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THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234 Office of P-20 Education Policy |
Original memo with signature can be found at http://www.cn.nysed.gov/common/cn/files/return2schcnresources.pdf.
When schools open this fall, school meal programs must return to pre-pandemic operations. This means that many districts will transition back to requiring family applications for free and reduced-price meals. Students who are not income eligible will be required to pay for meals at the paid price.
To support districts in this transition, the New York State Education Department’s Child Nutrition Office has compiled resources and strategies to help districts navigate the return to standard operations, communicate with families, and improve the reach of school meals programs:
- This at-a-glance comparison chart provides an overview of how specific program flexibilities have changed since last school year, and what flexibilities are available for the upcoming school year to support program operations.
- The United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services provides families with answers to common questions about the transition to standard school meal operations.
- Schools can utilize this prototype letter to families to communicate about the return to standard school meal counting and claiming requirements.
- Toolkits created by Hunger Solutions New York and No Kid Hungry New York and The Food Research and Action Center share outreach strategies and communication resources to help school districts communicate with families about the importance of completing free and reduced-price applications.
We look forward to collaborating and working closely with you over the upcoming school year to ensure you have every resource necessary to continue the important task of feeding New York’s schoolchildren. Contact your Child Nutrition Program Representative or the Child Nutrition Office at 518-473-8781 or at cn@nysed.gov for additional guidance.
