USDA Announces School Meals SY 21-22 Flexibilities, Waivers and Supply Chain Resources

August 30, 2021

USDA recently detailed the School Year 2021-2-22 and Supply Chain Challenges technical assistance resources available to State agencies, school districts and stakeholders:

A suite of technical assistance resources entitled Planning for a Dynamic School Environment, including:

• Summary of Flexibilities
• Table of Flexibilities
• Flexibilities in Practice (scenario-based resource)
• School Meals Supply Chain Issues During SY 2021-22

On August 13, FNS hosted a webinar entitled “Procurement Strategies for School Year 2021-2022.” The webinar takes a deep dive into some of the supply chain strategies mentioned on this webinar and the recording is now available on the Team Nutrition website. The link is below:

• Recorded Webinar for School Food Authorities: fns.usda.gov/tn/procurement-strategies-school-year-2021-2022-webinar-school-food-authorities 

In partnership with USDA, the Institute of Child Nutrition is hosting a special Back to School series focused on Tools and Strategies to Address Supply Chain Challenges. This two-part series scheduled for September 1st and 2nd from 3:00 – 4:00pm EST will feature eight State agency representatives and child nutrition directors from across the country as they discuss the supply chain issues they have been facing as schools return to school as well as resources and best practices to mitigate those challenges. Visit theicn.org for more details on that series and to register.