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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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    Food & Nutrition​

    Healthy meals are an essential component to learning and growing. Every day, more than one million children and students receive nutritious meals through Federal School Nutrition Programs, which include the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and Summer Food Service Program.

     

    The Pennsylvania Department of Education is committed to ensuring that all children and students have access to healthy meals through these federal programs and initiatives.

    ​Accessibility Information (file a complaint and/or grievance)
    USDA Non-Discrimination Statement

    Nutrition Programs

    Governor Shapiro shaking hands with student

    Governor's School Breakfast Challenge

    Schools will be encouraged and recognized for increasing breakfast participation while incorporating sustainable changes that incorporate more nutritious and local foods.

    Governors School Breakfast Challenge

    Online Services

    Child Nutrition Program Electronic Application and Reimbursement System (CNPEARS)
    CN PEARS is a web-based application and payment system for seven federal Child Nutrition Programs. The online system is now available to all public and private school sponsors of the National School Lunch, School Breakfast, Special Milk, and Afterschool Snack Programs. Sponsors of the Summer Food Service Program and Child and Adult Care Food Program sponsors also use CN PEARS to submit required documentation to the Bureau of Food and Nutrition.

    COMPASS
    Schools participating in the National School Lunch Programs can utilize COMPASS to receive applications online for free and reduced school meals and perform benefits queries.

    Pennsy​lvania Student Eligibility System (PA-SES) 
    The Pennsylvania Student Eligibility System is an online comprehensive package for school meals that is made available by the Department of Education to schools in the state at no cost. This system uses the PrimeroEdge Software Solution.

    Utilizing this technology will reduce eligibility determination errors, assist schools with the workload of processing Free and Reduced Meal Applications, and expedite the Administrative review process.  

    Reports

    Building Data Yearly Reports: % Students Eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch

    The information provided in the Building Data Reports is an indication of the free and reduced eligible students that have been reported by each Sponsor of the School Nutrition Programs (SNP), as well as their corresponding meal service sites/schools. The report provides both the free and reduced eligible approved students and the percentage of free and/or reduced per the enrollment. This information is derived from the data provided in SNP Sponsor’s October claim reported for reimbursement.

    Year to Date and Monthly Eligibility Report

    The information provided in the Year to Date (YTD) and Monthly Eligibility Report provides Yearly data for enrollment days (as it pertains to meal service) and meals served totals for School Breakfast Program, Severe Need Breakfast Program, and School Lunch Program. This report also provides monthly breakdown of percentages for student eligibility by each meal type.

    Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many SFAs operated under the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) or Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Due to this, the reports may contain data that is inconsistent with the regularly reported data.

    Child and Adult Care Programs Meals Served Reports

    The Child and Adult Care Program (CACFP) is operated based on the Federal Fiscal year, October 1st through September 30th. The following data breaks down the meals served by each sponsor of the CACFP Program for the program year.

    Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many SFAs operated under the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) or Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Due to this, the reports may contain data that is inconsistent with the regularly reported data.

    Summer Food Service Program Meals Served Reports

    The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is operated based on the Federal fiscal year, October 1st through September 30th. Meals are primarily served during the summer months of June through September. The following data breaks down the meals served by each sponsor of the SFSP for the program year. This data includes at the sponsor level all site types under SFSP.

    Seamless Summer Option Program Meals Served Report

    Seamless Summer Option

    The Seamless Summer Option (SSO) provides meals to children when school is not in session. SSO is operated based on the Federal fiscal year, October 1st through September 30th. Only schools that participate in the School Nutrition Program are eligible to operate under the SSO Program during the summer.

    The following data breaks down the meals served by each sponsor of the SSO for the program year.

    Pennsylvania Department of Education
    Bureau of Budget and Fiscal Management
    Division of Food and Nutrition
    607 South Drive, 4th Floor
    Harrisburg, PA 17120
    717-787-7698 or 800-331-0129

    Child and Adult Care Program – RA-CACFP@pa.gov

    National School Lunch Program Administrative Review Reports
    Administrative Reviews are completed a minimum of once every five (5) years to assess compliance with the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program regulations. All review summaries are the most current.

    Contact Us 

    Pennsylvania Department of Education
    Bureau of Food and Nutrition
    607 South Drive, 4th Floor
    Harrisburg, PA 17120
    717-787-7698 or 800-331-0129

    Child and Adult Care Program – RA-CACFP@pa.gov
    School Nutrition Program – RA-NSLP@pa.gov
    Summer Food Service Program – RA-SFSP@pa.gov