Overview
School Food Authorities (SFAs) participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or School Breakfast Program (SBP) are eligible to apply for the SSO. Once approved, SFAs serve meals free of charge to children, age 18 years and under.
Please complete the SSO application, which will provide automatic approval
General Information
Each SSO site must be designated as one of the following site types:
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Open - all children eat free in communities, age 18 and under, including children who may not be enrolled in the district.
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Restricted Open - sites that meet the open site criteria, explained above, but are later restricted for safety, control, or security reasons. Serves children age 18 and under
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Closed Enrolled - Sites that serve only an identified group of children age 18 and under, who are participating in a specific program or activity. Closed enrolled sites can only serve enrolled children. If the site wishes to serve siblings of enrolled students and/or other children in the community, not enrolled in school, these sites should be classified as open or restricted open sites.
The same NSLP and SBP rules apply for meal service. Meals served are reimbursed at the NSLP and/or SBP “free” rates. For clarification on how the Seamless Summer Option differs from our other summer feeding options, please refer to the comparison chart.
Meal Types
The maximum number of meals that may be offered under the SSO is up to two meals, or one meal and one snack, per child, per day, in any combination except lunch and supper.
Point of Service
- Student names and eligibility status is not needed for the SSO, unless operating a closed enrolled site. Meals must be counted at the point when meals are distributed.
- The SFA may use one of the following meal count form options to record meals at the Point of Service:
Meal Pattern
SFAs that participate in the SSO must follow the SBP and NSLP meal pattern requirements unless they have an approved meal pattern waiver. All SSO meal pattern waivers expire June 30, 2021. This includes adhering to vegetable subgroup requirements and providing milk. Sites participating in the SSO that operate on a limited or extended schedule (shorter or longer than a typical 5-day week) should reference the USDA Short and Long Week Calculations for adjustments to the weekly meal pattern requirements.
An open or restricted open site operating the SSO may have difficulty following the age/grade group requirements of the meal pattern due to a variety of age/grade groups that may attend. In this scenario, the site may use the meal pattern for a single age/grade group meeting the minimum meal pattern requirements for the most common age/grade group eating at the site. Please complete the meal pattern waiver (same as above), if you plan to utilize one meal pattern for all age/grade groups.
Vegetable Subgroup Ideas and Sample Menus
Claiming
- SSO Claiming Manual for Meals Served July 1 - June 30, 2021
- Separate meal counts and records must be maintained for meals served under SSO. If serving multiple types of meals at one time (i.e. breakfast and lunch), separate counts should be kept for the breakfast and lunch meals separately.
- Meals may be counted on the day distributed, but must be claimed for the day the meal is intended to be consumed. This is especially important when a week crosses months.
- All meals served in the SSO are claimed in the 'free' category.
- Meals may be claimed for all children age 18 and under for open or restricted open sites. Closed enrolled sites may only claim for meals for children who are enrolled in meal service.
- Meals can be claimed every day including weekends.
- Edit checks are not required for SSO sites during the period of time that the SFA is operating the sites under the SSO policies. However, SFAs must ensure that meal counts match actual participation and claims reflect the number of meals served.
Production Records
Nationwide Waivers SY 2020-21 (SSO)
The following waivers apply to SY 2020-21 under the SSO. If your SFA submitted one or more of the following waivers prior to starting the SSO, your SFA does not need to complete another copy of the same waiver.
| Nationwide Waiver | Waiver Form to Complete |
|---|---|
| Non-congregate Feeding in the SFSP and SSO Programs | Waiver to Allow Non-Congregate Feeding |
| Meal Service Time Restrictions in the SFSP and SSO Programs | Waiver to Allow Meal Service Time Flexibility |
| Parent and Guardian Pick Up Meals for Children in the SFSP and SSO Programs | Waiver to Allow Parents and Guardians to Pick Up Meals |
|
Meal Pattern Flexibility in the SFSP and SSO Programs Must receive approval from a member of the SNT prior to implementing this meal pattern waiver.
|
Waiver to allow Meal Pattern Flexibility |
Wisconsin School Day Milk Program (WSDMP) |
| WSDMP Waiver Request (public schools only) |
| WSDMP Waiver Request (private schools only) |
Special Milk Program |
| SMP Non-congregate Waiver Request |
Contacts
For questions about SSO, please contact: