CACFP Waivers

This page lists the Child Nutrition Program (CNP) waivers that have been applied to and made available to the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Waivers are issued by the USDA to allow program operators and/or state agencies to have certain flexibilities that are not part of the regular CACFP operation. These waivers may be issued during natural, man-made, or public health emergencies, or when other needs are identified that will need to be temporarily remedied. Waivers may also be used as part of a USDA pilot program that might lead to future changes in regulation.

Existing Waivers

The CDSS received approval to provide the following waivers to At-risk Afterschool Meal program operators when congregate meal service operations in schools are limited due to natural disasters, unscheduled major building repairs, court orders relating to school safety or other issues, labor-management disputes, or when approved by the State agency, for a similar unanticipated cause.

These waivers may only be approved by the CDSS CACFP Branch for program operators for a maximum of 10 consecutive operating days. In situations that may warrant longer approval periods, the CDSS CACFP Branch will be required to obtain approval from the USDA for extensions.

The below waivers are effective through June 30, 2024:

• Non-Congregate Meal Service which waives the requirement to serve meals in a congregate setting per regulations at Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA), 42 United States Code (U.S.C.) 1766(f)(1)(A) and at Title 7 (7), Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 226.19(b)(6)(iii).
 
• Meal Service Times which waives the required meal service times per regulations at 7 CFR 226.17a(m).
 
• Parent and Guardian Meal Pick Up which waives the requirement that meals may only be served directly to children per regulations at NSLA, 42 U.S.C. 1766(f)(1)(A) and at 7 CFR 226.2 (Meals).
 
• Enrichment Activity which waives the requirement to serve the meals in a structured and supervised environment with an educational or enrichment activity per regulations at NSLA, 42 U.S.C. 1766(r)(2)(B), and at 7 CFR 226.17a(b)(1)(ii) and (iii).

Please contact your assigned program specialist for information and instructions on waiver participation.

Pending Waiver Applications

For information about the waiver requests made from the California Department of Social Services to the USDA and for the waiver request protocol, please visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture Waiver Requests page.

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