Florida Administrative Code › 5 - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES › 5P - Division of Food, Nutrition and Wellness › Chapter 5P-3 - SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM › Section 5P-3.001 - Summer Food Service Program Participation

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
Each organization participating or desiring to participate in
				  the Summer Food Service Program, as defined in subsection
				  5P-1.001(38),
				  F.A.C., must meet the standards established by the United States Department of
				  Agriculture as provided in 2 CFR 200, 7 CFR 15, 15a, 15b, 7 CFR 16, 7 CFR 225,
				  and 7 CFR 250 all revised as of January 1, 2021, and which are hereby adopted
				  and incorporated by reference and available online at
http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14883
,
				  and by email request to the department at InfoFNW@fdacs.gov, Chapter 595, F.S.
				  and this rule chapter.
(1) Summer Food
				Service Program Application. Any organization desiring to participate in the
				Summer Food Service Program must be eligible as required by
				7 CFR
				225.14 and must:
(a) Submit to the department a complete
				application online at
https://fans.FDACS.gov
, or by mail to 600
				S. Calhoun Street (H2), Tallahassee, FL 32399, using the form entitled "Summer
				Food Service Program Application, " FDACS-01722 03/22, which is hereby
				incorporated by reference and available online at
http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14852
,
				and by email request to the department at InfoFNW@fdacs.gov. For the purposes
				of this program, a complete application includes:
1. All Sponsor Information as requested on
				the application;
2. All Site
				Information as requested on the application for at least one site;
				and
3. A management plan. The
				management plan must demonstrate financial capability, administrative
				capability, and program accountability for program operations and allow the
				department to determine in which of the three (3) operational tiers, as
				described in subsection
				5P-3.002(2),
				F.A.C., the organization will be approved based on the information submitted.
				All information submitted as part of the management plan must be in the name of
				the organization listed on the application.
a.
				The organization shall demonstrate financial capability to operate a Summer
				Food Service Program if it has financial resources to operate the Summer Food
				Service Program on a daily basis, to continue to pay employees and contractors
				during periods of temporary interruptions in Summer Food Service Program
				payments, to pay debts when fiscal claims have been assessed against the
				organization, and documents its financial capability as specified in
				sub-subparagraph 5P-3.001(1)(a)
				3.b., F.A.C. The following information must be included with the management
				plan:
(I) The organization must indicate what
				financial resources it has and how long those financial resources have been
				available to the organization, whether the level, function or nature of the
				financial resources is expected to change during the program year and, if so,
				what impact the change will have on the organization's financial
				capability.
(II) Organizations
				operating solely to administer the Summer Food Service Program and no other
				income generating venture, must provide verification that the organization has
				sources of funding other than the Summer Food Service Program to pay for the
				preparation of IRS filings for corporations, state corporate reporting
				requirements, and the cost of conducting required board meetings. Organizations
				with no available financial resources (e.g., cash, loans, closed-end lines of
				credit) other than the Summer Food Service Program shall be deemed not
				financially capable and ineligible to participate in the Summer Food Service
				Program.
b. The
				organization shall further demonstrate financial capability by providing the
				following documentation, which must be included with the organization's
				management plan:
(I) Administrative and
				operational budgets that are necessary, reasonable, allowable, and allocable
				and include projected expenses;
(II) Twelve (12) consecutive months of
				financial institution statements for the organization's most recent fiscal year
				and for the month prior to the submission of the application for all cash
				accounts in the name of the organization;
(III) All agreements for loans, lines of
				credit, revolving credit card accounts, non-cancelable leases, food service
				credit lines, and purchase commitments, each of which must be closed-end.
				Credit lines from food service distributors and food service management
				companies must be supported by a current executed contract that has been
				reviewed and approved by the department in accordance with Rule
				5P-3.003, F.A.C., and 2 CFR part
				200 prior to the line of credit being extended;
(IV) The organization's most recent federal
				tax filing (e.g., Form 990), unless the organization is exempt from filing as a
				governmental entity; and
(V)
				Documentation to demonstrate eligibility to participate in one of the three
				tiers set out in sub-sub-subparagraph (A) through (C) below:
(A) In consideration for Tier 3, as defined
				in subsection 5P-3.002(2),
				F.A.C., complete financial statements, audited by a Certified Public
				Accountant, for the organization's most recent fiscal year and the following:
				statement of financial position, statement of activities, statement of changes
				in net assets, statement of cash flows, and notes to financial statements,
				which all must conform to generally accepted accounting principles. Audited
				financial statements containing all statements and note disclosures required by
				generally accepted accounting principles, but which are titled differently from
				this list, shall be deemed to meet this requirement. From these documents, the
				following factors will be considered:
I.
				Assets exceeding liabilities (i.e., positive net assets or positive fund
				balance);
II. All accounts and
				transactions of the organization are included;
III. Debt does not exceed eighty (80) percent
				of total assets;
IV. Current
				asset/liability ratio of at least 1:1;
V. Transactions for Summer Food Service
				Program activities are separately identifiable either in the statement of
				activities or notes to financial statements; and
VI. Financial resources cover the costs of at
				least fifty (50) percent of expenses as indicated in the proposed budget -
				independent of any reimbursement from the department.
(B) In consideration for Tier 2, at a
				minimum, internally-prepared statements conforming to generally accepted
				accounting principles including at least the statement of financial position
				and statement of activities, or financial statements conveying substantially
				the same information, as required by generally accepted accounting principles,
				but are titled using different terms, for the organization's most recent fiscal
				year from which the following factors will be considered:
I. Assets exceeding liabilities (i.e.,
				positive net assets or positive fund balance);
II. All accounts and transactions of the
				organization are included;
III.
				Debt does not exceed eighty (80) percent of total assets;
IV. Current asset/liability ratio of at least
				1:1; and
V. Financial resources
				cover at least twenty-five (25) percent of expenses as indicated in the
				proposed budget - independent of any reimbursement from the
				department.
(C) In
				consideration for Tier 1, at a minimum, a trial balance report including all
				statements of financial position and statement of activities that account for
				the organization's most recent fiscal year from which the following factors
				will be considered:
I. The trial balance
				balancing to zero ($0);
II. Assets
				exceeding liabilities (i.e., positive net assets or positive fund
				balance);
III. All accounts and
				transactions of the organization are included;
IV. Debt does not exceed eighty (80) percent
				of total assets;
V. Current
				asset/liability ratio of at least 1:1; and
VI. Financial resources cover at least
				twenty-five (25) percent of expenses as indicated in the proposed budget -
				independent of any reimbursement from the
				department.
c. The organization has the administrative
				capability to participate in the Summer Food Service Program if it:
(I) Has not been declared Seriously Deficient
				by the department or terminated from the Summer Food Service Program or any
				other federal Child Nutrition Program in the previous seven (7) years. However,
				such an organization may be considered if the department determines that the
				organization has taken appropriate corrective actions to prevent recurrence of
				all deficiencies as prescribed in paragraph
				5P-1.004(1)(a),
				F.A.C., and has repaid any outstanding debts owed to federal Child Nutrition
				Programs;
(II) Has written policies
				and procedures that assign Summer Food Service Program responsibilities and
				duties to officers, directors and staff of the organization, to include, at a
				minimum, an organizational chart, organizational mission statement and bylaws,
				written job descriptions on full-time and part-time positions, and ensure
				compliance with civil rights requirements;
(III) Has sufficient, qualified staff to
				ensure the operation of the Summer Food Service Program in accordance with
				program regulations and this rule. The rationale for hiring decisions must be
				documented and align with the position description for the position. Sponsors
				shall provide a description of qualifications for all Summer Food Service
				Program positions and their prospective salary ranges, as well as resumes of
				individuals employed by the organization who will be performing Summer Food
				Service Program duties, and a Summer Food Service Program staff training plan
				to demonstrate staff qualifications.
(A)
				Minimum hiring standards for program administrators and directors. Program
				administrators and/or directors hired on or after the effective date of this
				rule must have at least one year of relevant Child Nutrition Program or food
				service experience and must have completed at least eight hours of food safety
				training not more than five years prior to their hiring date as the program
				administrator or director. Program administrators and directors hired prior to
				the effective date of this rule will be carried over in their respective
				administrator or director position; however, an annual application must still
				be submitted by the organization to the department for review to determine the
				organization's operational tier. Relevant Child Nutrition Program experience
				refers to previous work experience in the National School Lunch Program and
				School Breakfast Program, as well as experience in other Child Nutrition
				Programs, including the Child and Adult Care Food Program or the Summer Food
				Service Program. Relevant food service experience refers to work in the food
				service industry, including, but not limited to, hospitals, healthcare
				facilities, nursing homes, restaurants, cafeterias, soup kitchens, and
				university dining services. Examples of skills employees would obtain in the
				food service industry include food handling and preparation, food ordering,
				nutrition education, financial management, and customer service.
(B) Staff-to-Children Ratio. The Summer Food
				Service Program staff-to-child ratio must be at least one staff person for
				every 25 children unless superseded by the minimum standards for the care of
				children in a licensed child care facility as established in Section
				402.305(4)(a),
				F.S.
(IV) Provides an
				ongoing service to the community as evidenced by payroll records or
				timesheets.
d. To
				demonstrate program accountability, the organization's management plan must
				provide evidence of how it meets the following criteria:
(I) Has oversight of the Summer Food Service
				Program by an independent governing board of directors that, at a minimum:
(A) Adopts and maintains a written conflict
				of interest policy that governs transactions between the Sponsor and another
				party in which a member of the Sponsor's board of directors, or an officer or
				trustee of the Sponsor has a direct or indirect financial interest. The policy
				shall include instruction regarding "conflict of interest transactions, " which
				includes, the sale, lease, or exchange of property to or from the Sponsor; the
				lending of funds to or borrowing of funds from the Sponsor; and the payment of
				compensation for services provided to or from the Sponsor;
(B) Maintains board meeting minutes that
				document decisions made by the board including those concerning conflict of
				interest transactions;
(C) Is
				responsible for policy setting, fiscal guidance, and ongoing governance of the
				organization;
(D) Reviews the
				organization's policies, programs, and budgets at a minimum on an annual
				basis;
(E) Approves decisions about
				compensation of employees and other parties providing services to the
				organization; and
(F) Possesses
				Summer Food Service Program knowledge and has operational
				oversight.
(II) Has a
				screening system in place to scrutinize any criminal convictions of board
				members which may disqualify them from performing Summer Food Service Program
				administrative functions; and
(III)
				Has a documented financial management system in accordance with FNS Instruction
				796-4 Form FNS-389 (9-88), which is hereby adopted and incorporated by
				reference and available online at
http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14853
,
				and by email request to the department at InfoFNW@fdacs.gov, with management
				controls specified in writing. At a minimum, the financial management system
				shall provide:
(A) Accounting records that are
				supported by source documents;
(B)
				Records showing the source and application of funds and contain information
				pertaining to Program funds and income (e.g., authorizations, obligations,
				unobligated balances, assets, liabilities, and outlays);
(C) Accurate, current, and complete
				disclosures of the financial transactions of the program;
(D) Identification of each Summer Food
				Service Program expense as either an operating or administrative cost,
				including a consistent and rational basis for the proration of costs which
				benefit both the operation and administration of the Summer Food Service
				Program, and an approved direct cost base (subject to review by the department
				and FNS) for costs which benefit both the Summer Food Service Program and other
				activities of the Sponsor, such as occupancy and telephone services.
(E) Effective control over, and
				accountability for, all funds, property, and other program assets to assure
				that they are safeguarded and used solely for authorized purposes;
(F) A system of safeguards and controls is in
				place to prevent and detect improper financial activities by
				employees;
(G) A comparison of
				actual outlays against budgeted amounts;
(H) Organization-wide audits to determine, at
				a minimum, the fiscal integrity of financial transactions and reports, and
				compliance with laws, regulations, and administrative requirements;
(I) A systematic method to assure timely and
				appropriate resolution of all audit findings and recommendations (including
				organization-wide);
(J) Maintenance
				of appropriate records to document compliance with Summer Food Service Program
				requirements, including budgets, accounting records, approved budget
				amendments, management plans and appropriate records on Summer Food Service
				Program site operations;
(K)
				Regular training of administrative staff and site personnel as prescribed in
				subsection 5P-3.002(1),
				F.A.C.;
(L) Monitoring in
				accordance with 7 C.F.R.
				§
															225.15(d)(2)-(3), as
				previously incorporated in this rule, to ensure that sites accountably and
				appropriately operate the Summer Food Service Program; and
(M) Documented practices that result in the
				operation of the Summer Food Service Program in accordance with the meal
				service, recordkeeping, and other operational requirements that demonstrate
				that sites will:
I. Provide meals that meet
				the meal patterns set forth in
				7 C.F.R. §
																225.16, previously incorporated in this
				rule;
II. Have a food service that
				complies with applicable State and local health and sanitation
				requirements;
III. Comply with
				civil rights requirements;
IV.
				Maintain complete and appropriate records on file; and
V. Claim reimbursement only for eligible
				meals.
4. Organizations are exempt from the
				requirements in subparagraph (1)(a)3. of this rule and will be approved to
				operate the Summer Food Service Program at Tier 3 unless the organization has
				been declared Seriously Deficient, as described in paragraph
				5P-1.004(1)(a),
				F.A.C., in the year prior to the current year, if the following criteria are
				met:
a. The organization is audited on a
				predetermined, continual cycle with the Florida Auditor General and is a
				current participant in good standing in the National School Lunch Program;
				or
b. The organization is a local,
				municipal, county, or state government organization.
5. All supporting materials provided with or
				related to an application must be submitted using the Management Plan structure
				in the Florida Automated Nutrition System.