The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is requiring a review of all School Nutrition Program procurement activities. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), has contracted with Child Nutrition Resource (CNR) to conduct a review of all School Nutrition Program procurement activities. The Procurement Review schedule may align with the three year Administrative Review schedule; however, the reviews may not be conducted simultaneously.

Procurement Review Information  (click for schedule and resources)

Procurement Resources

• Updates to the Federal Micro-Purchase Threshold

Food & Nutrition Services Newsletters

October 27, 2025

October 27, 2025

Contract Types and Base Year RFP/Contract

When bidding for FSMC services, the state prototype must be used regardless of what type of contract is bid. To encourage competition and to obtain the best contract possible, LEAs are encouraged to submit their RFP to as many FSMCs as possible. Federal regulations require that LEAs annually submit all new contracts, corresponding bid documents, and/or annual contract extensions to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), for prior approval.

CN Label Documentation and Product Formulation Statements

• ​​Administrative Review - CN Labels Webinar
• CN Label Verification and Manufactures Reports

Certification Documents

• New Meal Pattern Worksheets
• Attestation of Compliance with Meal Pattern Requirements

6 Cents Certification Resources

The goal of Farm to School is to get more locally grown product into the school cafeterias.  Farm to school programs can be as big as serving up locally grown fruit, vegetable or other item once a day or as little as once a school year.  Large or small, each program is important and supports the health and well being of students and farmers.

Research carried out by the National Farm to School Network shows that Farm to School programs can result in:

Disaster Relief

As we all know from this past decade of flooding, schools and school food personnel can and do play an important role in situations where families are forced from their homes by floods, tornadoes, or other natural disasters.

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) provides the option to offer free meals to all students in eligible high poverty Local Education Agencies (LEA) and schools without collecting household applications.  Eligible LEAs and schools use a claiming percentage based on the number of identified students (primarily directly certified students) of at least 25%, multiplied by a factor of 1.6, to determine a free claiming percentage.  The difference between the free claiming percentage and 100% determines the percentage of meals to claim in the paid category.