USDA adds flexibility to help schools, day care operations with nutritious meals

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a broad range of flexibilities to allow school meal programs and childcare institutions across the country to return to serving healthy meals in fall 2021 as part of the Joe Biden administration’s commitment to reopen schools safely.

Several meal service flexibilities that enable social distancing are now extended through June 30, 2022. The waivers continue the administration’s commitment to provide safe, healthy meals free of charge to children as the pandemic continues to threaten the food and nutrition security of our most vulnerable.

Schools nationwide will be allowed to serve meals through USDA’s National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option, which is typically only available during the summer months. This option maintains the nutrition standards of the standard school meal programs—including a strong emphasis on providing fruits and vegetables, fluid milk, whole grains, and sensible calorie levels, while allowing schools to serve free meals to all children. In addition, schools that choose this option will receive higher-than-normal meal reimbursements for every meal they serve, which will support them in serving the most nutritious meals possible while managing increased costs associated with pandemic-related operational and supply chain challenges. This option also affords schools the financial flexibility to further customize their meal service design to fit their local needs.

USDA will continue to offer targeted meal pattern flexibility and technical assistance as needed. In addition, schools and both child and adult care institutions can continue providing breakfasts, lunches, and after school snacks in non-group settings at flexible meal times. Parents or guardians can also pick up meals for their children when programs are not operating normally, all while maintaining social distancing consistent with federal recommendations.

The announcement comes in addition to a variety of actions taken recently by USDA to strengthen food security, drive down hunger, and put a greater emphasis on the importance of nutrition. Just recently, USDA maximized economic relief for struggling families by taking administrative action on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program emergency allotments by targeting an additional $1 billion per month to roughly 25 million people. American Rescue Plan Act provides over $12 billion in new nutrition assistance to address hardship caused by the pandemic, including:

• Extending a 15% increase in SNAP benefits—providing over $1.1 billion per month in additional benefits for about 41 million participants—through September 2021;

• Adding $1.1 billion in new funding for territories that operate nutrition assistance block grants—home to nearly 3 million Americans—to support those hard-hit by the pandemic;

• Extending and expanding P-EBT—a program that served over 8.4 million families with children at its peak last year—through the duration of the public health emergency;

• Funding meals for young adults experiencing homelessness through Child and Adult Care Food Program emergency shelters; and

• Providing nearly $900 million for SNAP earmarked for Women, Infants and Children, including a temporary increase in fruit and vegetable vouchers to $35 per month and an historic investment in innovation and outreach to better serve more than 6.2 million people that use WIC to support a healthy start for infants and young children.