7 CFR 225.2 – Definitions
2 CFR part 200, means the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards published by OMB. The part reference covers applicable: Acronyms and Definitions (subpart A), General Provisions (subpart B), Post Federal Award Requirements (subpart D), Cost Principles (subpart E), and Audit Requirements (subpart F). (NOTE: Pre-Federal Award Requirements and Contents of Federal Awards (subpart C) does not apply to the National School Lunch Program).
Act means the National School Lunch Act, as amended.
Administrative costs means costs incurred by a sponsor related to planning, organizing, and managing a food service under the Program, and excluding interest costs and operating costs.
Adult means, for the purposes of the collection of the last four digits of social security numbers as a condition of eligibility for Program meals, any individual 21 years of age or older.
Advance payments means financial assistance made available to a sponsor for its operating costs and/or administrative costs prior to the end of the month in which such costs will be incurred.
Areas in which poor economic conditions exist means:
(1) The attendance area of a school in which at least 50 percent of the enrolled children have been determined eligible for free or reduced-price school meals under the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program;
(2) A geographic area where, based on the most recent census data available or information provided from a department of welfare or zoning commission, at least 50 percent of the children residing in that area are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals under the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program;
(3) A geographic area where a site demonstrates, based on other approved sources, that at least 50 percent of the children enrolled at the site are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals under the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program; or
(4) A closed enrolled site in which at least 50 percent of the enrolled children at the site are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals under the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program, as determined by approval of applications in accordance with § 225.15(f).
Camps means residential summer camps and nonresidential day camps which offer a regularly scheduled food service as part of an organized program for enrolled children. Nonresidential camp sites shall offer a continuous schedule of organized cultural or recreational programs for enrolled children between meal services.
Children means:
(1) Persons 18 years of age and under; and
(2) Persons over 18 years of age who are determined by a State educational agency or a local public educational agency of a State to be mentally or physically disabled and who participate in a public or nonprofit private school program established for the mentally or physically disabled.
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) means the State medical assistance program under title XXI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1397aa et seq.).
Closed enrolled site means a site which is open only to enrolled children, as opposed to the community at large, and in which at least 50 percent of the enrolled children at the site are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals under the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program, as determined by approval of applications in accordance with § 225.15(f), or on the basis of documentation that the site meets paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of the definition of “Areas in which poor economic conditions exist” as provided in this section.
Conditional non-congregate site means a site which qualifies for Program participation because it conducts a non-congregate meal service for eligible children in an area that does not meet the definition of “areas in which poor economic conditions exist” and is not a “Camp,” as defined in this section.
Congregate meal service means a food service at which meals that are provided to children are consumed on site in a supervised setting.
Continuous school calendar means a situation in which all or part of the student body of a school is (a) on a vacation for periods of 15 continuous school days or more during the period October through April and (b) in attendance at regularly scheduled classes during most of the period May through September.
Costs of obtaining food means costs related to obtaining food for consumption by children. Such costs may include, in addition to the purchase price of agricultural commodities and other food, the cost of processing, distributing, transporting, storing, or handling any food purchased for, or donated to, the Program.
Current income means income, as defined in § 225.15(f)(4)(vi), received during the month prior to application for free meals. If such income does not accurately reflect the household’s annual income, income must be based on the projected annual household income. If the prior year’s income provides an accurate reflection of the household’s current annual income, the prior year may be used as a base for the projected annual income.
Department means the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Disclosure means reveal or use individual children’s program eligibility information obtained through the free and reduced price meal eligibility process for a purpose other than for the purpose for which the information was obtained. The term refers to access, release, or transfer of personal data about children by means of print, tape, microfilm, microfiche, electronic communication or any other means.
Documentation means:
(1) The completion of the following information on a free meal application:
(i) Names of all household members;
(ii) Income received by each household member, identified by source of income (such as earnings, wages, welfare, pensions, support payments, unemployment compensation, social security and other cash income);
(iii) The signature of an adult household member; and
(iv) The last four digits of the Social Security number of the adult household member who signs the application, or an indication that the adult does not possess a Social Security number; or
(2) For a child who is a member of a household receiving SNAP, FDPIR, or TANF benefits, “documentation” means completion of only the following information on a free meal application:
(i) The name(s) and appropriate SNAP, FDPIR, or TANF case number(s) for the child(ren); and
(ii) The signature of an adult member of the household.
Excess funds means the difference between any advance funding and reimbursement funding, when advance funds received by a sponsor are greater than the reimbursement amount earned by a sponsor.
Experienced site means a site which, as determined by the State agency, has successfully participated in the Program in the prior year.
Experienced sponsor means a sponsor which, as determined by the State agency, has successfully participated in the Program in the prior year.
Family means a group of related or nonrelated individuals who are not residents of an institution or boarding house but who are living as one economic unit.
FDPIR household means any individual or group of individuals which is currently certified to receive assistance as a household under the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations.
Fiscal year means the period beginning October 1 of any calendar year and ending September 30 of the following calendar year.
FNS means the Food and Nutrition Service of the Department.
FNSRO means the appropriate FNS Regional Office.
Food service management company means any commercial enterprise or nonprofit organization with which a sponsor may contract for preparing unitized meals, with or without milk, for use in the Program, or for managing a sponsor’s food service operations in accordance with the limitations set forth in § 225.15. Food service management companies may be: (a) Public agencies or entities; (b) private, nonprofit organizations; or (c) private, for-profit companies.
Foster child means a child who is formally placed by a court or a State child welfare agency, as defined in § 245.2 of this chapter.
Good standing means the status of a program operator that meets its Program responsibilities, is current with its financial obligations, and, if applicable, has fully implemented all corrective actions within the required period of time.
Household means “family,” as defined in this section.
Income accruing to the program means all funds used by a sponsor in its food service program, including but not limited to all monies, other than program payments, received from Federal, State and local governments, from food sales to adults, and from any other source including cash donations or grants. Income accruing to the Program will be deducted from combined operating and administrative costs.
Income standards means the family-size and income standards prescribed annually by the Secretary for determining eligibility for reduced price meals under the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program.
Meals means food which is served to children at a food service site and which meets the nutritional requirements set out in this part.
Medicaid means the State medical assistance program under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq.).
Milk means whole milk, lowfat milk, skim milk, and buttermilk. All milk must be fluid and pasteurized and must meet State and local standards for the appropriate type of milk. Milk served may be flavored or unflavored. In Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands of the United States, if a sufficient supply of such types of fluid milk cannot be obtained, reconstituted or recombined milk may be used. All milk should contain Vitamins A and D at the levels specified by the Food and Drug Administration and at levels consistent with State and local standards for such milk.
Needy children means children from families whose incomes are equal to or below the Secretary’s published Child Nutrition Programs: Income Eligibility Guidelines.
Net cash resources means all monies, as determined in accordance with the State agency’s established accounting system that are available to or have accrued to a sponsor’s nonprofit food service at any given time, less cash payable. Such monies may include, but are not limited to, cash on hand, cash receivable, earnings on investments, cash on deposit and the value of stocks, bonds, or other negotiable securities.
New site means a site which did not participate in the Program in the prior year, an experienced site that is proposing to operate a non-congregate meal service for the first time, or, as determined by the State agency, a site which has experienced significant staff turnover from the prior year.
New sponsor means a sponsor which did not participate in the Program in the prior year, or, as determined by the State agency, a sponsor which has experienced significant staff turnover from the prior year.
Non-congregate meal service means a food service at which meals are provided for children to consume all of the components off site. Non-congregate meal service must only be operated at sites designated as “Rural” with no “Congregate meal service,” as determined in § 225.6(h)(3) and (4).
Nonprofit food service means all food service operations conducted by the sponsor principally for the benefit of children, all of the revenue from which is used solely for the operation or improvement of such food services.
Nonprofit food service account means the restricted account in which all of the revenue from all food service operations conducted by the sponsor principally for the benefit of children is retained and used only for the operation or improvement of the nonprofit food service. This account must include, as appropriate, non-Federal funds used to support program operations, and proceeds from non-program foods.
NYSP means the National Youth Sports Program administered by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
NYSP feeding site means a site at which all of the children receiving Program meals are enrolled in the NYSP and which qualifies for Program participation on the basis of documentation that the site meets the definition of “areas in which poor economic conditions exist” as provided in this section.
OIG means the Office of the Inspector General of the Department.
Open site means a site at which meals are made available to all children in the area and which is located in an area in which at least 50 percent of the children are from households that would be eligible for free or reduced price school meals under the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program, as determined in accordance with paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of the definition of “Areas in which poor economic conditions exist.”
Operating costs means the cost of operating a food service under the Program:
(1) Including the:
(i) Cost of obtaining food;
(ii) Labor directly involved in the preparation and service of food;
(iii) Cost of nonfood supplies;
(iv) Rental and use allowances for equipment and space; and
(v) Cost of transporting children in rural areas to feeding sites in rural areas;
(vi) Cost of delivering non-congregate meals in rural areas; but
(2) Excluding:
(i) The cost of the purchase of land, acquisition or construction of buildings;
(ii) Alteration of existing buildings;
(iii) Interest costs;
(iv) The value of in-kind donations; and
(v) Administrative costs.
Private nonprofit means tax exempt under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
Private nonprofit organization means an organization (other than private nonprofit residential camps, school food authorities, or colleges or universities participating in the NYSP) that:
(a) Exercises full control and authority over the operation of the Program at all sites under the sponsorship of the organization;
(b) Provides ongoing year-round activities for children or families;
(c) Demonstrates that the organization has adequate management and the fiscal capacity to operate the Program;
(d) Is an organization described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under 501(a) of that Code; and
(e) Meets applicable State and local health, safety, and sanitation standards.
Program means the Summer Food Service Program for Children authorized by Section 13 of the Act.
Program funds means Federal financial assistance made available to State agencies for the purpose of making Program payments.
Program payments means financial assistance in the form of start-up payments, advance payments, or reimbursement paid to sponsors for operating and administrative costs.
Restricted open site means a site which is initially open to broad community participation, but at which the sponsor restricts or limits attendance for reasons of security, safety or control. Site eligibility for a restricted open site shall be documented in accordance with paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of the definition of “Areas in which poor economic conditions exist.”
Rural means:
(1) Any area in a county which is not a part of a Metropolitan Statistical Area based on the Office of Management and Budget’s Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas;
(2) Any area in a county classified as a non-metropolitan area based on USDA Economic Research Service’s Rural-Urban Continuum Codes and Urban Influence Codes;
(3) Any census tract classified as a non-metropolitan area based on USDA Economic Research Service’s Rural-Urban Commuting Area codes;
(4) Any area of a Metropolitan Statistical Area which is not part of a Census Bureau-defined urban area;
(5) Any area of a State which is not part of an urban area as determined by the Secretary;
(6) Any subsequent substitution or update of the aforementioned classification schemes that Federal governing bodies create; or
(7) Any “pocket” within a Metropolitan Statistical Area which, at the option of the State agency and with FNSRO approval, is determined to be rural in character based on other data sources.
School food authority means the governing body which is responsible for the administration of one or more schools and which has the legal authority to operate a lunch program in those schools. In addition, for the purpose of determining the applicability of food service management company registration and bid procedure requirements, “school food authority” also means any college or university which participates in the Program.
Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.
Self-preparation site means a site that prepares the majority of meals that will be served at its site or receives meals that are prepared at its sponsor’s central kitchen. The site does not contract with a food service management company for unitized meals, with or without milk, or for management services.
Self-preparation sponsor means a sponsor which prepares the meals that will be served at its site(s) and does not contract with a food service management company for unitized meals, with or without milk, or for management services.
Session means a specified period of time during which an enrolled group of children attend camp.
Site means the place where a child receives a program meal. A site may be the indoor or outdoor location where congregate meals are served, a stop on a delivery route of a mobile congregate meal service, or the distribution location or route for a non-congregate meal service. However, a child’s residence is not considered a non-congregate meal site for Program monitoring purposes.
Site supervisor means the individual who has been trained by the sponsor and is responsible for all administrative and management activities at the site, including, but not limited to: maintaining documentation of meal deliveries, ensuring that all meals served are safe, and maintaining accurate point of service meal counts. Except for non-congregate meal service sites using delivery services, the individual is on site for the duration of the food service.
SNAP household means any individual or group of individuals which is currently certified to receive assistance as a household from SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as defined in § 245.2 of this chapter.
Special account means an account which a State agency may require a vended sponsor to establish with the State agency or with a Federally insured bank. Operating costs payable to the sponsor by the State agency are deposited in the account and disbursement of monies from the account must be authorized by both the sponsor and the food service management company.
Sponsor means a public or private nonprofit school food authority, a public or private nonprofit residential summer camp, a unit of local, municipal, county or State government, a public or private nonprofit college or university currently participating in the NYSP, or a private nonprofit organization which develops a special summer or other school vacation program providing food service similar to that made available to children during the school year under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs and which is approved to participate in the Program. Sponsors are referred to in the Act as “service institutions”.
Start-up payments means financial assistance made available to a sponsor for administrative costs to enable it to effectively plan a summer food service, and to establish effective management procedures for such a service. These payments shall be deducted from subsequent administrative cost payments.
State means any of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, Guam, American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
State agency means the State educational agency or an alternate agency that has been designated by the Governor or other appropriate executive or legislative authority of the State and which has been approved by the Department to administer the Program within the State, or, in States where FNS administers the Program, FNSRO.
TANF means the State funded program under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act that the Secretary determines complies with standards established by the Secretary that ensure that the standards under the State program are comparable to or more restrictive than those in effect on June 1, 1995. This program is commonly referred to as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, although States may refer to the program by another name.
Termination for convenience means:
(1) Termination of a State agency’s participation in the Program in whole, or in part, when FNS and the State agency agree that the continuation of the Program would not produce beneficial results commensurate with the further expenditure of funds; or
(2) Termination of a permanent operating agreement by a State agency or sponsor due to considerations unrelated to either party’s performance of Program responsibilities under the agreement.
Unaffiliated site means a site that is legally distinct from the sponsor.
Unanticipated school closure means any period from October through April (or any time of the year in an area with a continuous school calendar) during which children who are not in school due to a natural disaster, building repair, court order, labor-management disputes, or, when approved by the State agency, similar cause, may be served meals at non-school sites through the Summer Food Service Program.
Unit of local, municipal, county or State government means an entity which is so recognized by the State constitution or State laws, such as the State administrative procedures act, tax laws, or other applicable State laws which delineate authority for government responsibility in the State.
USDA implementing regulations include the following: 2 CFR part 400, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards; 2 CFR part 415, General Program Administrative Regulations; 2 CFR part 416, General Program Administrative Regulations for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments; and 2 CFR part 418, New Restrictions on Lobbying.
Unused reimbursement means the difference between the amount of reimbursement earned and received and allowable costs, when reimbursement exceeds costs.
Vended site means a site that serves unitized meals, with or without milk, that are procured through a formal agreement or contract with:
(1) Public agencies or entities, such as a school food authority;
(2) Private, nonprofit organizations; or
(3) Private, for-profit companies, such as a commercial food distributor or food service management company.
Vended sponsor means a sponsor which purchases from a food service management company the unitized meals, with or without milk, which it will serve at its site(s), or a sponsor which purchases management services, subject to the limitations set forth in § 225.15, from a food service management company.
Yogurt means commercially prepared coagulated milk products obtained by the fermentation of specific bacteria, that meet milk fat or milk solid requirements and to which flavoring foods or ingredients may be added. These products are covered by the Food and Drug Administration’s Standard of Identity for yogurt, lowfat yogurt, and nonfat yogurt, (21 CFR 131.200), (21 CFR 131.203), (21 CFR 131.206), respectively.