Current Waivers and Extensions
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.
Nationwide Waiver to Allow Reimbursement for Meals Served Prior to Notification of Approval and Provide Flexibility for Pre-Approval Visits in the Summer Food Service Program
This waiver allows SFSP operators to forgo the requirement that reimbursements shall not be paid for meals served at a site before the sponsor has received written notification that the site has been approved for participation.
Expiration Date: Extended through December 31, 2020 or until funding runs out
Nationwide Waiver to Allow Offer Versus Serve Flexibilities in the Summer Food Service Program- EXTENSION
FNS waives, for all States, requirements that limit the use of Offer Versus Serve (OVS) to school food authorities and require sponsors to apply OVS under the rules followed for the National School Lunch Program.
Expiration Date: Extended through December 31, 2020 or until funding runs out
Nationwide Waiver to Waive First Week Site Visits in the Summer Food Service Program- EXTENSION
FNS waives, for all states, the requirement that Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sponsors are required to visit each of their sites at least once during the first week of operation.
Expiration Date: Extended through December 31, 2020 or until funding runs out
Nationwide Waiver to Allow Area Eligibility for Closed Enrolled Sites in the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option- EXTENSION
Under this waiver, Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option (SSO) closed enrolled sites during COVID-19 may determine site eligibility through area eligibility without collecting income eligibility applications.
Expiration Date: Extended through December 31, 2020 or until funding runs out
Nationwide Waiver of Meal Service Time Restrictions in the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option- EXTENSION
FNS waives all state that elect to be subject to this waiver, the meal service time requirements allowing meals served outside of the standard meal times.
Expiration Date: Extended through December 31, 2020 or until funding runs out
Nationwide Waiver to Allow Parents and Guardians to Pick Up Meals for Children- EXTENSION 4
Under this waiver, Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option Operators in a State with an approved waiver allowing non-congregate meal distribution during COVID-19 related operations may distribute meals to a parent or guardian to take home to their children.
Expiration Date: Extended through December 31, 2020 or until funding runs out
Nationwide Waiver to Allow Non-congregate Feeding in the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option- EXTENSION 4
FNS is allowing meals to be served in non-group settings to support social distancing.
Expiration Date: Extended through December 31, 2020 or until funding runs out
Nationwide Waiver to Allow Meal Pattern Flexibility in the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option- EXTENSION 7
This waiver extends the Nationwide Waiver to Allow Meal Pattern Flexibility in the Child Nutrition Programs.
Expiration Date: Extended through December 31, 2020 or until funding runs out
Nationwide Waiver to Extend Area Eligibility Waivers- EXTENSION-2
FNS allows 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 December 31, 2020 or until funding runs out
This waiver allows the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option to continue to Operate through December 31, 2020.
Expiration Date: Extended through December 31, 2020 or until funding runs out
Onsite Monitoring Requirements in the School Meals Programs Revised – EXTENSION 2
For all State agencies and school food authorities (SFAs) that elect to be subject to this waiver, FNS extends its waiver of school meals onsite monitoring requirements and the requirement to complete the onsite portion of the administrative review during the school year the review was begun through June 30, 2021
Expiration Date: June 30, 2021
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 (Except SFSP)
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)