1. What’s New in a Nutshell for 2013 in the Summer Food Service Program
11/14/2018
What’s New in a Nutshell for 2013 in the Summer Food Service Program
Office of School Nutrition

2. Tribal Governments A Tribal government:
is recognized as a “public entity” or “local government,” when consistent with State law.
is granted non-profit status and would be considered a private non-profit
could act as a sponsor of SFSP sites assuming other eligibility requirements are met.
. (SFSP Memorandum : Tribal Participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program, July 24, 2012).
Administrative Guidance Manual for Sponsors, page 19

3. Busing and School Choice Policies
Option 1.
If the site is located in the school from which free and reduced price meal eligibility data is obtained, sponsors may always rely on the NSLP data for that individual school.
Option 2.
Where busing or school choice policies are in place, but school attendance areas are still defined, school and non-school site eligibility may be determined based on the enrollment or attendance data obtained for:
The school the children attend, or
The school the children would have attended (i.e., the neighborhood school where the children live), were it not for the school’s busing or school choice policy.
Program sponsors may determine a site to be area eligible under the second option described above only if the SFA is able to document the percentage of children eligible for free and reduced price meals at each school before and after students are reassigned.
If the school district does not have defined school attendance areas, the use of school data is not permitted for non-school sites.

4. Census Data
Beginning in 2012, eligibility must be reassessed every five years for SFSP sites relying on census data to establish eligibility.
The new American Community Survey (ACS) is part of the decennial census but makes updated information available annually [
Under the American Community Survey (ACS) , new five-year estimates will be made available each year. In order to minimize administrative burden and align with other eligibility durations, however, the duration of determination for site eligibility based on census data will now be five years.

5. Eligibility Duration Closed Enrolled & Camps
Must collect income eligibility information
Information must be updated annually
The date on which the sponsor or independent center official signs the application to certify eligibility of the participant.
This means that a form signed and dated by a sponsor on January 12, 2012, is considered valid until January 31, 2013.

6. Serving Capacity
Sponsors need to determine the maximum number of children who can be served at any of their sites by:
 Site’s administrative capabilities
Physical capacity
Number of children living in the area
Site caps are also required for vended and self-preparation sites by Program regulations.
State agencies must set limits on the number of meals a site may serve to children for meal reimbursement.
A sponsor may not claim reimbursement for meals served to children at any site in excess of the approved level of meal service.
(SFSP Memorandum , Site Caps in the Summer Food Service Program, January 24, 2013).  

7. Pre-Operational Site Visits
State agencies have the option to waive the pre-operational site visit requirement for experienced SFSP sponsors, CACFP sponsors and SFAs participating in the NSLP or SBP and who are in good standing in these programs.  
Prior to approval, sponsors must still visit new sites and any sites that had operational problems in the previous year.

8. Purchasing Meals from Schools
SFA sponsors may substitute the meal pattern requirements of the NSLP and SBP for the SFSP meal pattern for meals served at school sites.
Meals served at non-school sites using the NSLP or SBP meal pattern by a SFA sponsor requires SA approval.
SFA sponsors who participate in the NSLP or SBP.
If a non-SFA sponsor purchasing meals from an SFA wishes to substitute the meal pattern requirements of the NSLP and SFP respectively for the SFSP meal pattern requirements, a formal request for permission must be submitted to the State agency along with the SFSP application.

9. Donated Foods
If health and food safety codes permit, food donations may be made to:
eligible local food banks
charitable organizations
homeless shelters, food pantries, or other types of facilities that serve meals or distribute food to needy persons.
Food Recovery and Gleaning Initiative of 1997 Resources
Best Practices manual
“Let’s Glean!” toolkit
These publications can be found at: and
Meaning any food bank or charitable organization which is exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3).
Donated meals may not be claimed for reimbursement.

10. A La Carte Items
The sale of a la carte items by SFSP sponsors or sites during a meal service is now permitted.
A la carte items purchased with SFSP funds must be Program food components.
The sponsor must maintain accounting records documenting proper cost allocation between the Program and non-Program components of its food service operation.
Policy number , SFSP Q&A page 15, question 6.

11. Submitting Documentation of Costs when Claiming Reimbursement
Sponsors are no longer required to submit documentation of their costs to the State agency for reimbursement.
Sponsors still must maintain documentation indicating that their reimbursements were spent on allowable Child Nutrition Program costs. This documentation must be available for State agency review.

12. Do I Still Have to Document my Expenses?
YES
If the sponsor is unable to document that the reimbursement was used for allowable Child Nutrition Program costs SFSP regulations require State agencies to:
disallow any portion of a claim for reimbursement
recover payments to a sponsor
declare the sponsor seriously deficient
(FNS Instruction 796-4, Revision 4; 7 CFR §225.12(a)).

13. Federal Small Purchase Threshold
Increased to $150,000
State and local agencies may set a lower small purchase threshold
The change was made through statutorily required administrative action (SFSP Memorandum : Federal Small Purchase Threshold Adjustment, October 2, 2012).
Each procurement, regardless of amount, is conducted in a manner that ensures free and open competition.

14. Standard Contract Threshold
FSMC contracts exceeding $150,000 must use the State agency-developed standard contract
Public entities and organizations with exclusive year-round contracts are exempt from the standard contract requirement
Sponsors with individual contracts not exceeding $150,000 may use their existing contract if it has been submitted and approved by the SA
SFAs participating in the NSLP have the option to comply with the NSLP procurement standards (7 CFR §210.21) in lieu of SFSP procurement standards (7 CFR §225.17)
Sponsors must apply this threshold to the aggregate value of FSMC contracts which include projected costs from multiple Child Nutrition Programs.
Individual contracts that exceed $150,000 in aggregate value require use of the State agency’s standard contract and must adhere to the stricter bid opening and acceptance procedures as required by the SFSP regulations.

15. Invitation for Bid and Contract
State agencies(SA) may require sponsors to use a standard contract for meals provided by an FSMC  
SFAs in exclusive year-round contracts with FMSCs are not required to use the standard contract developed by the SA for SFSP
If the SFSP is added to an existing contract, it should be noted that this may represent a material change to the contract
SFAs also are not required to use separate competitive bidding procedures in procuring SFSP meals, provided all SFSP-related requirements are included in the solicitation and resultant contract.

16. Memorandums
January 24, 2013, SFSP Memorandum #9-2013: Tax Exempt Status for Private Nonprofits and Churches in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program
January 24, 2013, SFSP Memorandum #8-2013: Site Caps in the Summer Food Service Program
January 24, 2013, SFSP Memorandum #7-2013: Summer Food Service Program Standard Contract Threshold
January 24, 2013, SFSP Memorandum #6-2013: Additional State Requirements in SFSP REVISED
November 23, 2012, SFSP Memorandum #5-2013: Summer Food Service Program Questions and Answers
These USDA memos are available on the CDE OSN SFSP web page located at

17. Memorandums (cont.)
 November 23, 2012, SFSP Memorandum #4-2013: Summer Feeding Options for School Food Authorities
 November 23, 2012, SFSP Memorandum #3-2013: Determination Area Eligibility Based on School Data
 October 9, 2012, SFSP Memorandum #2-2013: Procurement Geographic Preference Q&As – Part II
 October 02, 2012, SFSP Memorandum #1-2013: Federal Small Purchase Threshold Adjustment
July 24, 2012, SFSP Memorandum # : Tribal Participation in the CACFP and SFSP
July 11, 2012, SFSP Memorandum # : Smoothies Offered in Child Nutrition Programs
These USDA memos are available on the CDE OSN SFSP web page located at

18. Memorandums (cont.)
April 26, 2012, SFSP Memorandum # : Eligibility Based on Census Data: 2012 Data Release REVISED
April 10, 2012, SFSP Memorandum # : Disaster Response
February 13, 2012, SFSP Memorandum #9-2012: Eligibility Based on Census Data: 2012 Data Release
February 10, 2012, SFSP Memorandum #8-2012: Guidance on Income Eligibility Determinations and Duration
 February 03, 2012, SFSP Memorandum #7-2012: Guidance on the Food Donation Program in Child Nutrition Programs
These USDA memos are available on the CDE OSN SFSP web page located at

19. Location of Revisions
In the 2013 Administrative Guidance for Sponsors manual
USDA memorandums and a condensed version titled “What’s New” is located on the CDE OSN SFSP webpage at