State Administrative Expenses for Child Nutrition

The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) funds administrative expenses for State agencies administering child nutrition programs under CFDA 10.560, with the most recent awards made October 1, 2025. This is a highly active, statutorily prescribed formula program: awards have grown from 84 per year in 2021 to 176 in 2025, with 3,686 total awards on record and $6.53 billion in combined federal obligations. All awards are Formula Grants distributed annually to State agencies responsible for administering the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program, as well as agencies in U.S. Territories responsible for USDA Food distribution. Funding is provided through annual written agreements between each State agency and FNS contingent on approval of the State's administrative expense (SAE) plan. States may carryover up to twenty percent of allocated SAE funds for obligation in the succeeding fiscal year.

The program funds State administrative expenses for supervising and providing technical assistance to local schools, school districts, and institutions conducting child nutrition programs. Award amounts vary substantially by state and program component: recent awards ranged from under $5,000 (Hawaii, Arkansas, Idaho, West Virginia examples) to over $35 million (California meal reimbursement). State allocations are calculated by statute as a percentage of funds expended in the prior fiscal year—one percent for National School Lunch, School Breakfast, and Special Milk programs, and a tiered percentage (twenty percent of the first $50,000, declining to 2.5 percent on amounts over $400,000) for the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Recent awards span meal reimbursement administration, administrative expense support for child nutrition programs, commodity distribution oversight, and non-appropriated fund management. All State agencies must maintain annual single audits and detailed accounting records of SAE fund authorizations, obligations, balances, assets, and outlays.

No recent grant opportunities block is present in the source, indicating this is a closed solicitation cycle. The program operates on an October 1 fiscal-year schedule with annual award cycles, and all eligible State agencies receive allocations calculated under the statutory formula rather than through competitive solicitation. Pursuit is relevant only for entities serving as primary State administrators of child nutrition programs or USDA Food distribution, which face no application burden—eligibility and funding amounts are determined by formula and program expenditure history.