Arizona Department of Education continues to send questions regularly to USDA in an effort to clarify programmatic guidance related to COVID-19 not yet released in formal memorandums. ADE has received clarification that bus routes are an approved type of distribution model under the waivers for non-congregate feeding and meal times.

Please review the Q&A below for additional guidance on bus routes:

Q1: Can schools deliver meals through established bus routes and have students or parents pick up meals at designated bus stops?

A1: Schools may choose to deliver meals by way of bus routes at bus stops. SFAs will need to ensure that the Point of Service (POS) system at the bus stop has the capability to track meals provided to students based on eligibility, as well as the school they are enrolled in, for the purposes of accurately submitting claims. Parents may only pick up meals if the SFA has opted into the Parent Pick Up Waiver, see HNS #33-2020.
Q2: How should schools reflect bus stops as meal service pick-up points in CNPWeb?

A2: SFAs will not create a new site in CNPWeb for each bus stop/pickup location. Instead, SFAs will need to describe the Method of Meal Counting and Point of Service (POS) description for the bus stop in Section 6 of the Sponsor Application in CNPWeb.
Q3: If a school chooses to deliver meals through bus routes, do they need to submit a distribution plan to ADE?

A3: If schools are not going to be providing multiple days worth of meals to the same household, they do not need to submit a distribution plan. However, if multiple days worth of meals to the same household will be provided at a bus stop, a distribution plan will be required.
Q4: How do schools claim meals that were counted at a bus stop?

A4: Meals will be claimed under the school the student is enrolled in. Therefore, SFAs will need to ensure that the POS system at each bus stop has the capability to track meals provided to students based on eligibility, as well as the school they are enrolled in for the accuracy of submitted claims.
The COVID-19 Resource Page is updated daily as new information comes in. The allowability of bus routes has been added to the Summary tab of the COVID-19 Resource Page. ADE recommends that you frequently review the webpage to answer your operation questions.
Stay tuned for more details and communication from ADE!
Arizona Dept of Education | School Nutrition Programs | ADESchoolNutrition@azed.gov