§ 225.14 - Requirements for sponsor participation.

§ 225.14 Requirements for sponsor participation.

(a) Applications. Sponsors must make written application to the State agency to participate in the Program which must include all content required under § 225.6(c). Such application must be made on a timely basis in accordance with the requirements of § 225.6(b)(1). Sponsors proposing to operate a site during an unanticipated school closure may be exempt, at the discretion of the State agency, from submitting a new application if they have participated in the program at any time during the current year or in either of the prior 2 calendar years.

(b) Sponsor eligibility. Applicants eligible to sponsor the Program include:

(1) Public or nonprofit private school food authorities;

(2) Public or nonprofit private residential summer camps;

(3) Units of local, municipal, county, or State governments;

(4) Public or private nonprofit colleges or universities which are currently participating in the National Youth Sports Program; and

(5) Private nonprofit organizations as defined in § 225.2, as determined annually.

(c) General requirements. No applicant sponsor shall be eligible to participate in the Program unless it:

(1) Demonstrates financial and administrative capability for Program operations and accepts final financial and administrative responsibility for total Program operations at all sites at which it proposes to conduct a food service in accordance with the performance standards described under § 225.6(d) of this part.

(i) In general, an applicant sponsor which is a school food authority in good standing in the National School Lunch Program or an institution in good standing in the Child and Adult Care Food Program applying to operate the Program at the same sites where they provide meals through the aforementioned Programs, is not required to submit a management plan as described under § 225.6(e) or further demonstrate financial and administrative capability for Program operations.

(ii) If the State agency has reason to believe that financial or administrative capability would pose significant challenges for an applicant sponsor which is a school food authority in the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program, as applicable, or an institution in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the State agency may request a Management plan or additional evidence of financial and administrative capability sufficient to ensure that the school food authority or institution has the ability and resources to operate the Program.

(iii) If the State agency approving the application for the Program is not responsible for the administration of the National School Lunch Program or the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the State agency must develop a process for sharing information with the agency responsible for approving these programs in order to receive documentation of the applicant sponsor's financial and administrative capability.

(2) Has not been seriously deficient in operating the Program;

(3) Will conduct a regularly scheduled food service for children from areas in which poor economic conditions exist, or qualifies as a camp or a conditional non-congregate site;

(4) Has adequate supervisory and operational personnel for overall monitoring and management of each site, including a site supervisor, and adequate personnel to conduct the visits and reviews required in § 225.15(d)(2) and (3), as demonstrated in the management plan submitted with the program application described under § 225.6(e);

(5) Provides an ongoing year-round service to the community which it proposes to serve under the Program, except as provided for in § 225.6(b)(4);

(6) Certifies that all sites have been visited and have the capability and the facilities to provide the meal service planned for the number of children anticipated to be served; and

(7) Enters into a written agreement with the State agency upon approval of its application, as required in § 225.6(i).

(d) Requirements specific to sponsor types.

(1) If the sponsor is a camp, it must certify that it will collect information on participants' eligibility to support its claim for reimbursement.

(2) If the sponsor administers the Program at sites that provide summer school sessions, it must ensure that these sites are open to children enrolled in summer school and to all children residing in the area served by the site.

(3) Sponsors which are units of local, municipal, county, or State government, and sponsors which are private nonprofit organizations, will only be approved to administer the Program at sites where they have administrative oversight. Administrative oversight means that the sponsor shall be responsible for:

(i) Maintaining contact with meal service staff, ensuring that there is adequately trained meal service staff on site, monitoring the meal service throughout the period of Program participation, and terminating meal service at a site if staff fail to comply with Program regulations; and

(ii) Exercising management control over Program operations at sites throughout the period of Program participation by performing the functions specified in § 225.15.

(4) If the sponsor administers homeless feeding sites, it must:

(i) Document that the site is not a residential child-care institution as defined in paragraph (c) of the definition of 'School' contained in § 210.2 of this chapter;

(ii) Document that the primary purpose of the homeless feeding site is to provide shelter and meals to homeless families; and

(iii) Certify that these sites employ meal counting methods to ensure that reimbursement is claimed only for meals served to homeless and non-homeless children.

(5) If the sponsor administers

NYSP sites, it must ensure that all children at these sites are enrolled participants in the NYSP.

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5) If the sponsor is a private nonprofit organization, it must certify that it:

(i) Exercises full control and authority over the operation of the Program at all sites under the sponsorship of the organization;

(ii) Provides ongoing year-round activities for children or families;

(iii) Demonstrates that the organization has adequate management and the fiscal capacity to operate the Program;

(iv) Is an organization described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under 501(a) of that Code; and

(v) Meets applicable State and local health, safety, and sanitation standards.

(6) If the sponsor operates a non-congregate meal service that will deliver meals directly to a child's residence, it must obtain written parental consent prior to providing meals to children in that household.

(7) If the sponsor operates a conditional non-congregate site, it must certify that it will collect information to determine children's Program eligibility to support its claim for reimbursement.

(8) If the sponsor is not a school food authority, it must enter into a written agreement or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the State agency or school food authority if it chooses to receive school data for the purposes of identifying eligible children and determining children's Program eligibility, as required under § 225.15(k).

[54 FR 18208, Apr. 27, 1989, as amended at 55 FR 13469, Apr. 10, 1990; 64 FR 72486, Dec. 28, 1999; 64 FR 72898, Dec. 29, 1999; 65 FR 50128, Aug. 17, 2000; 78 FR 13450, Feb. 28, 2013; 83 FR 25360, June 1, 2018; 87 FR 57364, Sept. 19, 2022; 88 FR 90353, Dec. 29, 2023]