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It summarizes federal oversight, state administrative reviews, and how the waiver changed fiscal action requirements during COVID-19 disruptions. Results from a survey of 56 state agencies show limited waiver use: 16 state agencies waived fiscal action for under 1% of SFAs nationwide.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/use-of-the-fiscal-action-flexibility-for-meal-pattern-violations-waiver-a-research-brief-about-school-year-20222023/588010/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/use-of-the-fiscal-action-flexibility-for-meal-pattern-violations-waiver-a-research-brief-about-school-year-20222023/588010.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Bintang","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-05","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":19},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the Fiscal Action Flexibility for Meal Pattern Violations waiver used for?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It provides state agencies fiscal action flexibility related to meal pattern violations, particularly during disruptions that affect compliance with meal components and records.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why was the waiver introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Supply chain issues made it difficult for school food authorities to follow meal pattern rules consistently, so the waiver reduced the need for fiscal action for certain missing components, records, and repeat violations.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How many state agencies used the waiver in school year 2022–2023?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Sixteen state agencies used the waiver in school year 2022–2023, and it covered less than 1% of school food authorities nationwide.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},588010,1792884888,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":19,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":81,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":39,"preview_page_count":4},962085564381,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","Use of the Fiscal Action Flexibility for  \nMeal Pattern Violations Waiver  \nA research brief about school year 2022–2023  \nThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program to provide nutritious school meals to children. State agencies administer the school meal programs in each State and Territory through agreements with local school food authorities (SFAs).  \nState agencies conduct administrative reviews to ensure the SFAs in their State or Territory follow all program rules. For example, meal pattern rules (7 CFR § 220.8; 7 CFR § 210.10) 1, 2 require SFAs to:  \n• Offer meals with age-specific quantities of fluid milk, meat or meat alternates (protein-rich foods like eggs, cheese, yogurt, beans, tofu, and nuts), grains, vegetables, and fruits (called meal components)  \n\n| \u003Cbr>Key Takeaway |\n| --- |\n| In school year 2022–2023, 16 State agencies used the Fiscal Action Flexibility for Meal Pattern Violations waiver to waive fiscal action for less than 1 percent of school food authorities nationwide. |\n\n• Meet specific requirements for milk type, vegetable subgroups, whole grain–rich foods, and dietary specifications such as calories and saturated fat  \n• Keep production records that show how meals contribute to the required meal components and food quantities for each age group  \nBefore the COVID-19 pandemic, when an administrative review found that an SFA was not meeting certain meal pattern rules, the State agency was required to take fiscal action against the SFA by recovering funds for unallowable meals (7 CFR § 210.18).3 During the pandemic, SFAs faced supply chain issues that made it difficult to follow meal pattern rules consistently. FNS issued the Fiscal Action Flexibility for Meal Pattern Violations waiver so State agencies were not required to take fiscal action against SFAs for missing food components or production records or for repeat violations involving milk type or vegetable subgroups (FNS 2022).4 The waiver was available in school years (SYs) 2021–2022 and 2022–2023. After SY 2022–2023, FNS updated program regulations so State agencies could use discretion for all repeat violations involving food quantities, whole grain–rich foods, milk types, vegetable subgroups, and dietary specifications ( FNS 2023).5  \nWe asked State agencies if they used the Fiscal Action Flexibility for Meal Pattern Violations waiver in SY 2022– 2023, and how many SFAs they used it for. Only 16 State agencies used the waiver in SY 2022–2023, and they used it for less than 1 percent of SFAs nationwide. These figures are much lower than they were in SY 2021– 2022 (Washburn et al. 2025).6  \n| Only 16 State agencies used the fiscal action waiver in SY 2022–2023. In comparison, 52 State agencies used it in SY 2021–2022. | |\n| --- | --- |\n\n\n| | In SY 2022–2023, State agencies waived fiscal action for less than 1% of SFAs. In comparison, most State agencies waived fiscal action for all SFAs in SY 2021–2022. |\n| --- | --- |\n\nAbout the data reported here  \nThis study was sponsored by USDA FNS. The information reported in this brief was collected from an online survey of all 56 State agencies that oversaw the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, or Seamless Summer Option during SY 2022–2023. The data tables are available in Supplement B.1.  \nSuggested citation  \nEiffes, Brett, Veronica Severn, Liana Washburn, Kate Schroeder, and Kevin Conway. (2025) . Use of the Fiscal Action for Flexibility for Meal Pattern Violations Waiver: a research brief about school year 2022–2023. Prepared by Mathematica, Contract No. 12319819A0009/12319819F0162. Alexandria, VA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Evidence, Analysis, and Regulatory Affairs.  \nDisclaimer  \nThis research was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. The findings and conclusions in this publication are ","cbCaivOucR1oUyxU","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivOucR1oUyxU","pdf",570768,"English","# Background and program oversight\n## Meal pattern requirements and administrative reviews\n# Waiver purpose and availability\n## Pre-pandemic vs. COVID-19 changes\n# Survey findings for SY 2022–2023\n## Number of state agencies and SFAs affected\n# Data collection, citation, and disclaimer\n# References","[{\"question\":\"What is the Fiscal Action Flexibility for Meal Pattern Violations waiver used for?\",\"answer\":\"It provides state agencies fiscal action flexibility related to meal pattern violations, particularly during disruptions that affect compliance with meal components and records.\"},{\"question\":\"Why was the waiver introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic?\",\"answer\":\"Supply chain issues made it difficult for school food authorities to follow meal pattern rules consistently, so the waiver reduced the need for fiscal action for certain missing components, records, and repeat violations.\"},{\"question\":\"How many state agencies used the waiver in school year 2022–2023?\",\"answer\":\"Sixteen state agencies used the waiver in school year 2022–2023, and it covered less than 1% of school food authorities nationwide.\"}]","Use of the Fiscal Action Flexibility for Meal Pattern Violations Waiver - A research brief about school year 2022–2023 | PDF",1792064032]