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On March 22, 2024, the Oregon Department of Education Child Nutrition Programs (ODE CNP) received waiver approval from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to extend the Offer-Versus-Serve (OVS) meal service option to non-school food authority (SFA) sponsors on a case-by-case basis.
Under NSLA, 42 U.S.C. 1761(f)(7) and Program regulations at 7 CFR 225.16(f)(1)(ii), the use of OVS in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is limited to SFAs. The requirement that OVS is limited to SFAs only has been waived by USDA FNS for approved SFSP sites between May 1, 2024 and September 30, 2024.
Sponsors opting into the OVS meal service option must be in good standing and be approved by ODE CNP for OVS at the site level prior to implementation. Please note that this waiver only allows non-SFA sponsors to utilize OVS at sites operating congregate meal service. Non-SFA sponsors may not use this waiver for non-congregate meal service. All other requirements referenced in these provisions remain in effect.
Non-SFA sponsors must follow the SFSP OVS meal service parameters as listed below:
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Breakfast:
- The following four food items must be offered:
- One serving of fruit/vegetable,
- One serving of bread/bread alternate,
- One serving of fluid milk, and
- One additional serving of fruit/vegetable, bread/bread alternate, or a serving of a meat/meat alternate.
- All the food items offered must be different from each other.
- A child must take at least three of any of the four food items offered and may choose to take all four items.
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Lunch or Supper:
- The following four food components must be offered through at least five different food items:
- One serving of meat/meat alternate,
- Two servings of fruit and/or vegetables (two different food items),
- One serving of bread/bread alternate, and
- One serving of fluid milk.
- All the food items offered must be different from each other.
- A child must take at least three food components and may choose to take all five items.
- Lunch or supper OVS requirements differ from breakfast in that a child must take at least three food components, rather than items, listed above from the five food items offered. Three food components are required for an adequate nutritious meal for children.
- Offering two servings of the same food item is not permissible under OVS in SFSP. All food items offered must be different from each other.
- For example, a breakfast menu that includes a serving of milk, a serving of fruit, and two servings of toast is not a reimbursable meal under OVS in SFSP because the toast is two of the same food item. Similarly, if the breakfast menu included two different kinds of cereal rather than toast, it would still not be a reimbursable meal because the cereals, although not identical, are the same food item. Additionally, a larger food item that is worth two servings in weight, such as a two-ounce muffin, counts as only one food item under OVS in SFSP, not two.
- Servings of all food items must adhere to the serving sizes in the SFSP meal patterns at 7 CFR 225.16(d).
Offering OVS is not intended to be a way to circumvent the meal pattern. Sponsors that elect to utilize OVS must have systems in place to ensure that there are enough meal components ordered and offered to ensure that all participants may select a reimbursable meal from all meal components. Sponsors must maintain all food and milk purchase documentation as these may be requested during an administrative review.
OVS signage is required at all sites electing to utilize OVS. In situations where the participant/ family pre-orders meals, they must have the ability to change their mind at the point of service to receive any items that were previously not requested.
If you have questions about OVS and summer operations, please reach out to your assigned Child Nutrition Specialist.
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