Summer Food Service Program; 2010 Reimbursement Rates

AGENCY:

Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This notice informs the public of the annual adjustments to the reimbursement rates for meals served in the Summer Food Service Program for Children. These adjustments address changes in the Consumer Price Index, as required under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. The 2010 reimbursement rates are presented as a combined set of rates to highlight simplified cost accounting procedures that are extended nationwide by enactment of the Fiscal Year 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act. The 2010 rates are also presented individually, as separate operating and administrative rates of reimbursement, to show the effect of the Consumer Price Index adjustment on each rate.

DATES:

Effective Date: January 1, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Julie Brewer, Head, CACFP and SFSP Section, Policy and Program Development Branch, Child Nutrition Division, Food and Nutrition Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 640, Alexandria, Virginia 22302, 703-305-2590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This Program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance under No. 10.559 and is subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12372 which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local officials (7 CFR Part 3015, Subpart V, and final rule-related notice published at 48 FR 29114, June 24, 1983).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3518), no new recordkeeping or reporting requirements have been included that are subject to approval from the Office of Management and Budget.

This notice is not a rule as defined by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612) and thus is exempt from the provisions of that Act. Additionally, this notice has been determined to be exempt from review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866.

Definitions

The terms used in this notice have the meaning ascribed to them under 7 CFR Part 225 of the Summer Food Service Program regulations.

Background

This notice informs the public of the annual adjustments to the reimbursement rates for meals served in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). As required under sections 12 (42 U.S.C. 1760(f)) and 13 (42 U.S.C. 1761) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA), and SFSP regulations in 7 CFR Part 225, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announces the adjustments in SFSP payments for meals served to participating children during calendar year 2010.

The 2010 reimbursement rates are presented as a combined set of rates to highlight simplified cost accounting procedures. Section 738 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, Public Law 110-161, enacted on December 26, 2007, extends these procedures to all States. Since January 1, 2008, reimbursement has been based solely on a “meals times rates” calculation, without comparison to actual or budgeted costs.

Sponsors receive reimbursement that is determined by the number of reimbursable meals served multiplied by the combined rates for food service operations and administration. However, the combined rate is based on separate operating and administrative rates of reimbursement, each of which is adjusted differently for inflation.

Calculation of Rates

The combined rates are constructed from individually authorized operating and administrative reimbursements. Simplified procedures provide flexibility, enabling sponsors to manage their reimbursements to pay for any allowable cost, regardless of the cost category. Although the requirement to categorize costs as “operational” or “administrative” has been eliminated, this does not diminish the sponsors' responsibility for ensuring proper administration of the Program, while providing the best possible nutrition benefit to children.

The operating and administrative rates are calculated separately. However, the calculations of adjustments for both are based on the same set of 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 United States Department of Labor. They represent a 2.1 percent increase in this series for the 12 month period, from November 2008 through November 2009 (from 220.043 in November 2008 to 224.633 in November 2009).

Table of 2010 Reimbursement Rates

Presentation of the 2010 maximum per meal rates for meals served to children in SFSP combines the results from the calculations of operational and administrative payments, which are further explained in this notice. The total amount of payments to State agencies for disbursement to SFSP sponsors will be based upon these adjusted combined rates and the number of meals of each type served. These adjusted rates will be in effect from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010.

Operating Rates

The portion of the SFSP rates for operating costs is based on payment amounts set in section 13(b)(1) of the NSLA (42 U.S.C.1761(b)(1)). They are rounded down to the nearest whole cent, as required by section 11(a)(3)(B) of the NSLA (42 U.S.C. 1759(a)(3)(B)).

Administrative Rates

The administrative cost component of the reimbursement is authorized under section 13(b)(3) of the NSLA (42 U.S.C. 1761(b)(3)). Rates are higher for sponsors of sites located in rural areas and for “self-prep” sponsors that prepare their own meals, at the SFSP site or at a central facility, instead of purchasing them from vendors. The administrative portion of SFSP rates are adjusted, either up or down, to the nearest quarter-cent.

Authority: Sections 9, 13, and 14, Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1758, 1761, and 1762a, respectively).