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Rural Non-congregate Meals Listening Session


On December 29, 2023, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the Interim Final Rule: Establishing the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Program and Rural Non-Congregate Option in the Summer Meal Programs External link opens in new window or tab., which codified the permanent rural non-congregate summer meal service for both the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the Seamless Summer Option (SSO).

Non-congregate Meal Service Option in Rural Areas Listening Session

The California Department of Education (CDE) will host a Listening Session on Tuesday, April 30 from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm. During this session, we will review the rural non-congregate meal service option for summer meal programs and share resources for program operators to include with their application to operate a non-congregate meal service.

All summer meal program operators who are interested in the non-congregate meal service option in rural areas are encouraged to attend.

Registration and Cost

This listening session is free to attend. Register in advance here External link opens in new window or tab..

After registering, you will see a screen that says Webinar Registration Approved with a link to the webinar. You will also receive several emails with information about joining the webinar. First, you will receive confirmation the day you register and then you will receive two reminder emails: one day and one hour prior to the webinar. If you cannot find the email confirmation, or do not receive the reminders, you can always reregister.

Tip for Attendees

To save time before the meeting, check your system to make sure it is ready to use Zoom.

If you receive an error message that the host has declined your webinar registration, try using an alternate email address. While not ideal, you may also join by phone if you have technical issues logging in from your computer.

Reasonable Accommodation

Pursuant to state and federal statutes, individuals with a disability may request reasonable accommodation to attend or participate in the Non-congregate Meal Service Option in Rural Areas Listening Session. Send direct requests for reasonable accommodations to the CDE by email to SFSP@cde.ca.gov.

Please note that live captioning will be available during the webinar.

Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact the Summer Nutrition Program and Grants Unit at SFSP@cde.ca.gov.

Questions:   Nutrition Services Division | 800-952-5609
Last Reviewed: Thursday, April 11, 2024
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