Verification - Letter Revisions - Memo 9/27/2004
DATE: September 27, 2004
TO: Sponsors of School Nutrition Programs
FROM: Linda Rosenbaum-Grubbs, Supervisor
Food and Nutrition Service
SUBJECT: Revised Verification Requirement
USDA has issued a policy that allows school meal benefits to be verified using information from any time between the month prior to the time of application and the time of verification. This policy is intended to support the recent statutory change that provides for the same meal benefits being valid for the entire school year, (see September 7, 2004 policy memo from MDE-FNS titled “Households Not Required to Report Changes in Circumstances”). Previously, school meal benefits have been verified using only information from the time of verification, i.e., most recent month.
To support this change, our office recommends that guidance be given to households to provide income documentation (paycheck stubs, payroll records, etc.), whenever possible, from the time that the Application for Educational Benefits was submitted. This will ensure that the initial meal benefits will be valid for the entire school year, even when a household’s income has increased or the household has stopped receiving food stamps or MFIP. The Notification of Selection for Verification letter has been revised to reflect this change and is available at http://education.state.mn.us/html/intro_smp_elig.htm.
If you have any questions about verification requirements for 2004-05, please call Food and Nutrition Service - Policy Team at 651-582-8526, 800-366-8922, or e-mail to fns@state.mn.us.
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