The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday afternoon that officials are extending flexibilities to allow free meals to be available to all children throughout the 2020-2021 school year. The previous waiver extension ended in December, but USDA officials say they are committed to ensuring all children have access to nutritious food as the United States recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and agreed to extend the waiver through June.
Operators will continue to leverage the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) to provide no cost meals to all children, through June 30, 2021. Program flexibilities allow schools and local program operators to operate a meal service model that best meets the community’s unique needs, while keeping kids and staff safe.
