§210.2. Definitions. — Inbound Citations

(A) Whole grain-rich is the term designated by FNS to indicate that the grain content of a product is between 50 and 100 percent whole grain with any remaining grains being enriched. At least 80 percent of grains offered at lunch weekly must, based on ounce equivalents, meet the whole grain-rich criteria as defined in § 210.2, and the remaining grain items offered must be enriched.

(i) The State agency must confirm the school food authority's resource management is consistent with the maintenance of the nonprofit school food service account requirements in §§ 210.2, 210.14, 210.19(a), and 210.21.

(b) Within the States, the responsibility for the administration of the Program in schools, as defined in § 210.2, shall be in the State educational agency. If the State educational agency is unable to administer the Program in public or private nonprofit residential child care institutions or nonprofit private schools, then Program administration for such schools may be assumed by FNSRO as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, or such other agency of the State as has been designated by the Governor or other appropriate executive or legislative authority of the State and approved by the Department to administer such schools. Each State agency desiring to administer the Program shall enter into a written agreement with the Department for the administration of the Program in accordance with the applicable requirements of this part; parts 235 and 245 of this chapter; parts 15, 15a, and 15b of this title, and 2 CFR part 200; USDA implementing regulations 2 CFR part 400 and part 415; and FNS instructions.

(a) School food authorities that operate the National School Lunch Program, or the School Breakfast Program (part 220 of this chapter), must establish and implement professional standards for school nutrition program directors, managers, and staff, as defined in § 210.2.

(2) If there are less than two school food authorities with enrollments of 40,000 or more, the two largest school food authorities that participate in the National School Lunch Program (7 CFR part 210) and have enrollments of 2,000 children or more each.

Nonprofit means exempt from income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

OIG means the Office of the Inspector General of the Department.

SAE means federally provided State administrative expense funds for State agencies under this part.

School means the term as defined in §§ 210.2, 215.2, and 220.2 of this chapter, as applicable.

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 breakfast or a lunch program therein. The term “School Food Authority” also includes a nonprofit agency or organization to which such governing body has delegated authority to operate the lunch or breakfast program in schools under its jurisdiction, provided the governing body retains the responsibility to comply with breakfast or lunch program regulations.

Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.

State means any of the 50 States, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and, as applicable, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas.

State agency means (1) the State educational agency or (2) such other agency of the State as has been designated by the Governor or other appropriate executive or legislative authority of the State and approved by the Department to administer programs under part 210, 215, 220, 226 or 250 of this title. Unless otherwise indicated, “State agency” shall also mean Distributing agency as defined in this section,, when such agency is receiving funds directly from FNS under this part.

State educational agency means, as the State legislature may determine: (1) The chief State school officer (such as the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Commissioner of Education, or similar officer), or (2) a board of education controlling the State department of education.

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.

(a) After the State agency, or FNSRO where applicable, notifies the local educational agency (as defined in § 245.2) that its criteria for determining the eligibility of children for free and reduced price meals and for free milk have been approved, the local educational agency (as defined in § 245.2) shall publicly announce such criteria: Provided however, that no such public announcement shall be required for boarding schools, residential child care institutions (see § 210.2 of this chapter, definition of Schools), or a school which includes food service fees in its tuition, where all attending children are provided the same meals or milk. Such announcements shall be made at the beginning of each school year or, if notice of approval is given thereafter, within 10 days after the notice is received. The public announcement of such criteria, as a minimum, shall include the following:

(1) Except as provided in § 245.6(b), a letter or notice and application distributed on or about the beginning of each school year, to the parents of all children in attendance at school. The letter or notice shall contain the following information:

(i) In schools participating in a meal service program, the eligibility criteria for reduced price benefits with an explanation that households with incomes less than or equal to the reduced price criteria would be eligible for either free or reduced price meals, or in schools participating in the free milk option, the eligibility criteria for free milk benefits;

(ii) How a household may make application for free or reduced price meals or for free milk for its children;

(iii) An explanation that an application for free or reduced price benefits cannot be approved unless it contains complete information as described in paragraph (1)(i) of the definition of Documentation in § 245.2;

(iv) An explanation that households with children who are members of currently certified SNAP, FDPIR or TANF households may submit applications for these children with the abbreviated information described in paragraph (2)(ii) of the definition of Documentation in § 245.2;

(v) An explanation that the information on the application may be verified at any time during the school year;

(vi) How a household may apply for benefits at any time during the school year as circumstances change;

(vii) A statement to the effect that children having parents or guardians who become unemployed are eligible for free or reduced price meals or for free milk during the period of unemployment, Provided, that the loss of income causes the household income during the period of unemployment to be within the eligibility criteria;

(viii) “In the operation of child feeding programs, no child will be discriminated against because of race, sex, color, national origin, age or disability;”

(ix) An explanation that Head Start enrollees and foster, homeless, migrant, and runaway children, as defined in § 245.2, are categorically eligible for free meals and free milk and their families should contact the school for more information;

(x) How a household may appeal the decision of the local educational agencywith respect to the application under the hearing procedure set forth in § 245.7. The letter or notice shall be accompanied by a copy of the application form required under § 245.6.

(xi) A statement to the effect that the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) participants may be eligible for free or reduced price meals.

(2) On or about the beginning of each school year, a public release, containing the same information supplied to parents, and including both free and reduced price eligibility criteria shall be provided to the informational media, the local unemployment office, and to any major employers contemplating large layoffs in the area from which the school draws its attendance.

(ii) Schools participating only in the Special Milk Program authorized under part 215 of this chapter may directly certify children for that program but are not required to conduct direct certification with SNAP. In addition, residential child care institutions, as defined in paragraph (c) of the definition of School in § 210.2 of this chapter, that do not have non-residential children are also not required to conduct direct certification with SNAP.

(3) To be eligible to participate in the community eligibility provision, a local educational agency (except a residential child care institution, as defined under the definition of “School” in § 210.2), group of schools, or school must meet the eligibility criteria set forth in this paragraph.

(i) A local educational agency, group of schools, or school must have an identified student percentage of at least 25 percent, as of April 1 of the school year prior to participating in the community eligibility provision, unless otherwise specified by FNS. Individual schools participating in a group may have less than 25 percent identified students, provided that the average identified student percentage for the group is at least 25 percent.

(ii) A local educational agency, group of schools, or school must participate in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, under parts 210 and 220 of this title, for the duration of the 4-year cycle. Schools that operate on a limited schedule, where it is not operationally feasible to offer both lunch and breakfast, may elect CEP with FNS approval.

(iii) A local educational agency, group of schools, or school must comply with the procedures and requirements specified in paragraph (f)(4) of this section to participate in the community eligibility provision.

(ii) If there is no name of the establishment presented to the public (e.g., an establishment with the generic descriptor “concession stand”), the name of the parent entity of the establishment. When the term “name” refers to the name of the establishment presented to the public under paragraph (i) of this definition, the term “same” includes names that are slight variations of each other, for example, due to the region, location, or size (e.g., “New York Ave. Burgers” and “Pennsylvania Ave. Burgers” or “ABC” and “ABC Express”).

Food on display means restaurant-type food that is visible to the customer before the customer makes a selection, so long as there is not an ordinary expectation of further preparation by the consumer before consumption.

Food that is part of a customary market test means food that appears on a menu or menu board for less than 90 consecutive days in order to test consumer acceptance of the product.

Location means a fixed position or site.

Menu or menu board means the primary writing of the covered establishment from which a customer makes an order selection, including, but not limited to, breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus; dessert menus; beverage menus; children's menus; other specialty menus; electronic menus; and menus on the Internet. Determining whether a writing is or is part of the primary writing of the covered establishment from which a customer makes an order selection depends on a number of factors, including whether the writing lists the name of a standard menu item (or an image depicting the standard menu item) and the price of the standard menu item, and whether the writing can be used by a customer to make an order selection at the time the customer is viewing the writing. The menus may be in different forms, e.g., booklets, pamphlets, or single sheets of paper. Menu boards include those inside a covered establishment as well as drive-through menu boards at covered establishments.

Offering for sale substantially the same menu items means offering for sale a significant proportion of menu items that use the same general recipe and are prepared in substantially the same way with substantially the same food components, even if the name of the menu item varies, (e.g., “Bay View Crab Cake” and “Ocean View Crab Cake”). “Menu items” in this definition refers to food items that are listed on a menu or menu board or that are offered as self-service food or food on display. Restaurants and similar retail food establishments that are part of a chain can still be offering for sale substantially the same menu items if the availability of some menu items varies within the chain. Having the same name may indicate, but does not necessarily guarantee, that menu items are substantially the same.

Restaurant or similar retail food establishment means a retail establishment that offers for sale restaurant-type food, except if it is a school as defined by 7 CFR 210.2 or 220.2.

Restaurant-type food means food that is: