[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 124 (Tuesday, June 27, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39591-39594]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-16168]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


National School Lunch, Special Milk, and School Breakfast 
Programs; National Average Payments/Maximum Reimbursement Rates

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This Notice announces the annual adjustments to: (1) The 
``national average payments,'' the amount of money the Federal 
Government provides States for lunches, afterschool snacks and 
breakfasts served to children participating in the National School 
Lunch and School Breakfast Programs; (2) the ``maximum reimbursement 
rates,'' the maximum per lunch rate from Federal funds that a State can 
provide a school food authority for lunches served to children 
participating in the National School Lunch Program; and (3) the rate of 
reimbursement for a half-pint of milk served to nonneedy children in a 
school or institution which participates in the Special Milk Program 
for Children. The payments and rates are prescribed on an annual basis 
each July. The annual payments and rates adjustments for the National 
School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs reflect changes in the Food 
Away From Home series of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban 
Consumers. The annual rate adjustment for the Special Milk Program 
reflects changes in the Producer Price Index for Fluid Milk Products. 
These payments and rates are in effect from July 1, 2000 through June 
30, 2001.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Mary Jane Whitney, Section Chief, 
School Programs Section, Policy and Program Development Branch, Child 
Nutrition Division, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 3101 Park Center 
Drive, Room 1007, Alexandria, VA 22302 or phone (703) 305-2620.

[[Page 39592]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Special Milk Program for Children

    Pursuant to section 3 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as 
amended (42 U.S.C. 1772), the Department announces the rate of 
reimbursement for a half-pint of milk served to nonneedy children in a 
school or institution which participates in the Special Milk Program 
for Children. This rate is adjusted annually to reflect changes in the 
Producer Price Index for Fresh Processed Milk, published by the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.
    For the period July 1, 2000 to June 30, 2001, the rate of 
reimbursement for a half-pint of milk served to a nonneedy child in a 
school or institution which participates in the Special Milk Program is 
13 cents. This reflects an increase of 2.0 percent in the Producer 
Price Index for Fresh Processed Milk from May 1999 to May 2000 (from a 
level of 139.7 in May 1999 to 142.5 in May 2000).
    As a reminder, schools or institutions with pricing programs which 
elect to serve milk free to eligible children continue to receive the 
average cost of a half-pint of milk (the total cost of all milk 
purchased during the claim period divided by the total number of 
purchased half-pints) for each half-pint served to an eligible child.

National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs

    Pursuant to sections 11 and 17A of the National School Lunch Act, 
(42 U.S.C. 1759a and 1766a), and section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act 
of 1966, (42 U.S.C. 1773), the Department annually announces the 
adjustments to the National Average Payment Factors and to the maximum 
Federal reimbursement rates for lunches and afterschool snacks served 
to children participating in the National School Lunch Program and 
breakfasts served to children participating in the School Breakfast 
Program. Adjustments are prescribed each July 1, based on changes in 
the Food Away From Home series of the Consumer Price Index for All 
Urban Consumers, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the 
Department of Labor. The changes in the national average payment rates 
for schools and residential child care institutions for the period July 
1, 2000 through June 30, 2001 reflect a 2.25 percent increase in the 
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers during the 12-month period 
May 1999 to May 2000 (from a level of 164.6 in May 1999 to 168.3 in May 
2000). Adjustments to the national average payment rates for all 
lunches served under the National School Lunch Program, breakfasts 
served under the School Breakfast Program, and afterschool snacks 
served under the National School Lunch Program are rounded down to the 
nearest whole cent.

Lunch Payment Levels

    Section 4 of the National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1753) 
provides general cash for food assistance payments to States to assist 
schools in purchasing food. The National School Lunch Act provides two 
different section 4 payment levels for lunches served under the 
National School Lunch Program. The lower payment level applies to 
lunches served by school food authorities in which less than 60 percent 
of the lunches served in the school lunch program during the second 
preceding school year were served free or at a reduced price. The 
higher payment level applies to lunches served by school food 
authorities in which 60 percent or more of the lunches served during 
the second preceding school year were served free or at a reduced 
price.
    To supplement these section 4 payments, section 11 of the National 
School Lunch Act provides special cash assistance payments to aid 
schools in providing free and reduced price lunches. The section 11 
National Average Payment Factor for each reduced price lunch served is 
set at 40 cents less than the factor for each free lunch.
    As authorized under sections 8 and 11 of the National School Lunch 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1757, 1759a), maximum reimbursement rates for each type 
of lunch are prescribed by the Department in this notice. These maximum 
rates are to ensure equitable disbursement of Federal funds to school 
food authorities.

Afterschool Snack Payments in Afterschool Care Programs

    Section 17A of the National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766a) 
establishes National Average Payments for free, reduced price and paid 
afterschool snacks as part of the National School Lunch Program.

Breakfast Payment Factors

    Section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1773) 
establishes National Average Payment Factors for free, reduced price 
and paid breakfasts served under the School Breakfast Program and 
additional payments for free and reduced price breakfasts served in 
schools determined to be in ``severe need'' because they serve a high 
percentage of needy children.

Revised Payments

    The following specific section 4, section 11 and section 17A 
National Average Payment Factors and maximum reimbursement rates for 
lunch, the afterschool snack rates, and the breakfast rates are in 
effect from July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2001. Due to a higher cost of 
living, the average payments and maximum reimbursements for Alaska and 
Hawaii are higher than those for all other States. The District of 
Columbia, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam use the figures 
specified for the contiguous States.

National School Lunch Program Payments

Section 4  National Average Payment Factors

    In school food authorities which served less than 60 percent free 
and reduced price lunches in School Year 1998-99, the payments for 
meals served are: Contiguous States--paid rate--19 cents, free and 
reduced price rate--19 cents, maximum rate--27 cents; Alaska--paid 
rate--31 cents, free and reduced price rate--31 cents, maximum rate--42 
cents; Hawaii--paid rate--22 cents, free and reduced price rate--22 
cents, maximum rate--31 cents.
    In school food authorities which served 60 percent or more free and 
reduced price lunches in School Year 1998-99, payments are: Contiguous 
States--paid rate--21 cents, free and reduced price rate--21 cents, 
maximum rate--27 cents; Alaska--paid rate--33 cents, free and reduced 
price rate--33 cents, maximum rate--42 cents; Hawaii--paid rate--24 
cents, free and reduced price rate--24 cents, maximum rate--31 cents.

Section 11  National Average Payment Factors

    Contiguous States--free lunch--183 cents, reduced price lunch--143 
cents; Alaska--free lunch--297 cents, reduced price lunch--257 cents; 
Hawaii--free lunch--215 cents, reduced price lunch--175 cents.

Afterschool Snacks in Afterschool Care Programs

    The payments are: Contiguous States--free snack--55 cents, reduced 
price snack--27 cents, paid snack--5 cents; Alaska--free snack--90 
cents, reduced price snack--45 cents, paid snack--8 cents; Hawaii--free 
snack--65 cents, reduced price snack--32 cents, paid snack--5 cents.

School Breakfast Program Payments

    For schools ``not in severe need'' the payments are: Contiguous 
States--free

[[Page 39593]]

breakfast--112 cents, reduced price breakfast--82 cents, paid 
breakfast--21 cents; Alaska--free breakfast--177 cents, reduced price 
breakfast--147 cents, paid breakfast--30 cents; Hawaii--free 
breakfast--130 cents, reduced price breakfast--100 cents, paid 
breakfast--23 cents.
    For schools in ``severe need'' the payments are: Contiguous 
States--free breakfast--133 cents, reduced price breakfast--103 cents, 
paid breakfast--21 cents; Alaska--free breakfast--212 cents, reduced 
price breakfast--182 cents, paid breakfast--30 cents; Hawaii--free 
breakfast--155 cents, reduced price breakfast--125 cents, paid 
breakfast--23 cents.

Payment Chart

    The following chart illustrates: The lunch National Average Payment 
Factors with the Sections 4 and 11 already combined to indicate the per 
lunch amount; the maximum lunch reimbursement rates; the reimbursement 
rates for afterschool snacks served in afterschool care programs; the 
breakfast National Average Payment Factors including ``severe need'' 
schools; and the milk reimbursement rate. All amounts are expressed in 
dollars or fractions thereof. The payment factors and reimbursement 
rates used for the District of Columbia, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico 
and Guam are those specified for the contiguous States.

              School Programs--Meal, Snack and Milk Payments to States and School Food Authorities
              [Expressed in dollars or fractions thereof Effective from July 1, 2000-June 30, 2001]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               National School Lunch Program *                  Less than 60%     60% or more      Maximum rate
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contiguous States:
    Paid.....................................................             $.19             $.21             $.27
    Reduced price............................................             1.62             1.64             1.79
    Free.....................................................             2.02             2.04             2.19
Alaska:
    Paid.....................................................              .31              .33              .42
    Reduced price............................................             2.88             2.90             3.13
    Free.....................................................             3.28             3.30             3.53
Hawaii
    Paid.....................................................              .22              .24              .31
    Reduced price............................................             1.97             1.99             2.15
    Free.....................................................             2.37             2.39            2.55
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Payments listed for Free & Reduced Price Lunches include both sections 4 and 11 funds.


 
                           School Breakfast Program                             Non-severe need    Severe need
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contiguous States:
    Paid......................................................................             $.21             $.21
    Reduced price.............................................................              .82             1.03
    Free......................................................................             1.12             1.33
Alaska:
    Paid......................................................................              .30              .30
    Reduced price.............................................................             1.47             1.82
    Free......................................................................             1.77             2.12
Hawaii
    Paid......................................................................              .23              .23
    Reduced price.............................................................             1.00             1.25
    Free......................................................................             1.30             1.55
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Special Milk Program                          All milk        Paid milk        Free milk
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pricing programs without free option.........................             $.13              N/A              N/A
Pricing programs with free option............................              N/A             $.13            (\1\)
Nonpricing programs..........................................              .13              N/A             N/A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Average cost per \1/2\ pint of milk.


                             Afterschool Snacks Served in Afterschool Care Programs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contiguous States:
    Paid.......................................................................................             $.05
    Reduced price..............................................................................              .27
    Free.......................................................................................              .55
Alaska:
    Paid.......................................................................................              .08
    Reduced price..............................................................................              .45
    Free.......................................................................................              .90
Hawaii:
    Paid.......................................................................................              .05
    Reduced price..............................................................................              .32
    Free.......................................................................................              .65
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 39594]]

    This action is not a rule as defined by the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (5 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 601-612) and thus is exempt from the provisions 
of that Act.
    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Sec. 3507), no new recordkeeping or reporting requirements have been 
included that are subject to approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget.
    This action is exempted from review by the Office of Management and 
Budget under Executive Order 12866.
    National School Lunch, School Breakfast and Special Milk Programs 
are listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance under No. 
10.555, No. 10.553 and No. 10.556, respectively, and are subject to the 
provisions of Executive Order 12372, which requires intergovernmental 
consultation with State and local officials. (See 7 CFR Part 3015, 
Subpart V, and the final rule related notice published at 48 FR 29114, 
June 24, 1983.)

    Authority: Sections 4, 8, 11 and 17A of the National School 
Lunch Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1753, 1757, 1759a, 1766a and 
sections 3 and 4(b) of the Child Nutrition Act, as amended, 42 
U.S.C. 1772 and 42 U.S.C. 1773(b).

    Dated: June 21, 2000.
Samuel Chambers, Jr.,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 00-16168 Filed 6-26-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P