USDA has issued the regulatory waivers to increase flexibility in operating the Child Nutrition Programs during the COVID-19 outbreak. To implement flexibilities, please fill out the waiver forms available here.

A summary of required waiver forms available here. 

Civil Rights Training Resources 4/21/20

Below are two resources that summarize states’ Civil Rights obligations when interacting with customers and providing services to all potentially eligible and program participants. These documents should be disseminated to appropriate staff and volunteers during this time. Note that these documents do not serve as a replacement for the annual training requirement. Contracting entities should make every effort to ensure that staff receive proper training as soon as possible.

• Civil Rights Technical Assistance for FNS Programs During the COVID-19 Pandemic – This document was developed by USDA to assist Program Operators with understanding the Civil Rights requirements that must be adhered to while operating the Child Nutrition Programs.
• Supplemental Civil Rights Reference document – This document serves as a supplement to the above document to be used by frontline staff and volunteers (servers, bus drivers, etc.) to familiarize themselves with the basic Civil Rights requirements/concepts.

No Child Present Guidance

USDA has approved for State Agencies to develop a plan to allow parents to pick up meals without their children present. Contracting entities must notify TDA of their intent to utilize this option by completing this intake form. Refer to our quick reference one-pager for more information on this waiver, and contact your Education Service Center for additional guidance.

Hot Topics entries will be removed from this section once fully incorporated into the Meal Service Operations FAQ from TDA. Please refer to the FAQ for additional policy guidance.

• Application Procedures
• Best Practices for Parent Pick Up 
• Duplicate Meals Poster
  • Note: To maintain Program integrity, sites must inform parents/guardians that children may not receive the same meals from another federally supported feeding site. Sites must display the Duplicate Meals Poster that explains the prohibition of receiving duplicate meals.
• CACFP Site Operation Guidance during COVID-19
• Civil Rights Technical Assistance for COVID-19
• Supplemental Civil Rights Reference document

Updated 5/22/20
The TDA webinar for community organizations recorded on May 21, 2020, is available here.

The TDA webinar for CACFP and SFSP partners recorded on May 7, 2020, is available here.

The TDA webinar for CACFP and SFSP partners recorded on April 30, 2020, is available here.

 The TDA webinar recorded on April 23, 2020, is available here. 

TDA webinars on March 18, March 26, April 2 and April 9, 2020, provided up-to-date guidance for CACFP and SFSP partners. On April 11, USDA issued new guidance that rendered some of the information provided in the webinars and the resources created afterwards obsolete. To keep all information on this site current, TDA has removed the links to the webinars and related documents. Click CACFP COVID-19 Meal Service FAQ for the most current information and answers to questions presented in the webinars.