resources exceed 3 months’ aver-age expenditures for the school foodauthority’s nonprofit school food serv-ice or such other amount as may be ap-

proved in accordance with this para-graph, the State agency may requirethe school food authority to reduce theprice children are charged for lunches,improve food quality or take other ac-tion designed to improve the nonprofitschool food service. In the absence of any such action, the State agency shallmake adjustments in the rate of reim-bursement under the Program.

(3) Improved management practices.The State agency shall work with theschool food authority toward improv-ing the school food authority’s man-agement practices where the Stateagency has found poor food servicemanagement practices leading to de-creasing or low child participation and/or poor child acceptance of the Pro-gram or of foods served. If a substan-tial number of children who routinelyand over a period of time do not favor-ably accept a particular item that isoffered; return foods; or choose lessthan all food items/components orfoods and menu items, as authorizedunder § 210.10, poor acceptance of cer-tain menus may be indicated.

(4) Program compliance. Each Stateagency shall require that school foodauthorities comply with the applicableprovisions of this part. The State agen-cy shall ensure compliance through au-dits, administrative reviews, technicalassistance, training guidance materialsor by other means.

(5) Investigations. Each State agencyshall promptly investigate complaintsreceived or irregularities noted in con-nection with the operation of the Pro-gram, and shall take appropriate ac-tion to correct any irregularities.State agencies shall maintain on file,evidence of such investigations and ac-tions. FNS and OIG may make reviewsor investigations at the request of theState agency or where FNS or OIG de-termines reviews or investigations areappropriate.

(6) Food service management companies.Each State agency shall annually re-view each contract (including all sup-porting documentation) between anyschool food authority and food servicemanagement company to ensure com-pliance with all the provisions andstandards set forth in this part beforeexecution of the contract by eitherparty. When the State agency develops


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a prototype contract for use by theschool food authority that meets theprovisions and standards set forth inthis part, this annual review may belimited to changes made to that con-tract. Each State agency shall revieweach contract amendment between aschool food authority and food servicemanagement company to ensure com-pliance with all the provisions andstandards set forth in this part beforeexecution of the amended contract byeither party. The State agency may es-tablish due dates for submission of thecontract or contract amendment docu-ments. Each State agency shall per-form an on-site review of each schoolfood authority contracting with a foodservice management company, at leastonce during each 5-year period. TheState agency is encouraged to conductsuch a review when performing reviewsin accordance with § 210.18. Such re-views shall include an assessment of the school food authority’s compliancewith § 210.16 of this part. The Stateagency may require that all food serv-ice management companies that wishto contract for food service with anyschool food authority in the State reg-

ister with the State agency. Stateagencies shall provide assistance uponrequest of a school food authority toassure compliance with Program re-quirements.

(b) Donated food distribution informa-tion. Information on schools eligible toreceive donated foods available undersection 6 of the National School LunchAct (42 U.S.C. 1755) shall be preparedeach year by the State agency with ac-companying information on the aver-age daily number of lunches to beserved in such schools. This informa-tion shall be prepared as early as prac-ticable each school year and forwardedno later than September 1 to the Dis-tributing agency. The State agencyshall be responsible for promptly revis-ing the information to reflect additionsor deletions of eligible schools, and forproviding such adjustments in partici-pation as are determined necessary bythe State agency. Schools shall be con-sulted by the Distributing agency withrespect to the needs of such schools re-lating to the manner of selection anddistribution of commodity assistance.

(c) Fiscal action. State agencies areresponsible for ensuring Program in-tegrity at the school food authoritylevel. State agencies shall take fiscalaction against school food authoritiesfor Claims for Reimbursement that arenot properly payable under this partincluding, if warranted, the disallow-ance of funds for failure to take correc-tive action in accordance with para-graph (a)(1) of this section. In takingfiscal action, State agencies shall usetheir own procedures within the con-straints of this part and shall maintainall records pertaining to action takenunder this section. The State agencymay refer to FNS for assistance inmaking a claims determination underthis part.

(1) Definition. Fiscal action includes,but is not limited to, the recovery of overpayment through direct assess-ment or offset of future claims, dis-allowance of overclaims as reflected inunpaid Claims for Reimbursement, sub-mission of a revised Claim for Reim-bursement, and correction of records toensure that unfiled Claims for Reim-bursement are corrected when filed.Fiscal action also includes disallow-ance of funds for failure to take correc-tive action in accordance with para-graph (a)(1) of this section.

(2) General principles. When takingfiscal action, State agencies shall con-sider the following:

(i) The State agency shall identifythe school food authority’s correct en-titlement and take fiscal action whenany school food authority claims or re-ceives more Federal funds than earnedunder § 210.7 of this part. In order totake fiscal action, the State agencyshall identify accurate counts of reim-bursable lunches through availabledata, if possible. In the absence of reli-able data, the State agency shall re-construct the lunch accounts in ac-cordance with procedures establishedby FNS. Such procedures will be basedon the best available information in-cluding, participation factors for thereview period, data from similarschools in the school food authority,etc.

(ii) Unless otherwise specified under§ 210.18(m) of this part, fiscal actionshall be extended back to the beginningof the school year or that point in time


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during the current school year whenthe infraction first occurred, as appli-cable. Based on the severity and lon-gevity of the problem, the State agen-cy may extend fiscal action back toprevious school years, as applicable.The State agency shall ensure that anyClaim for Reimbursement, filed subse-quent to the reviews conducted under§ 210.18 and prior to the implementationof corrective action, is limited tolunches eligible for reimbursementunder this part.

(iii) In taking fiscal action, Stateagencies shall assume that children de-termined by the reviewer to be incor-rectly approved for free and reducedprice lunches participated at the samerate as correctly approved children inthe corresponding lunch category.

(3) Failure to collect. If a State agencyfails to disallow a claim or recover anoverpayment from a school food au-thority, as described in this section,FNS will notify the State agency thata claim may be assessed against theState agency. In all such cases, theState agency shall have full oppor-tunity to submit evidence concerningoverpayment. If after considering allavailable information, FNS determinesthat a claim is warranted, FNS will as-sess a claim in the amount of suchoverpayment against the State agency.If the State agency fails to pay anysuch demand for funds promptly, FNSwill reduce the State agency’s Letterof Credit by the sum due in accordancewith FNS’ existing offset proceduresfor Letter of Credit. In such event, theState agency shall provide the fundsnecessary to maintain Program oper-ations at the level of earnings from asource other than the Program.

(4) Interest charge. If an agreementcannot be reached with the State agen-cy for payment of its debts or for offsetof debts on its current Letter of Credit,interest will be charged against theState agency from the date the demandleter was sent, at the rate establishedby the Secretary of Treasury.

(5) Use of recovered payment. Theamounts recovered by the State agencyfrom school food authorities may beutilized during the fiscal year forwhich the funds were initially avail-able, first, to make payments to schoolfood authorities for the purposes of the

Program; and second, to repay anyState funds expended in the reimburse-ment of claims under the Program andnot otherwise repaid. Any amounts re-covered which are not so utilized shallbe returned to FNS in accordance withthe requirements of this part.

(6) Exceptions. The State agency neednot disallow payment or collect anoverpayment arising out of the situa-tions described in paragraphs (c)(6) (i)and (ii) of this section; provided thatthe school food authority corrects theproblem(s) to the satisfaction of theState agency:

(i) When any review or audit revealsthat a school food authority is failingto meet the quantities for each mealelement (food item/component, menuitem or other items, as applicable) asrequired under § 210.10.

(ii) When any review or audit revealsthat a school food authority is approv-ing applications which indicate thatthe households’ incomes are within theIncome Eligibility Guidelines issued bythe Department or the applicationscontain food stamp or TANF case num-bers or FDPIR case numbers or otherFDPIR identifiers but the applications

are missing the information specifiedin paragraph (1)(ii) of the definition of Documentation in § 245.2 of this chapter;or

(iii) when any review or audit revealsthat a school food authority’s failureto meet the nutrition standards of § 210.10 is unintentional and the schoolfood authority is meeting the require-ments of a corrective plan developedand agreed to under paragraph(a)(1)(iii) of this section.

(7) Claims adjustment. FNS will havethe authority to determine the amountof, to settle, and to adjust any claimarising under the Program, and to com-promise or deny such claim or any partthereof. FNS will also have the author-ity to waive such claims if FNS deter-mines that to do so would serve thepurposes of the Program. This provi-sion shall not diminish the authorityof the Attorney General of the UnitedStates under section 516 of title 28, U.S.Code, to conduct litigation on behalf of the United States.

(d) Management evaluations. EachState agency shall provide FNS with


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full opportunity to conduct manage-ment evaluations of all State agencyProgram operations and shall provideOIG with full opportunity to conductaudits of all State agency Program op-erations. Each State agency shallmake available its records, includingrecords of the receipt and disbursementof funds under the Program and recordsof any claim compromised in accord-ance with this paragraph, upon a rea-sonable request by FNS, OIG, or theComptroller General of the UnitedStates. FNS and OIG retain the rightto visit schools and OIG also has theright to make audits of the records andoperations of any school. In conductingmanagement evaluations, reviews, oraudits in a fiscal year, the State agen-cy, FNS, or OIG may disregard an over-payment if the overpayment does notexceed $600. A State agency may estab-lish, through State law, regulation orprocedure, an alternate disregardthreshold that does not exceed $600.This disregard may be made once pereach management evaluation, review,or audit per Program within a fiscalyear. However, no overpayment is to bedisregarded where there is substantialevidence of violations of criminal lawor civil fraud statutes.

(e) Additional requirements. Nothingcontained in this part shall prevent aState agency from imposing additionalrequirements for participation in theProgram which are not inconsistentwith the provisions of this part.

(f) Cooperation with the Child andAdult Care Food Program. On an annualbasis, the State agency shall providethe State agency which administersthe Child and Adult Care Food Pro-gram with a list of all elementaryschools in the State participating inthe National School Lunch Program inwhich 50 percent or more of enrolledchildren have been determined eligiblefor free or reduced price meals as of thelast operating day of the previous Oc-tober, or other month specified by theState agency. The first list shall beprovided by March 15, 1997; subsequentlists shall be provided by February 1 of each year or, if data is based on amonth other than October, within 90calendar days following the end of themonth designated by the State agency.The State agency may provide updated

free and reduced price enrollment dataon individual schools to the Stateagency which administers the Childand Adult Care Food Program onlywhen unusual circumstances render theinitial data obsolete. In addition, theState agency shall provide the currentlist, upon request, to sponsoring orga-nizations of day care homes partici-pating in the Child and Adult CareFood Program.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 54FR 12582, Mar. 28, 1989; 56 FR 32947, July 17,1991; 57 FR 38586, Aug. 26, 1992; 59 FR 1894,Jan. 13, 1994; 60 FR 31215, June 13, 1995; 60 FR57147, Nov. 14, 1995; 62 FR 901, Jan. 7, 1997; 63FR 9104, Feb. 24, 1998; 64 FR 50741, Sept. 20,1999; 65 FR 26912, 26922, May 9, 2000; 71 FR30563, May 30, 2006; 71 FR 39516, July 13, 2006;72 FR 10892, Mar. 12, 2007; 72 FR 61491, Oct. 31,2007; 72 FR 63791, Nov. 13, 2007]

§ 210.20 Reporting and recordkeeping.(a) Reporting summary. Participating

State agencies shall submit forms andreports to FNS to demonstrate compli-ance with Program requirements. Thereports include but are not limited to:

(1) Requests for cash to make reim-bursement payments to school food au-thorities as required under § 210.5(a);

(2) Information on the amounts of Federal Program funds expended andobligated to date (SF–269) as requiredunder §210.5(d);

(3) Statewide totals on Program par-ticipation (FNS–10) as required under§ 210.5(d);

(4) Information on State funds pro-vided by the State to meet the Statematching requirements (FNS–13) speci-fied under §210.17(g);

(5) The names of school food authori-ties in need of a follow-up review;

(6) Results of reviews and audits;(7) Results of the commodity pref-

erence survey and recommendationsfor commodity purchases as requiredunder § 250.13(k) of this chapter; and

(8) Results of the State agency’s re-view of schools’ compliance with thefood safety inspection requirement in§ 210.13(b) by November 15 followingeach of school years 2005–2006 through2008–2009, beginning November 15, 2006.The report will be based on data sup-plied by the school food authorities inaccordance with § 210.15(a)(7).

(b) Recordkeeping summary. Partici-pating State agencies are required to


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maintain records to demonstrate com-pliance with Program requirements.The records include but are not limitedto:

(1) Accounting records and sourcedocuments to control the receipt, cus-tody and disbursement of Federal Pro-gram funds as required under § 210.5(a);

(2) Documentation supporting allschool food authority claims paid bythe State agency as required under§ 210.5(d);

(3) Documentation to support the

amount the State agency reported hav-ing used for State revenue matching asrequired under § 210.17(h);

(4) Records supporting the Stateagency’s review of net cash resourcesas required under § 210.19(a);

(5) Reports on the results of inves-tigations of complaints received orirregularities noted in connection withProgram operations as required under§ 210.19(a)

(6) Records of all reviews and audits,including records of action taken tocorrect Program violations; andrecords of fiscal action taken, includ-ing documentation of recoveries made;

(7) State agency criteria for selectingschools for reviews and small schoolfood authorities for follow-up reviews;

(8) Documentation of action taken todisallow improper claims submitted byschool food authorities, as required by§ 210.19(c) and as determined throughclaims processing, resulting from ac-tions such as reviews, audits and USDAaudits;

(9) Records of USDA audit findings,State agency’s and school food authori-ties’ responses to them and of correc-tive action taken as required by§ 210.22(a);

(10) Records pertaining to civil rights

responsibilities as defined under§ 210.23(b);(11) Records pertaining to the annual

food preference survey of school foodauthorities as required by § 250.13(k) of this chapter; and

(12) Records supplied by the schoolfood authorities showing the number of food safety inspections obtained by

schools for each of school years 2005–2006 through 2008–2009.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 56FR 32948, July 17, 1991; 56 FR 55527, Oct. 28,1991; 64 FR 50741, Sept. 20, 1999; 70 FR 34630,June 15, 2005]

Subpart E—State Agency andSchool Food Authority Re-sponsibilities

§ 210.21 Procurement.(a) General. State agencies and school

food authorities shall comply with therequirements of this part and 7 CFRPart 3016 or 7 CFR Part 3019, as appli-cable, which implement the applicableOffice of Management and Budget Cir-culars, concerning the procurement of all goods and services with nonprofitschool food service account funds.

(b) Contractual responsibilities. Thestandards contained in this part and 7CFR part 3015, 7 CFR part 3016 and 7CFR part 3019, as applicable, do not re-lieve the State agency or school foodauthority of any contractual respon-sibilities under its contracts. The Stateagency or school food authority is theresponsible authority, without re-course to FNS, regarding the settle-ment and satisfaction of all contrac-tual and administrative issues arisingout of procurements entered into inconnection with the Program. This in-cludes, but is not limited to sourceevaluation, protests, disputes, claims,or other matters of a contractual na-ture. Matters concerning violation of law are to be referred to the local,State, or Federal authority that hasproper jurisdiction.

(c) Procedures. The State agency mayelect to follow either the State laws,policies and procedures as authorized

by §§ 3016.36(a) and 3016.37(a) of thistitle, or the procurement standards forother governmental grantees and allgovernmental subgrantees in accord-ance with § 3016.36(b) through (i) of thistitle. Regardless of the option selected,States must ensure that all contractsinclude any clauses required by Federalstatutes and executive orders and thatthe requirements of § 3016.60(b) and (c)of this title are followed. A school food


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authority may use its own procure-ment procedures which reflect applica-ble State and local laws and regula-tions, provided that procurementsmade with nonprofit school food serv-ice account funds adhere to the stand-ards set forth in this part and§§ 3016.36(b) through 3016.36(i), 3016.60and 3019.40 through 3019.48 of this title,as applicable, and in the applicable Of-fice of Management and Budget Circu-lars. School food authority proceduresmust include a written code of stand-ards of conduct meeting the minimumstandards of § 3016.36(b)(3) or § 3019.42 of this title, as applicable.

(1) Pre-issuance review requirement.The State agency may impose a pre-issuance review requirement on aschool food authority’s proposed pro-curement. The school food authoritymust make available, upon request bythe State agency, its procurement doc-uments, including but not limited tosolicitation documents, specifications,evaluation criteria, procurement pro-cedures, proposed contracts and con-tract terms. School food authoritiesshall comply with State agency re-quests for changes to procurement pro-

cedures and solicitation and contractdocuments to ensure that, to the Stateagency’s satisfaction, such proceduresand documents reflect applicable pro-curement and contract requirementsand the requirements of this part.

(2) Prototype solicitation documents andcontracts. The school food authoritymust obtain the State agency’s priorwritten approval for any change madeto prototype solicitation or contractdocuments before issuing the revisedsolicitation documents or execution of the revised contract.

(3) Prohibited expenditures. No expend-iture may be made from the nonprofitschool food service account for any

cost resulting from a procurement fail-ing to meet the requirements of thispart.

(d) Buy American. —(1) Definition of do-mestic commodity or product. In thisparagraph (d), the term ‘domestic com-modity or product’ means—

(i) An agricultural commodity that isproduced in the United States; and

(ii) A food product that is processedin the United States substantially

using agricultural commodities thatare produced in the United States.

(2) Requirement. (i) In general. Subjectto paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section,the Department shall require that aschool food authority purchase, to themaximum extent practicable, domesticcommodities or products.

(ii) Limitations. Paragraph (d)(2)(i) of this section shall apply only to—

(A) A school food authority locatedin the contiguous United States; and

(B) A purchase of domestic com-

modity or product for the school lunchprogram under this part.(3) Applicability to Hawaii. Paragraph

(d)(2)(i) of this section shall apply to aschool food authority in Hawaii withrespect to domestic commodities orproducts that are produced in Hawaiiin sufficient quantities to meet theneeds of meals provided under theschool lunch program under this part.

(e) Restrictions on the sale of milk. Aschool food authority participating inthe Program, or a person approved by aschool participating in the Program,must not directly or indirectly restrictthe sale or marketing of fluid milk (asdescribed in paragraph(m)(1)(ii) of this

section) at any time or in any place onschool premises or at any school-spon-sored event.

(f) Cost reimbursable contracts —(1) Re-quired provisions. The school food au-thority must include the following pro-visions in all cost reimbursable con-tracts, including contracts with costreimbursable provisions, and in solici-tation documents prepared to obtainoffers for such contracts:

(i) Allowable costs will be paid fromthe nonprofit school food service ac-count to the contractor net of all dis-counts, rebates and other applicablecredits accruing to or received by thecontractor or any assignee under thecontract, to the extent those creditsare allocable to the allowable portionof the costs billed to the school foodauthority;

(ii)(A) The contractor must sepa-rately identify for each cost submittedfor payment to the school food author-ity the amount of that cost that is al-lowable (can be paid from the nonprofitschool food service account) and theamount that is unallowable (cannot be


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.22

paid from the nonprofit school foodservice account); or

(B) The contractor must exclude allunallowable costs from its billing docu-ments and certify that only allowablecosts are submitted for payment andrecords have been established thatmaintain the visibility of unallowablecosts, including directly associatedcosts in a manner suitable for contractcost determination and verification;

(iii) The contractor’s determinationof its allowable costs must be made incompliance with the applicable Depart-mental and Program regulations andOffice of Management and Budget costcirculars;

(iv) The contractor must identify theamount of each discount, rebate andother applicable credit on bills and in-voices presented to the school food au-thority for payment and individuallyidentify the amount as a discount, re-bate, or in the case of other applicablecredits, the nature of the credit. If ap-proved by the State agency, the schoolfood authority may permit the con-tractor to report this information on aless frequent basis than monthly, butno less frequently than annually;

(v) The contractor must identify themethod by which it will report dis-counts, rebates and other applicablecredits allocable to the contract thatare not reported prior to conclusion of the contract; and

(vi) The contractor must maintaindocumentation of costs and discounts,rebates and other applicable credits,and must furnish such documentationupon request to the school food author-ity, the State agency, or the Depart-ment.

(2) Prohibited expenditures. No expend-iture may be made from the nonprofitschool food service account for anycost resulting from a cost reimbursable

contract that fails to include the re-quirements of this section, nor mayany expenditure be made from the non-profit school food service account thatpermits or results in the contractor re-ceiving payments in excess of the con-tractor’s actual, net allowable costs.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 64FR 50741, Sept. 20, 1999; 70 FR 70033, Nov. 21,2005; 71 FR 39516, July 13, 2006; 72 FR 61491,Oct. 31, 2007]

§210.22 Audits.(a) General. Unless otherwise exempt,

audits at the State and school food au-thority levels shall be conducted in ac-cordance with Office of Managementand Budget Circular A–133 and the De-partment’s implementing regulationsat 7 CFR part 3052. For availability of the OMB Circular mentioned in thisparagraph, please refer to 5 CFR 1310.3.

(b) Audit procedure. These require-ments call for organization-wide finan-cial and compliance audits to ascertainwhether financial operations are con-ducted properly; financial statementsare presented fairly; recipients andsubrecipients comply with the laws andregulations that affect the expendi-tures of Federal funds; recipients andsubrecipients have established proce-dures to meet the objectives of feder-ally assisted programs; and recipientsand subrecipients are providing accu-rate and reliable information con-cerning grant funds. States and schoolfood authorities shall use their ownprocedures to arrange for and prescribethe scope of independent audits, pro-vided that such audits comply with the

requirements set forth in 7 CFR part3015.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 71FR 39516, July 13, 2006]

§ 210.23 Other responsibilities.(a) Free and reduced price lunches and

meal supplements. State agencies andschool food authorities shall ensurethat lunches and meal supplements aremade available free or at a reducedprice to all children who are deter-mined by the school food authority tobe eligible for such benefits. The deter-mination of a child’s eligibility for freeor reduced price lunches and meal sup-

plements is to be made in accordancewith 7 CFR part 245.(b) Civil rights. In the operation of the

Program, no child shall be denied bene-fits or be otherwise discriminatedagainst because of race, color, nationalorigin, age, sex, or disability. Stateagencies and school food authoritiesshall comply with the requirements of:Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;title IX of the Education Amendments


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of 1972; section 504 of the Rehabilita-tion Act of 1973; the Age Discrimina-tion Act of 1975; Department of Agri-culture regulations on nondiscrimina-tion (7 CFR parts 15, 15a, and 15b); andFNS Instruction 113–6.

(c) Retention of records. State agen-cies and school food authorities mayretain necessary records in their origi-nal form or on microfilm. State agencyrecords shall be retained for a period of 3 years after the date of submission of the final Financial Status Report forthe fiscal year. School food authorityrecords shall be retained for a period of 3 years after submission of the finalClaim for Reimbursement for the fiscalyear. In either case, if audit findingshave not been resolved, the recordsshall be retained beyond the 3-year pe-riod as long as required for the resolu-tion of the issues raised by the audit.

(d) Data collection related to school food authorities. (1) Each State agencymust collect data related to schoolfood authorities that have an agree-ment with the State agency to partici-pate in the program for each of Federalfiscal years 2006 through 2009, includingthose school food authorities that par-ticipated only for part of the fiscalyear. Such data shall include:

(i) The name of each school food au-thority;

(ii) The city in which each partici-pating school food authority washeadquartered and the name of thestate;

(iii) The amount of funds provided tothe participating organization, i.e., theamount of federal funds reimbursed toeach participating school food author-ity; and

(iv) The type of participating organi-zation, e.g., government agency, edu-cational institution, non-profit organi-zation/secular, non-profit organization/

faith-based, and ‘‘other.’’(2) On or before August 31, 2007, and

each subsequent year through 2010,State agencies must report to FNSdata as specified in paragraph (d)(1) of this section for the prior Federal fiscalyear. State agencies must submit thisdata in a format designated by FNS.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 58FR 42489, Aug. 10, 1993; 64 FR 50741, Sept. 20,1999; 72 FR 24183, May 2, 2007]

Subpart F—Additional Provisions

§ 210.24 Withholding payments.In accordance with Departmental

regulations at § 3016.43 and §3019.62 of this title, the State agency shall with-hold Program payments, in whole or inpart, to any school food authoritywhich has failed to comply with theprovisions of this part. Program pay-ments shall be withheld until theschool food authority takes correctiveaction satisfactory to the State agen-

cy, or gives evidence that such correc-tive action will be taken, or until theState agency terminates the grant inaccordance with § 210.25 of this part.Subsequent to the State agency’s ac-ceptance of the corrective actions, pay-ments will be released for any lunchesserved in accordance with the provi-sions of this part during the period thepayments were withheld.

[56 FR 32948, July 17, 1991, as amended at 71FR 39516, July 13, 2006; 72 FR 61492, Oct. 31,2007]

§ 210.25 Suspension, termination andgrant closeout procedures.

Whenever it is determined that aState agency has materially failed tocomply with the provisions of thispart, or with FNS guidelines and in-structions, FNS may suspend or termi-nate the Program in whole, or in part,or take any other action as may beavailable and appropriate. A Stateagency may also terminate the Pro-gram by mutual agreement with FNS.FNS and the State agency shall complywith the provisions of 7 CFR part 3016concerning grant suspension, termi-nation and closeout procedures. Fur-thermore, the State agency shall applythese provisions, or the parallel provi-sions of 7 CFR part 3019, as applicable,to suspension or termination of theProgram in school food authorities.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988. Redesignated at 56FR 32948, July 17, 1991, and amended at 71 FR39516, July 13, 2006]

§210.26 Penalties.Whoever embezzles, willfully

misapplies, steals, or obtains by fraudany funds, assets, or property provided


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.27

under this part whether received di-rectly or indirectly from the Depart-ment, shall if such funds, assets, orproperty are of a value of $100 or more,be fined no more than $25,000 or impris-oned not more than 5 years or both; orif such funds, assets, or property are of a value of less than $100, be fined notmore than $1,000 or imprisoned notmore than 1 year or both. Whoever re-ceives, conceals, or retains for personaluse or gain, funds, assets, or propertyprovided under this part, whether re-ceived directly or indirectly from theDepartment, knowing such funds, as-sets, or property have been embezzled,willfully misapplied, stolen, or ob-tained by fraud, shall be subject to thesame penalties.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988. Redesignated at 56FR 32948, July 17, 1991, as amended at 64 FR50741, Sept. 20, 1999]

§ 210.27 Educational prohibitions.In carrying out the provisions of the

Act, the Department shall not imposeany requirements with respect toteaching personnel, curriculum, in-structions, methods of instruction, ormaterials of instruction in any school

as a condition for participation in theProgram.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988. Redesignated at 56FR 32948, July 17, 1991, as amended at 64 FR50741, Sept. 20, 1999]

§ 210.28 Pilot project exemptions.Those State agencies or school food

authorities selected for the pilotprojects mandated under section 18(d)of the Act may be exempted by the De-partment from some or all of thecounting and free and reduced price ap-plication requirements of this part and7 CFR part 245, as necessary, to con-duct an approved pilot project. Addi-tionally, those schools selected forpilot projects that also operate theSchool Breakfast Program (7 CFR part220) and/or the Special Milk Programfor Children (7 CFR part 215), may beexempted from the counting and freeand reduced price application require-ments mandated under these Pro-grams. The Department shall notifythe appropriate State agencies andschool food authorities of its deter-mination of which requirements are ex-

empted after the Department’s selec-tion of pilot projects.

[55 FR 41504, Oct. 12, 1990. Redesignated at 56FR 32948, July 17, 1991. Further redesignatedat 64 FR 50741, Sept. 20, 1999]

§ 210.29 Management evaluations.(a) Management evaluations. FNS will

conduct a comprehensive managementevaluation of each State agency’s ad-ministration of the National SchoolLunch Program.

(b) Basis for evaluations. FNS willevaluate all aspects of State agencymanagement of the Program usingtools such as State agency reviews asrequired under § 210.18 or §210.18a of this part; reviews conducted by FNS inaccordance with § 210.18 of this part;FNS reviews of school food authoritiesand schools authorized under§ 210.19(a)(4) of this part; follow-up re-views and actions taken by the Stateagency to correct violations found dur-ing reviews; FNS observations of Stateagency reviews; and audit reports.

(c) Scope of management evaluations.The management evaluation will deter-mine whether the State agency hastaken steps to ensure school food au-thority compliance with Program regu-lations, and whether the State agencyis administering the Program in ac-cordance with Program requirementsand good management practices.

(1) Local compliance. FNS will evalu-ate whether the State agency has ac-tively taken steps to ensure thatschool food authorities comply withthe provisions of this part.

(2) State agency compliance. FNS willevaluate whether the State agency hasfulfilled its State level responsibilities,including, but not limited to the fol-lowing areas: use of Federal funds; re-porting and recordkeeping; agreementswith school food authorities; review of food service management companycontracts; review of the claims pay-ment process; implementation of theState agency’s monitoring responsibil-ities; initiation and completion of cor-rective action; recovery of overpay-ments; disallowance of claims that arenot properly payable; withholding of Program payments; oversight of schoolfood authority procurement activities;training and guidance activities; civilrights; and compliance with the State


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Administrative Expense Funds require-ments as specified in 7 CFR part 235.

(d) School food authority reviews. FNSwill examine State agency administra-tion of the Program by reviewing localProgram operations. When conductingthese reviews under paragraph (d)(2) of this section, FNS will follow all the ad-ministrative review requirements spec-ified in § 210.18(a)–(h) of this part. WhenFNS conducts reviews, the findings willbe sent to the State agency to ensureall the needed follow-up activity oc-curs. The State agency will, in allcases, be invited to accompany FNS re-viewers.

(1) Observation of State agency reviews.FNS may observe the State agencyconduct of any review and/or any fol-low-up review as required under thispart. At State agency request, FNSmay assist in the conduct of the re-view.

(2) Section 210.18 reviews. FNS willconduct administrative reviews or fol-low-up reviews in accordance with§ 210.18(a)–(h) of this part which willcount toward meeting the State agencyresponsibilities identified under § 210.18of this part.

(3) School food authority appeal of FNS findings. When administrative or fol-low-up review activity conducted byFNS in accordance with the provisionsof paragraph (d)(2) of this section re-sults in the denial of all or part of aClaim for Reimbursement or with-holding of payment, a school food au-thority may appeal the FNS findingsby filing a written request with theChief, Administrative Review Branch,U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foodand Nutrition Service, 3101 Park Cen-ter Drive, Alexandria, Virginia, 22302,in accordance with the appeal proce-dures specified in this paragraph:

(i) The written request for a review of the record shall be postmarked within15 calendar days of the date the appel-lant received the notice of the denial of all or a part of the Claim for Reim-bursement or withholding payment andthe envelope containing the requestshall be prominently marked ‘‘RE-QUEST FOR REVIEW’’. FNS will ac-knowledge the receipt of the requestfor appeal within 10 calendar days. Theacknowledgement will include thename and address of the FNS Adminis-

trative Review Officer (ARO) reviewingthe case. FNS will also notify the Stateagency of the request for appeal.

(ii) The appellant may refute the ac-tion specified in the notice in personand by written documentation to theARO. In order to be considered, writtendocumentation must be filed with theARO not later than 30 calendar daysafter the appellant received the notice.The appellant may retain legal coun-sel, or may be represented by anotherperson. A hearing shall be held by theARO in addition to, or in lieu of, a re-view of written information submittedby the appellant only if the appellantso specifies in the letter of request forreview. Failure of the appellant schoolfood authority’s representative to ap-pear at a scheduled hearing shall con-stitute the appellant school foodauthority’s waiver of the right to apersonal appearance before the ARO,unless the ARO agrees to reschedulethe hearing. A representative of FNSshall be allowed to attend the hearingto respond to the appellant’s testimonyand to answer questions posed by theARO;

(iii) If the appellant has requested a

hearing, the appellant shall be providedwith a least 10 calendar days advancewritten notice, sent by certified mail,return receipt requested, of the time,date, and place of the hearing;

(iv) Any information on which FNS’saction was based shall be available tothe appellant for inspection from thedate of receipt of the request for re-view;

(v) The ARO shall be an independentand impartial official other than, andnot accountable to, any person author-ized to make decisions that are subjectto appeal under the provisions of thissection;

(vi) The ARO shall make a deter-mination based on information pro-vided by FNS and the appellant, and onProgram regulations;

(vii) Within 60 calendar days of thereceipt of the request for review, bywritten notice, sent by certified mail,return receipt requested, the ARO shallinform FNS, the State agency and theappellant of the determination of theARO. The final determination shalltake effect upon receipt of the written


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7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–08 Edition)§ 210.30

notice of the final decision by theschool food authority;

(viii) The action being appealed shallremain in effect during the appealprocess;

(ix) The determination by the ARO isthe final administrative determinationto be afforded to the appellant.

(4) Coordination with State agency.FNS will coordinate school food au-thority selection with the State agencyto ensure that no unintended overlapexists and to ensure reviews are con-ducted in a consistent manner.

(e) Management evaluation findings.FNS will consider the results of all itsreview activity within each State, in-cluding school food authority reviews,in performing management evaluationsand issuing management evaluation re-ports. FNS will communicate the find-ings of the management evaluation toappropriate State agency personnel inan exit conference. Subsequent to theexit conference, the State agency willbe notified in writing of the manage-ment evaluation findings and any need-ed corrective actions or fiscal sanc-tions in accordance with the provisions§ 210.25 of this part and/or 7 CFR part235.

[56 FR 32949, July 17, 1991, as amended at 57FR 38586, Aug. 26, 1992. Redesignated at 64 FR50741, Sept. 20, 1999]

§ 210.30 Regional office addresses.School food authorities desiring in-

formation concerning the Programshould write to their State educationalagency or to the appropriate RegionalOffice of FNS as indicated below:

(a) In the States of Connecticut,Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont:Northeast Regional Office, FNS, U.S.Department of Agriculture, 10 Cause-way Street, Room 501, Boston, Massa-chusetts 02222–1065.

(b) In the States of Alabama, Florida,Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, NorthCarolina, South Carolina, and Ten-nessee: Southeast Regional Office,FNS, U.S. Department of Agriculture,61 Forsyth Street SW, Room 8T36, At-lanta, Georgia 30303.

(c) In the States of Illinois, Indiana,Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wis-consin: Midwest Regional Office, FNS,U.S. Department of Agriculture, 77

West Jackson Boulevard, 20th Floor,Chicago, Illinois 60604–3507.

(d) In the States of Arkansas, Lou-isiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, andTexas: Southwest Regional Office,FNS, U.S. Department of Agriculture,1100 Commerce Street, Room 5–C–30,Dallas, Texas 75242.

(e) In the States of Alaska, AmericanSamoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Ha-waii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, the Com-monwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-lands, and Washington: Western Re-gional Office, FNS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 550 Kearny Street, Room400, San Francisco, California 94108.

(f) In the States of Delaware, Districtof Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey,Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Virginia,Virgin Islands, and West Virginia: Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, FNS, U.S. De-partment of Agriculture, 300 CorporateBoulevard, Robbinsville, New Jersey08691–1598.

(g) In the States of Colorado, Iowa,Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska,North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah,and Wyoming: Mountain Plains Re-gional Office, FNS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1244 Speer Boulevard,Suite 903, Denver, Colorado 80204.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988. Redesignated at 55FR 41503, Oct. 12, 1990. Further redesignatedat 56 FR 32948, July 17, 1991. Further redesig-nated at 64 FR 50741, Sept. 20, 1999; 65 FR12434, Mar. 9, 2000]

§ 210.31 OMB control numbers.The following control numbers have

been assigned to the information col-lection requirements in 7 CFR part 210by the Office of Management and Budg-et pursuant to the Paperwork Reduc-tion Act of 1980, Pub. L. 96–511.

7 CFR section where requirements are de-scribed

Current OMBcontrol No.

210.3(b) ....................................................... 0584–0327

210.5(d) ....................................................... 0584–0006210.5(d)(1) ................................................... 0584–0002210.5(d)(2) ................................................... 0584–0341210.5(d)(3) ................................................... 0584–0341210.6(b) ....................................................... 0584–0006210.8 ............................................................ 0584–0006

0584–0284210.9 ............................................................ 0584–0006

0584–00260584–0329

210.10(b) ..................................................... 0584–0006210.10(i)(1) .................................................. 0584–0006210.14(c) ...................................................... 0584–0006210.16 .......................................................... 0584–0006210.17 .......................................................... 0584–0006


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Food and Nutrition Service, USDA Pt. 210, App. A

7 CFR section where requirements are de-scribed

Current OMBcontrol No.

210.17(g) ..................................................... 0584–0075210.18 .......................................................... 0584–0006210.19 .......................................................... 0584–0006210.22 .......................................................... 0584–0006210.23(c) ...................................................... 0584–0006210.24 .......................................................... 0584–0006210.27 .......................................................... 0584–0006

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1990. Redesignated at 55FR 41503, Oct. 12, 1990. Further redesignatedat 56 FR 32948, July 17, 1991. Further redesig-nated at 64 FR 50741, Sept. 20, 1999]

A PPENDIX A TO P ART 210—A LTERNATE F OODS FOR M EALS

I. E NRICHED M ACARONI P RODUCTS WITH F ORTIFIED P ROTEIN

1. Schools may utilize the enriched maca-roni products with fortified protein definedin paragraph 3 as a food item in meeting themeal requirements of this part under the fol-lowing terms and conditions:

(a) One ounce (28.35 grams) of a dry en-riched macaroni product with fortified pro-tein may be used to meet not more than one-half of the meat or meat alternate require-ments specified in §210.10, when served incombination with 1 or more ounces (28.35grams) of cooked meat, poultry, fish, orcheese. The size of servings of the cookedcombination may be adjusted for various age

groups.(b) Only enriched macaroni products withfortified protein that bear a label containingsubstantially the following legend shall be soutilized: ‘‘One ounce (28.35 grams) dry weightof this product meets one-half of the meat ormeat alternate requirements of lunch or sup-per of the USDA child nutrition programswhen served in combination with 1 or moreounces (28.35 grams) of cooked meat, poultry,fish, or cheese. In those States where Stateor local law prohibits the wording specified,a legend acceptable to both the State orlocal authorities and FNS shall be sub-stituted.’’

(c) Enriched macaroni product may not beused for infants under 1 year of age.

2. Only enriched macaroni products withfortified protein that have been accepted byFNS for use in the USDA Child NutritionPrograms may be labeled as provided inparagraph 1(b) of this appendix. Manufactur-ers seeking acceptance of their product shallfurnish FNS a chemical analysis, the ProteinDigestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score(PDCAAS), and such other pertinent data asmay be requested by FNS, except that priorto November 7, 1994, manufacturers may sub-mit protein efficiency ratio analysis in lieuof the PDCAAS. This information is to beforwarded to: Director, Nutrition and Tech-nical Services Division, Food and Nutrition

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,3101 Park Center Drive, room 607, Alexan-dria, VA 22302. All laboratory analyses are tobe performed by independent or other labora-tories acceptable to FNS. (FNS prefers anindependent laboratory.) All laboratoriesshall retain the ‘‘raw’’ laboratory data for aperiod of 1 year. Such information shall bemade available to FNS upon request. Manu-facturers must notify FNS if there is achange in the protein portion of their prod-uct after the original testing. Manufacturerswho report such a change in protein in a pre-viously approved product must submit pro-tein data in accordance with the methodspecified in this paragraph.

3. The product should not be designed insuch a manner that would require it to beclassified as a Dietary Supplement as de-scribed by the Food and Drug Administra-tion (FDA) in 21 CFR part 105. To be acceptedby FNS, enriched macaroni products withfortified protein must conform to the fol-lowing requirements:

(a)(1) Each of these foods is produced bydrying formed units of dough made with oneor more of the milled wheat ingredients des-ignated in 21 CFR 139.110(a) and 139.138(a),and other ingredients to enable the finishedfood to meet the protein requirements setout in paragraph 3.(a)(2)(i) under EnrichedMacaroni Products with Fortified Protein inthis appendix. Edible protein sources, includ-ing food grade flours or meals made fromnonwheat cereals or from oilseeds, may be

used. Vitamin and mineral enrichment nutri-ents are added to bring the food into con-formity with the requirements of paragraph(b) under Enriched Macaroni Products withFortified Protein in this appendix. Safe andsuitable ingredients, as provided for in para-graph (c) under Enriched Macaroni Productswith Fortified Protein in this appendix, maybe added. The proportion of the milled wheatingredient is larger than the proportion of any other ingredient used.

(2) Each such finished food, when tested bythe methods described in the pertinent sec-tions of ‘‘Official Methods of Analysis of theAOAC International,’’ (formerly the Associa-tion of Official Analytical Chemists), 15thEd. (1990) meets the following specifications.This publication is incorporated by referencein accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFRpart 51. Copies may be obtained from theAOAC International, 2200 Wilson Blvd., suite400, Arlington, VA 22201–3301. This publica-tion may be examined at the Food and Nutri-tion Service, Nutrition and Technical Serv-ices Division, 3101 Park Center Drive, room607, Alexandria, Virginia 22302 or at the Na-tional Archives and Records Administration(NARA). For information on the availabilityof this material at NARA, call 202–741–6030,or go to: http://www.archives.gov/

federal l register/code l of l federal l regulations/ ibr l locations.html.


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(i) The protein content (N × 6.25) is not lessthan 20 percent by weight (on a 13 percentmoisture basis) as determined by the appro-priate method of analysis in the AOAC man-ual cited in (a)(2) under Enriched MacaroniProducts with Fortified Protein in this ap-pendix. The protein quality is not less than95 percent that of casein as determined on adry basis by the PDCAAS method as de-scribed below:

(A) The PDCAAS shall be determined bythe methods given in sections 5.4.1, 7.2.1. and8.0 as described in ‘‘Protein Quality Evalua-tion, Report of the Joint FAO/WHO ExpertConsultation on Protein Quality Evalua-tion,’’ Rome, 1990, as published by the Foodand Agriculture Organization (FAO) of theUnited Nations/World Health Organization(WHO). This report is incorporated by ref-erence in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and1 CFR part 51. Copies of this report may beobtained from the Nutrition and TechnicalServices Division, Food and Nutrition Serv-ice, 3101 Park Center Drive, room 607, Alex-andria, Virginia 22302. This report may alsobe inspected at the National Archives andRecords Administration (NARA). For infor-mation on the availability of this materialat NARA, call 202–741–6030, or go to: http:// www.archives.gov/federal l register/ code l of l federal l regulations/ ibr l locations.html.

(B) The standard used for assessing proteinquality in the PDCAAS method is the aminoacid scoring pattern established by FAO/

WHO and United Nations University (UNU)in 1985 for preschool children 2 to 5 years of age which has been adopted by the NationalAcademy of Sciences, Recommended DietaryAllowances (RDA), 1989.

(C) To calculate the PDCAAS for an indi-vidual food, the test food must be analyzedfor proximate analysis and amino acid com-position according to AOAC methods.

(D) The PDCAAS may be calculated usingFDA’s limited data base of published true di-gestibility values (determined using humansand rats). The true digestibility values con-tained in the WHO/FAO report referenced inparagraph 3.(a)(2)(i)(A) under Enriched Maca-roni Products with Fortified Protein in thisappendix may also be used. If the digest-ibility of the protein is not available fromthese sources it must be determined by a lab-

oratory according to methods in the FAO/WHO report (sections 7.2.1 and 8.0).(E) The most limiting essential amino acid

(that is, the amino acid that is present atthe lowest level in the test food compared tothe standard) is identified in the test food bycomparing the levels of individual aminoacids in the test food with the 1985 FAO/WHO/UNU pattern of essential amino acidsestablished as a standard for children 2 to 5years of age.

(F) The value of the most limiting aminoacid (the ratio of the amino acid in the test

food over the amino acid value from the pat-tern) is multiplied by the percent of digest-ibility of the protein. The resulting numberis the PDCAAS.

(G) The PDCAAS of food mixtures must becalculated from data for the amino acid com-position and digestibility of the individualcomponents by means of a weighted averageprocedure. An example for calculating aPDCAAS for a food mixture of varying pro-tein sources is shown in section 8.0 of theFAO/WHO report cited in paragraph3.(a)(2)(i)(A) under Enriched Macaroni Prod-ucts with Fortified Protein in this appendix.

(H) For the purpose of this regulation, each100 grams of the product (on a 13 percentmoisture basis) must contain protein inamounts which is equivalent to that pro-vided by 20 grams of protein with a qualityof not less than 95 percent casein. The equiv-alent grams of protein required per 100 gramsof product (on a 13 percent moisture basis)would be determined by the following equa-tion:

Xa b

c=

×

X=grams of protein required per 100 gramsof product

a=20 grams (amount of protein if casein)b=.95 [95% × 1 (PDCAAS of casein)c=PDCAAS for protein used in formulation(ii) The total solids content is not less

than 87 percent by weight as determined bythe methods described in the ‘‘Official Meth-ods of Analysis of the AOAC International’’cited in paragraph (a)(2) under EnrichedMacaroni Products with Fortified Protein inthis appendix.

(b)(1) Each pound of food covered by thissection shall contain 5 milligrams of thi-amine, 2.2 milligrams of riboflavin, 34 milli-grams of niacin or niacinamide, and 16.5 mil-ligrams of iron.

(2) Each pound of such food may also con-tain 625 milligrams of calcium.

(3) Only harmless and assimilable forms of iron and calcium may be added. The enrich-ment nutrients may be added in a harmlesscarrier used only in a quantity necessary toeffect a uniform distribution of the nutrientsin the finished food. Reasonable overages,within the limits of good manufacturing

practice, may be used to assure that the pre-scribed levels of the vitamins and mineral(s)in paragraphs (b)(1) and (2) under EnrichedMacaroni Products with Fortified Protein inthis appendix are maintained throughout theexpected shelf life of the food under cus-tomary conditions of distribution.

(c) Ingredients that serve a useful purposesuch as to fortify the protein or facilitateproduction of the food are the safe and suit-able ingredients referred to in paragraph (a)under Enriched Macaroni Products with For-tified Protein in this appendix. This does not


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include color additives, artificial flavorings,artificial sweeteners, chemical preservatives,or starches. Ingredients deemed suitable foruse by this paragraph are added in amountsthat are not in excess of those reasonably re-quired to achieve their intended purposes.Ingredients are deemed to be safe if they arenot food additives within the meaning of sec-tion 201(s) of the Federal Food, Drug andCosmetic Act, or in case they are food addi-tives if they are used in conformity with reg-ulations established pursuant to section 409of the act.

(d)(1) The name of any food covered by thissection is ‘‘Enriched Wheat llllllll Macaroni Product with Fortified Protein’’,the blank being filled in with appropriateword(s) such as ‘‘Soy’’ to show the source of any flours or meals used that were madefrom non-wheat cereals or from oilseeds. Inlieu of the words ‘‘Macaroni Product’’ thewords ‘‘Macaroni’’, ‘‘Spaghetti’’, or‘‘Vermicelli’’ as appropriate, may be used if the units conform in shape and size to the re-quirements of 21 CFR 139.110 (b), (c), or (d).

(2) When any ingredient not designated inthe part of the name prescribed in paragraph(d)(1) under Enriched Macaroni Productswith Fortified Protein in this appendix, isadded in such proportion as to contribute 10percent or more of the quantity of proteincontained in the finished food, the nameshall include the statement ‘‘Made with llllllll ’’, the blank being filled inwith the name of each such ingredient, e.g.

‘‘Made with nonfat milk’’.(3) When, in conformity with paragraph(d)(1) or (d)(2) under Enriched MacaroniProducts with Fortified Protein in this ap-pendix, two or more ingredients are listed inthe name, their designations shall be ar-ranged in descending order of predominanceby weight.

(4) If a food is made to comply with a sec-tion of 21 CFR part 139, but also meets thecompositional requirements of the EnrichedMacaroni with Fortified Protein Appendix, itmay alternatively bear the name set out inthe other section.

(e) Each ingredient used shall declare itscommon name as required by the applicablesection of 21 CFR part 101. In addition, theingredients statement shall appear in lettersnot less than one half the size of that re-

quired by 21 CFR 101.105 for the declarationof net quantity of contents, and in no caseless than one-sixteenth of an inch in height.

II. A LTERNATE P ROTEIN P RODUCTS

A. What Are the Criteria for Alternate ProteinProducts Used in the National School LunchProgram?

1. An alternate protein product used inmeals planned under the food-based menuplanning approaches in §210.10(k), must meetall of the criteria in this section.

2. An alternate protein product whetherused alone or in combination with meat orother meat alternates must meet the fol-lowing criteria:

a. The alternate protein product must beprocessed so that some portion of the non-protein constituents of the food is removed.These alternate protein products must besafe and suitable edible products producedfrom plant or animal sources.

b. The biological quality of the protein inthe alternate protein product must be atleast 80 percent that of casein, determinedby performing a Protein Digestibility Cor-rected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS).

c. The alternate protein product must con-tain at least 18 percent protein by weightwhen fully hydrated or formulated. (‘‘Whenhydrated or formulated’’ refers to a dry al-ternate protein product and the amount of water, fat, oil, colors, flavors or any othersubstances which have been added).

d. Manufacturers supplying an alternateprotein product to participating schools orinstitutions must provide documentationthat the product meets the criteria in para-graphs A2. a through c of this appendix.

e. Manufacturers should provide informa-tion on the percent protein contained in thedry alternate protein product and on an asprepared basis.

f. For an alternate protein product mix,manufacturers should provide informationon:

(1) the amount by weight of dry alternateprotein product in the package;(2) hydration instructions; and(3) instructions on how to combine the mix

with meat or other meat alternates.

B. How Are Alternate Protein Products Used inthe National School Lunch Program?

1. Schools, institutions, and service insti-tutions may use alternate protein productsto fulfill all or part of the meat/meat alter-nate component discussed in § 210.10.

2. The following terms and conditionsapply:

a. The alternate protein product may beused alone or in combination with other foodingredients. Examples of combination itemsare beef patties, beef crumbles, pizza top-ping, meat loaf, meat sauce, taco filling,burritos, and tuna salad.

b. Alternate protein products may be usedin the dry form (nonhydrated), partially hy-drated or fully hydrated form. The moisturecontent of the fully hydrated alternate pro-tein product (if prepared from a dry con-centrated form) must be such that the mix-ture will have a minimum of 18 percent pro-tein by weight or equivalent amount for thedry or partially hydrated form (based on thelevel that would be provided if the productwere fully hydrated).


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C. How Are Commercially Prepared ProductsUsed in the National School Lunch Program?

Schools, institutions, and service institu-tions may use a commercially prepared meator meat alternate product combined with al-ternate protein products or use a commer-cially prepared product that contains onlyalternate protein products.

[51 FR 34874, Sept. 30, 1986; 51 FR 41295, Nov.14, 1986, as amended at 53 FR 29164, Aug. 2,1988; 59 FR 51086, Oct. 7, 1994; 60 FR 31216;June 13, 1995; 61 FR 37671, July 19, 1996; 65 FR12434, Mar. 9, 2000; 65 FR 26912, May 9, 2000; 69FR 18803, Apr. 9, 2004]

A PPENDIX B TO P ART 210—C ATEGORIES OF F OODS OF M INIMAL N UTRITIONAL V ALUE

(a) Foods of minimal nutritional value —Foods of minimal nutritional value are:

(1) Soda Water—A class of beverages madeby absorbing carbon dioxide in potablewater. The amount of carbon dioxide used isnot less than that which will be absorbed bythe beverage at a pressure of one atmosphereand at a temperature of 60 ° F. It either con-tains no alcohol or only such alcohol, not inexcess of 0.5 percent by weight of the fin-ished beverage, as is contributed by the fla-voring ingredient used. No product shall beexcluded from this definition because it con-tains artificial sweeteners or discrete nutri-ents added to the food such as vitamins, min-

erals and protein.(2) Water Ices —As defined by 21 CFR 135.160Food and Drug Administration Regulationsexcept that water ices which contain fruit orfruit juices are not included in this defini-tion.

(3) Chewing Gum —Flavored products fromnatural or synthetic gums and other ingredi-ents which form an insoluble mass for chew-ing.

(4) Certain Candies —Processed foods madepredominantly from sweeteners or artificalsweeteners with a variety of minor ingredi-ents which characterize the following types:

(i) Hard Candy —A product made predomi-nantly from sugar (sucrose) and corn syrupwhich may be flavored and colored, is char-acterized by a hard, brittle texture, and in-cludes such items as sour balls, fruit balls,

candy sticks, lollipops, starlight mints, afterdinner mints, sugar wafers, rock candy, cin-namon candies, breath mints, jaw breakersand cough drops.

(ii) Jellies and Gums —A mixture of carbo-hydrates which are combined to form a sta-ble gelatinous system of jelly-like character,and are generally flavored and colored, andinclude gum drops, jelly beans, jellied andfruit-flavored slices.

(iii) Marshmallow Candies —An aerated con-fection composed as sugar, corn syrup, invertsugar, 20 percent water and gelatin or egg

white to which flavors and colors may beadded.

(iv) Fondant —A product consisting of mi-croscopic-sized sugar crystals which are sep-arated by thin film of sugar and/or invertsugar in solution such as candy corn, softmints.

(v) Licorice —A product made predomi-nantly from sugar and corn syrup which isflavored with an extract made from the lico-rice root.

(vi) Spun Candy —A product that is madefrom sugar that has been boiled at high tem-perature and spun at a high speed in a spe-cial machine.

(vii) Candy Coated Popcorn —Popcorn whichis coated with a mixture made predomi-nantly from sugar and corn syrup.

(b) Petitioning Procedures —Reconsiderationof the list of foods of minimal nutritionalvalue identified in paragraph (a) of this sec-tion may be pursued as follows:

(1) Any person may submit a petition toFNS requesting that an individual food beexempted from a category of foods of mini-mal nutritional value listed in paragraph (a).In the case of artificially sweetened foods,the petition must include a statement of thepercent of Reference Daily Intake (RDI) forthe eight nutrients listed in §210.11(a)(2)‘‘Foods of minimal nutritional value,’’ thatthe food provides per serving and the peti-tioner’s source of this information. In thecase of all other foods, the petition must in-clude a statement of the percent of RDI for

the eight nutrients listed in §210.11(a)(2)‘‘Foods of minimal nutritional value,’’ thatthe food provides per serving and per 100 cal-ories and the petitioner’s source of this in-formation. The Department will determinewhether or not the individual food is a foodof minimal nutritional value as defined in§ 210.11(a)(2) and will inform the petitioner inwriting of such determination, and the pub-lic by notice in the F EDERAL R EGISTER as in-dicated below under paragraph (b)(3) of thissection. In determining whether an indi-vidual food is a food of minimal nutritionalvalue, discrete nutrients added to the foodwill not be taken into account.

(2) Any person may submit a petition toFNS requesting that foods in a particularcategory of foods be classified as foods of minimal nutritional value as defined in§ 210.11(a)(2). The petition must identify anddefine the food category in easily understoodlanguage, list examples of the food containedin the category and include a list of ingredi-ents which the foods in that category usu-ally contain. If, upon review of the petition,the Department determines that the foods inthat category should not be classified asfoods of minimal nutritional value, the peti-tioners will be so notified in writing. If, uponreview of the petition, the Department deter-mines that there is a substantial likelihoodthat the foods in that category should be


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classified as foods of minimal nutritionalvalue as defined in § 210.11(a)(2), the Depart-ment shall at that time inform the peti-tioner. In addition, the Department shallpublish a proposed rule restricting the saleof foods in that category, setting forth thereasons for this action, and soliciting publiccomments. On the basis of comments re-ceived within 60 days of publication of theproposed rule and other available informa-tion, the Department will determine whetherthe nutrient composition of the foods indi-cates that the category should be classifiedas a category of foods of minimal nutritionalvalue. The petitioner shall be notified inwriting and the public shall be notified of the Department’s final determination uponpublication in the F EDERAL R EGISTER as in-dicated under paragraph (b)(3) of this sec-tion.

(3) By May 1 and November 1 of each year,the Department will amend appendix B toexclude those individual foods identifiedunder paragraph (b)(1) of this section, and toinclude those categories of foods identifiedunder paragraph (b)(2) of this section, pro-vided, that there are necessary changes. Theschedule for amending appendix B is as fol-lows:

Actions for publicationPublication

May November

Deadline for receipt of peti-tions by USDA.

Nov. 15 ......... May 15.

USDA to notify petitioners ofresults of Departmental re-view and publish proposedrule (if applicable).

Feb. 1 ........... Aug. 1.

60 Day comment period ...... Feb. 1throughApr. 1.

Aug. 1throughOct. 1.

Public notice of amendmentof appendix B by.

May 1 . .. .. .. .. .. Nov. 1.

(4) Written petitions should be sent to theChief, Technical Assistance Branch, Nutri-tion and Technical Services Division, FNS,USDA, Alexandria, Virginia 22302, on or be-fore November 15 or May 15 of each year. Pe-

titions must include all information speci-fied in paragraph (b) of this appendix and§ 220.12(b) (1) or (2) as appropriate.

[53 FR 29147, Aug. 2, 1988, as amended at 54FR 18465, May 1, 1989; 59 FR 23614, May 6,1994]

A PPENDIX C TO P ART 210—C HILD N UTRITION L ABELING P ROGRAM

1. The Child Nutrition (CN) Labeling Pro-gram is a voluntary technical assistance pro-gram administered by the Food and Nutri-tion Service in conjunction with the FoodSafety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of theU.S. Department of Agriculture, and Na-tional Marine Fisheries Service of the U.S.Department of Commerce (USDC) for theChild Nutrition Programs. This program es-sentially involves the review of a manufac-turer’s recipe or product formulation to de-termine the contribution a serving of a com-mercially prepared product makes towardmeal pattern requirements and a review of the CN label statement to ensure its accu-racy. CN labeled products must be producedin accordance with all requirements set forthin this rule.

2. Products eligible for CN labels are as fol-lows:

(a) Commercially prepared food productsthat contribute significantly to the meat/meat alternate component of meal pattern

requirements of 7 CFR 210.10, 225.20, and226.20 and are served in the main dish.(b) Juice drinks and juice drink products

that contain a minimum of 50 percent full-strength juice by volume.

3. For the purpose of this appendix the fol-lowing definitions apply:

(a) ‘‘CN label’’ is a food product label thatcontains a CN label statement and CN logoas defined in paragraph 3 (b) and (c) below.

(b) The ‘‘CN logo’’ (as shown below) is adistinct border which is used around theedges of a ‘‘CN label statement’’ as defined inparagraph 3(c).

(c) The ‘‘CN label statement’’ includes thefollowing:

(1) The product identification number (as-signed by FNS),


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(2) The statement of the product’s con-tribution toward meal pattern requirementsof 7 CFR 210.10, § 220.8 or § 220.8a, whichever isapplicable, §§ 225.20, and 226.20. The state-ment shall identify the contribution of a spe-cific portion of a meat/meat alternate prod-uct toward the meat/meat alternate, bread/bread alternate, and/or vegetable/fruit com-ponent of the meal pattern requirements.

For juice drinks and juice drink products thestatement shall identify their contributiontoward the vegetable/fruit component of themeal pattern requirements,

(3) Statement specifying that the use of the CN logo and CN statement was author-ized by FNS, and

(4) The approval date.For example:

(d) Federal inspection means inspection of food products by FSIS, AMS or USDC.

4. Food processors or manufacturers mayuse the CN label statement and CN logo asdefined in paragraph 3 (b) and (c) under thefollowing terms and conditions:

(a) The CN label must be reviewed and ap-proved at the national level by FNS and ap-propriate USDA or USDC Federal agency re-sponsible for the inspection of the product.

(b) The CN labeled product must be pro-duced under Federal inspection by USDA orUSDC. The Federal inspection must be per-formed in accordance with an approved par-tial or total quality control program orstandards established by the appropriateFederal inspection service.

(c) The CN label statement must be printedas an integral part of the product label alongwith the product name, ingredient listing,the inspection shield or mark for the appro-priate inspection program, the establish-ment number where appropriate, and themanufacturer’s or distributor’s name and ad-dress. The inspection marking for CN labelednon-meat, non-poultry, and non-seafoodproducts with the exception of juice drinksand juice drink products is established as fol-lows:

(d) Yields for determining the product’scontribution toward meal pattern require-ments must be calculated using the FoodBuying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs(Program AID Number 1331).

5. In the event a company uses the CN logoand CN label statement inappropriately, thecompany will be directed to discontinue theuse of the logo and statement and the matter

will be referred to the appropriate agency foraction to be taken against the company.

6. Products that bear a CN label statementas set forth in paragraph 3(c) carry a war-ranty. This means that if a food service au-thority participating in the Child NutritionPrograms purchases a CN labeled productand uses it in accordance with the manufac-turer’s directions, the school or institutionwill not have an audit claim filed against itfor the CN labeled product for noncompli-ance with the meal pattern requirements of

7 CFR 210.10, § 220.8 or §220.8a, whichever isapplicable, §§225.20, and 226.20. If a State orFederal auditor finds that a product that isCN labeled does not actually meet the mealpattern requirements claimed on the label,the auditor will report this finding to FNS.FNS will prepare a report of the findings andsend it to the appropriate divisions of FSISand AMS of the USDA, National MarineFisheries Services of the USDC, Food andDrug Administration, or the Department of Justice for action against the company. Anyor all of the following courses of action maybe taken:

(a) The company’s CN label may be re-voked for a specific period of time;

(b) The appropriate agency may pursue amisbranding or mislabeling action againstthe company producing the product;

(c) The company’s name will be circulatedto regional FNS offices;

(d) FNS will require the food service pro-gram involved to notify the State agency of the labeling violation.

7. FNS is authorized to issue operationalpolicies, procedures, and instructions for theCN Labeling Program. To apply for a CNlabel and to obtain additional informationon CN label application procedures write to:CN Labels, U.S. Department of Agriculture,Food and Nutrition Service, Nutrition and


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Technical Services Division, 3101 Park Cen-ter Drive, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.

[51 FR 34874, Sept. 30, 1986, as amended at 53FR 29164, Aug. 2, 1988; 60 FR 31216, June 13,1995; 65 FR 26912, May 9, 2000]

PART 215—SPECIAL MILKPROGRAM FOR CHILDREN

Sec.215.1 General purpose and scope.215.2 Definitions.215.3 Administration.215.4 Payments of funds to States and

FNSROs.215.5 Method of payment to States.215.6 Use of funds.215.7 Requirements for participation.215.8 Reimbursement payments.215.9 Effective date for reimbursement.215.10 Reimbursement procedures.215.11 Special responsibilities of State agen-

cies.215.12 Claims against schools or child-care

institutions.215.13 Management evaluations and audits.215.13a Determining eligibility for free milk

in child-care institutions.215.14 Nondiscrimination.215.14a Procurement standards.215.15 Withholding payments.215.16 Suspension, termination and grant

closeout procedures.215.17 Program information.215.18 Information collection/record-

keeping—OMB assigned control numbers.

A UTHORITY : 42 U.S.C. 1772 and 1779.

§ 215.1 General purpose and scope.This part announces the policies and

prescribes the general regulations withrespect to the Special Milk Programfor Children, under the Child NutritionAct of 1966, as amended, and sets forththe general requirements for participa-tion in the program. The Act reads inpertinent part as follows:

Section 3(a)(1) There is hereby authorizedto be appropriated for the fiscal year endingJune 30, 1970, and for each succeeding fiscalyear such sums as may be necessary to en-able the Secretary of Agriculture, undersuch rules and regulations as he may deemin the public interest, to encourage con-

voted to the care and training of children,which do not participate in a meal serviceprogram authorized under this Act or theNational School Lunch Act.

(2) The limitation imposed under para-graph (1)(A) for participation of nonprofitschools in the special milk program shall notapply to split-session kindergarten programsconducted in schools in which children donot have access to the meal service programoperating in schools the children attend asauthorized under this Act or the NationalSchool Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq .).

(3) For the purposes of this section ‘‘UnitedStates’’ means the fifty States, Guam, theCommonwealth of Puerto Rico, the VirginIslands, American Samoa, the Trust Terri-tory of the Pacific Islands, and the Districtof Columbia.

(4) The Secretary shall administer the spe-cial milk program provided for by this sec-tion to the maximum extent practicable inthe same manner as he administered the spe-cial milk program provided for by Pub. L. 89–642, as amended, during the fiscal year end-ing June 30, 1969.

(5) Any school or nonprofit child care insti-tution which does not participate in a mealservice program authorized under this Act orthe National School Lunch Act shall receivethe special milk program upon their request.

(6) Children who qualify for free lunchesunder guidelines established by the Sec-retary shall, at the option of the school in-

volved (or of the local educational agency in-volved in the case of a public school) be eligi-ble for free milk upon their request.

(7) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1975,and for subsequent school years, the min-imum rate of reimbursement for a half-pintof milk served in schools and other eligibleinstitutions shall not be less than 5 cents perhalf-pint served to eligible children, andsuch minimum rate of reimbursement shallbe adjusted on an annual basis each schoolyear to reflect changes in the Producer PriceIndex for Fresh Processed Milk published bythe Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Depart-ment of Labor.

(8) Such adjustment shall be computed tothe nearest one-fourth cent.

(9) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in no event shall the minimum

rate of reimbursement exceed the cost to theschool or institution of milk served to chil-dren.

Part 210 National School Lunch Programs

Documents

Transcript of Part 210 National School Lunch Programs