Eligibility for Upward Bound Sites

This Management Bulletin provides the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) questions and answers for sponsors of Upward Bound sites and replaces all other Upward Bound eligibility information you may have previously received.

Q1: Can sites that exclusively serve Upward Bound participants automatically qualify as closed-enrolled sites in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)?

A: Yes. The Upward Bound program requires that two-thirds of the participants in a particular program are both low-income and potential first-generation college students; the remaining one-third must be low-income or potential first-generation college students. Since the percentage of income-eligible Upward Bound participants at any site exceeds the SFSP closed-enrolled site requirement of 50 percent, Upward Bound sites automatically qualify as closed-enrolled sites.

Q2: Can sites that serve both Upward Bound and non-Upward Bound participants automatically qualify as closed-enrolled sites in SFSP?

A: No. As mentioned above, only those sites that are exclusively Upward Bound Programs are automatically eligible for the SFSP as a closed-enrolled site.

Q3: Can Upward Bound camps automatically claim reimbursement for meals served to all children?

A: No. However, sponsors of Upward Bound camps may use an Upward Bound application in lieu of an SFSP meal application. Sponsors may claim meals served to children who are eligible for Upward Bound based on income. Sponsors may not claim meals for children who are determined eligible for Upward Bound based solely on being a probable first-generation college student.

Q4: During a review of the Upward Bound camp, does the Nutrition Services Division (NSD) need to examine each child's Upward Bound application in the same way they examine an SFSP meal application?

A: Yes. There is no change in the NSD’s method of examining meal applications. Each child's Upward Bound application must be reviewed in the same way SFSP applications are reviewed to verify that the meal application was appropriately approved or denied.

Q5: At Upward Bound sites, does the NSD or USDA have the legal authority to examine Upward Bound enrollment applications? (This is a concern about privacy issues.)

A: Yes. If an Upward Bound program refuses to allow NSD or USDA reviewers to examine the enrollment applications, then the Upward Bound program must use the SFSP meal applications.

Q6: Unlike the SFSP, Upward Bound programs are not required to collect annual income eligibility information from households. If a child’s income eligibility was received prior to the current year, is the child still eligible for the SFSP?

A: Yes. This year, the original Upward Bound enrollment application will be treated as being current, even if the application was received several years ago. The USDA National Office will reevaluate this position before deciding to extend this interpretation in future years. [The preceding information is no longer valid.] The original Upward Bound enrollment application will be treated as being current, even if the application was received when first enrolled.

Q7: What is the number of meals that closed-enrolled and camps sites may claim for reimbursement?

A: Closed-enrolled sites may claim up to two meals per child each day, and camps may claim up to three meals per child each day.