School Breakfast Program

The New York State Education Department (SED) has been approved for State-level waiver authority from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to allow School Food Authorities the ability to utilize meal operational flexibilities and non-congregate meal service in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), or the Seamless Summer Option (SSO), when an unanticipated school closure occurs due to natural disasters, unscheduled major building repairs, court orders relating to school safety or other issues, labor-management disputes, or similar unanticipat

The New York State Education Department (SED) is committed to supporting Child Nutrition Program operators through ongoing training and technical assistance.

As required by Section 389 of Chapter 57 of the Laws of 1993 and Chapters 614 and 615 of the New York State (NYS) Laws of 1993, certain public schools must implement a School Breakfast Program (SBP) or seek an exemption annually.

School Food Authorities (SFAs) can now access 2025-26 DCMP data. The system processes direct certification data monthly; therefore, SFAs should access the data more frequently to designate children eligible for free meals and to maximize federal reimbursement.

All public elementary or secondary schools with at least seventy percent or more of its students eligible for free or reduced-price meals under the federal National School Lunch Program are required to offer all students a school breakfast after the instructional day has begun, “Breakfast After the Bell”. The schools meeting 70 percent free and reduced price is determined annually by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) based upon data submitted through the basic educational data system (BEDS) for the prior school year.

This is a reminder about updates to the 

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is implementing an important update to the application process for new Recipient Agency (RA) applications. Effective immediately, new RA applications will only be accepted once per year, aligning with the submission window for new School Food Authority (SFA) applications.

The full notice can be found here

Company Announcement

*Original memo posted August 6, 2024. Please reference the most up-to-date information posted below.*

The list of applicants that have been selected to receive the FY 2023 National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Equipment Assistance Grant for School Food Authorities (SFAs) can be found in the link below. 

FY 2023 Equipment Grant Awards (EXCEL) (PDF)

The full USDA memo SP 24-2024, CACFP 10-2024, SFSP 14-2024 can be found at: https://www.cn.nysed.gov/sites/cn/files/geographic-preference-option-qa.pdf.