NH Department of Education outlines school meal reimbursements, clarifies summer food vs. Summer EBT and CEP changes

Kelly Rambo, Bureau Administrator for Wellness and Nutrition at the New Hampshire Department of Education, told the Finance Division II that the department oversees federal child nutrition programs including the National School Lunch Program, breakfast, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, after-school snack, Child and Adult Care Food Program, the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the Special Milk Program. "These programs are all federally funded through the USDA," Rambo said. She reviewed the federal reimbursement schedules in the committee packet and explained that some USDA programs use state fiscal-year rates while others (notably summer rates) are set on a calendar year basis.

Melissa White, Division Director for Learner Support at the New Hampshire Department of Education, and Rambo emphasized there are supplemental state funds tied to the National School Lunch Program; those state match amounts are set in statute and are applied to the consolidated budget line for lunch. Rambo explained the state pays a fixed match for lunch and a meal-based breakout exists for breakfast because reimbursements for breakfast vary by meal counts. "The state lunch is based on a match amount," she said, pointing to RSA 189:11-a as the statutory reference for the state portion used in the calculation.

On summer meals, Roselyn Murray (identified in the record as a resident speaker) and several legislators asked whether children still receive meals in summer and whether SFSP funds are the same as Summer EBT. Rambo said the Summer Food Service Program provides meals at approved sites (open or closed) and that some brick-and-mortar locations may not meet USDA site eligibility even though they operate in summer. She described open sites as locations where any child may come and receive a no-cost meal, and closed sites as programs limited to enrolled participants (for example, a YMCA program). "There is a new program that USDA has come up with, which is SEBT or Summer EBT. That program is completely separate. That is a program that's operated through DHHS," Rambo said, adding the department maintains a public interactive map of approved summer meal sites and posts a phone number families can call for nearby options.

Rambo and White also explained how Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) works: New Hampshire currently has three schools operating CEP. The federal identified student percentage calculation used to qualify schools for CEP was reduced from 40% to 25%; a school with a calculated identified student percentage at or above that threshold may apply to participate. "We found that by dropping it to 25% it can be a challenge if the local level cannot cover the 75% cost of the meals," Rambo said, describing why CEP is most advantageous for high-poverty districts where the local share is smaller. Committee members were also reminded that participation in CEP requires being on the National School Lunch Program and that CEP replaces free/reduced price applications for participating schools for the period of the multi-year cycle.

Committee members asked for follow-up materials. Rambo agreed to provide more years of funding history and confirmed staff can provide the free/reduced eligibility report in Excel for sorting. White and Rambo also noted that the department maintains data-sharing memoranda of understanding with DHHS for direct certification and coordination related to summer EBT and other programs.

Ending: The department closed the nutrition briefing by offering to supply the committee an Excel version of the free/reduced report and a map of summer meal sites; staff also flagged an informational connection between meal program application rules and local school funding (adequacy) counts that the committee should consider when evaluating policy changes.