Asking for the Right Forms and Documents

Documents to Get the Information You Need

By Lisa Du

The school lunch program’s regulations (PDF) require that School Food Authorities submit certain information to the state departments of education. In turn, states are supposed to process that data and submit it to the UDSA in order to obtain reimbursements for the school lunch program.

Requesting these forms from your district could tell you a lot about how the lunch program operates, but you will have to be persistent to get the documentation you need. All of this information is a matter of public record. Please see the accountability flow chart for a full list of what is required for submission at each level of government.

Links to forms will open PDF or Word documents.

State to Federal

These forms are submitted from state agencies, which administer the National School Lunch Program, to the federal government. Completed versions of these forms are held at both the state agencies and the USDA’s regional offices (variable by location), and should be publicly viewable or available upon request by anyone.

  • SF-269: Form reporting the amount of funds received and used from the federal government.
  • FNS-10: Form indicating statewide totals on children participating in the school lunch program. State agencies aggregate information submitted from school food authorities in order to complete this form.
  • FNS-13: Form indicating states are matching the requirement to give 30% of federal reimbursements to the national school lunch program.

Local to State

The information these forms request are submitted from local school food authorities to state agencies in order to participate in the lunch program. These forms are held at both the local school food authorities and the state agency, and should be publicly viewable or available upon request by anyone. Although the forms may request the same information, their general layout may differ by state. The forms used here are from the state of Texas.

  • Claims Form: Form used to process claims in the state of Texas. The form reports the number of children in each school district, and the number eligible for free and reduced meals.
  • Contracting Entity Application: Application for a new school food authority to participate.
  • Site Application: Application for a new school district to enter the school lunch program.

Miscellaneous

  • Texas Information Request: This Public Information Request was submitted to the Texas Department of Agriculture for more data.
  • Prototype Application: A sample application of what should be sent out to the parents of every student so that they may apply for free or reduced lunch.