CFR > Title 7 - Agriculture > SUBTITLE B—Regulations of the Department of Agriculture > CHAPTER II—FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (parts 210 to 296) > SUBCHAPTER B—GENERAL REGULATIONS AND POLICIES—FOOD DISTRIBUTION (parts 250 to 254) > PART 250—DONATION OF FOODS FOR USE IN THE UNITED STATES, ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND AREAS UNDER ITS JURISDICTION > SUBPART E—National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and Other Child Nutrition Programs (§250.56 to §250.62) > 250.60—Use of donated foods in the school food service.

250.60—Use of donated foods in the school food service.

(a) Use of donated foods in school lunches and other meals or activities. The school food authority should use donated foods, as far as practical, in the lunches served to schoolchildren, for which they receive an established per-meal value of donated food assistance each school year. However, the school food authority may also use donated foods in other nonprofit school food service activities. Revenues received from such activities must accrue to the school food authority's nonprofit school food service account. Some examples of other activities in which donated foods may be used include:
(1) School breakfasts or other meals served in child nutrition programs;
(2) A la carte foods sold to children;
(3) Meals served to adults directly involved in the operation and administration of the nonprofit food service, and to other school staff; and
(4) Training in nutrition, health, food service, or general home economics instruction for students.
(b) Use of donated foods outside of the nonprofit school food service. The school food authority should not use donated foods in meals or food service activities that do not benefit primarily schoolchildren, such as banquets or catered events. However, their use in such meals or activities may not always be avoided, e.g, for a school food authority utilizing single inventory management. In all cases, the school food authority must ensure reimbursement to the nonprofit school food service account for the value of donated foods used in such activities, in addition to reimbursement for other resources utilized from that account. Since school food authorities utilizing single inventory management cannot reimburse the nonprofit school food service account based on actual usage of donated foods outside of the nonprofit school food service, they must establish an alternate method—e.g., by including the current per-meal value of donated food reimbursement in the price charged for the food service activities.
(c) Use of donated foods in a contract with a food service management company. A school food authority may use donated foods in a contract with a food service management company to conduct the food service. The contract must meet the requirements in subpart D of this part with respect to donated foods, and must also meet requirements in 7 CFR part 210 and 7 CFR parts 3016 or 3019, as applicable, with respect to the procurement of such contracts. The school food authority must also ensure that a food service management company providing meals for banquets or catered events, or other food service activities that do not benefit primarily schoolchildren, ensure reimbursement to the nonprofit school food service account for donated foods used in such activities, in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section.
(d) Use of donated foods in providing a meal service to other school food authorities. A school food authority may use donated foods to provide a meal service to other school food authorities, under an agreement between the parties. A school food authority providing such a service may commingle its own donated foods and the donated foods of other school food authorities that are parties to the agreement.