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After School "At Risk" Snack Program

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) offers cash reimbursement to help schools serve snacks to children in after school activities aimed at promoting the health and well being of children and youth in our communities. A school must provide children with regularly scheduled activities in an organized, structured and supervised environment, and include educational or enrichment activities (e.g., mentoring or tutoring programs). Competitive interscholastic sports teams are not an eligible after school program. The programs must meet state or local licensing requirements, if any, and state or local health and safety standards. All programs that meet the eligibility requirements that participate in NSLP may receive USDA reimbursement for after school snacks.

In order to be reimbursed, the snacks must contain at least two different components of the following four: a serving of fluid milk; a serving of meat or meat alternate; a serving of vegetable(s) or fruit(s) or full strength vegetable or fruit juice; a serving of whole grain or enriched bread or bread alternate or cereal. An after school care program site is "area eligible" if it is located at a school or in the attendance area of a school where at least 50 percent of the enrolled children are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. For example, if a high school with less than 50 percent free or reduced-price school enrollment is located in the attendance area of a middle school that has 50 percent or more of the enrolled children eligible for free or reduced-price meals, then the after-school care program located in the high school would be area eligible.

Snacks served in after-school care programs that are "area eligible" will be reimbursed at the free rate, regardless of an individual student's eligibility for free or reduced-price lunches. Snacks served in after-school care programs that are not area eligible will be reimbursed at the free, reduced-price or paid rate depending on each individual's eligibility for free or reduced-price meals based on Income Eligibility Forms (IEFs). Reimbursement rates are announced each year in July. (See ASSP Administrative Manual.)