Nationwide Waivers of Child Nutrition Monitoring Requirements
FNS has granted a nationwide waiver, providing flexibilities to certain onsite monitoring requirements for the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program.
Current Waivers
Nationwide Waiver on Offer Vs. Serve Flexibility
FNS waives the requirement for senior high schools to participate in Offer Versus Serve during the 2020-2021 School Year.
Expiration Date: End of 2020-2021 School Year
Food Entitlement Calculations for SY 2020-2021
Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) that would allow state agencies participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to use data from the 2018-2019 SY when calculating their 2020-2021 SY Food Entitlement.
This waiver applies to all States that elect to use it, without further application. If the State elects to be subject to this waiver, it must notify the Food Distribution Division Program Integrity and Monitoring Branch by September 15, 2020.
Nationwide Meal Times Waiver
FNS is letting meals be served to kids outside traditional times to maximize flexibility for meal pick-up.
Expiration Date: End of 2020-2021 School Year
Nationwide Non-congregate Feeding Waiver
FNS is allowing meals to be served in non-group settings to support social distancing.
Expiration Date: End of 2020-2021 School Year
Nationwide Meal Pattern Waiver
FNS is giving states the flexibility to serve meals that do not meet meal pattern requirements when needed.
Expiration Date: End of 2020-2021 School Year
Nationwide Parent/Guardian Meal Pick-Up Waiver
FNS is allowing parents/guardians to pick-up meals and bring them home to their children. Read best practices for parent pick-up provided by USDA.
Expiration Date: End of 2020-2021 School Year
Nationwide Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Data Waiver
FNS is extending CEP election, notification, and reporting and deadlines for school year 2020-21.
Expiration Date: Varies by state (June-August, 2020)
Area Eligibility Waivers (issued to all states)
FNS is allowing states during unanticipated school closures to waive the requirement in the summer meals programs that “open site” meal service is limited to areas with at least half of the children in low-income households.
Expiration Date: Extended through August 31, 2020
60-Day Reporting Waiver
FNS is extending the 60-day reporting deadline for all state agencies, school food authorities, and CACFP and SFSP sponsoring organizations for January and February 2020.
Expiration Date: 30-day extension for January and February claims
Pandemic EBT
FNS is allowing states to provide benefits (similar to SNAP or “food stamps”) to children who normally receive free or reduced-price school meals.
Expiration Date: Varies by state. See webpage
Nationwide Waiver to Waive First Week Site Visits in the SFSP
Waives requirements that sponsors visit each of their sites at least once during the first week of operation under the program for sites that have operated successfully in the previous year and sponsors that successfully participate in the CACFP or the NSLP.
Expiration Date: September 30, 2020
Nationwide Waiver for Food Service Management Contract Duration
FNS waives food service management (FSMC) contracts duration requirements for all state agencies, school food authorities, and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sponsors. FSMC contracts that may expire by or by June 30, 2020 may be extended through school year 2020-2021.
Expiration Date: September 30, 2020
Nationwide Waiver of Local School Wellness Assessments
Waives requirement for schools unable to complete a triennial assessment of the local school wellness policies by June 30, 2020. For states electing this option, the new first triennial assessment deadline is June 30, 2021.
Expiration Date: End of 2020-2021 School Year
Nationwide Waiver of Annual Review Requirements for State Agencies in the CACFP
Waives requirement to complete CACFP monitoring onsite through September 30, 2020. State agencies electing this option are encouraged to prioritize reviews of these institutions next year.
Expiration Date: June 30, 2020 (EXPIRED)
Nationwide Waiver to Extend Unanticipated School Closure Operations
Waives the October through April time limitation for implementation of SSO and SFSP during unanticipated school closures and allows State agencies that elect this option to permit SFAs to operate under unanticipated school closure requirements through June 30, 2020. The requirement for SFSP or SSO sponsors to submit written applications by June 15, 2020 is also waived. There is no Federal application deadline for summer 2020; however, State agencies must establish a deadline based on local conditions.
SFSPO or SSO Sponsors to submit written applications for program participants are due by June 15, 2020. (EXPIRED)
Nationwide Afterschool Activity Waiver
FNS paused requirements for enrichment activities to accompany afterschool meals & snacks.
Expiration Date: June 30, 2020 (EXPIRED)
Reporting COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Data
Each COVID-19 school nutrition program waiver requires that State agencies and local program operators provide certain summaries and descriptions of their use. To begin collecting some of the basic required data elements, USDA FNS is asking States to report a small number of additional data elements with their routine data reporting on the FNS-10, FNS-44, or FNS-418 Forms.
Expiration Date: June 30, 2020 (EXPIRED)
