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Agriculture and Food

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Open Recommendations

Nutrition Assistance: USDA Should Comprehensively Assess Benefit Theft Prevention Measures States Are Implementing
GAO-25-107964
Sep 25, 2025
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should continually ensure that FNS comprehensively assesses the extent to which state SNAP agencies are implementing benefit theft prevention measures, including those it recommended, and use that assessment to consider how it can identify areas for improvement or additional assistance. Such an assessment could be carried out through existing mechanisms, such as through continued coordination with EBT processors or FNS's management evaluations that review states' EBT systems. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Dairy Farmers: USDA Should Assess the Effectiveness of Its Communications Regarding Key Program Benefits
GAO-25-106595
Jul 31, 2025
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should direct FSA to assess the effectiveness of its methods for communicating with dairy farmers about the DMC program. This effort should include developing performance metrics, such as changes in participation rates by veteran and beginning farmers, that could be used to measure progress toward agency objectives. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Child Nutrition Programs: USDA Could Enhance Its Management and Oversight of State Administrative Expense Funds
GAO-25-106977
May 29, 2025
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Food and Nutrition Service to identify changes that would help improve SAE allocations and processes and determine how it could implement those changes, including by pursuing any regulatory changes or requesting any necessary statutory authority. (Recommendation 1)
Open
USDA agreed with this recommendation, noting that it aligns with the agency's guiding principles and priorities of executing programs with integrity and accountability. USDA stated that efforts are already underway to address it, including reviewing and taking actions consistent with the 2020 study the agency commissioned to assess the SAE funding formula and present a series of options to potentially improve SAE allocations and procedures. We await further progress on this recommendation.
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Food and Nutrition Service to identify specific steps it can take to help ensure the agency has current information on states' planned budgets and activities for using SAE funds, such as better communicating expectations for submission of SAE plans or working with Congress to consider whether the frequency with which these are submitted needs to be revised. (Recommendation 2)
Open
USDA agreed with this recommendation, noting that it aligns with the agency's guiding principles and priorities of executing programs with integrity and accountability. USDA plans to provide more detailed responses on its actions within 180 days. We await further information and progress on this recommendation.
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure the Food and Nutrition Service establishes timeliness goals or other targets to ensure states take corrective action on SAE compliance review findings in a timely manner. (Recommendation 3)
Open
USDA agreed with this recommendation, noting that it aligns with the agency's guiding principles and priorities of executing programs with integrity and accountability. USDA plans to provide more detailed responses on its actions within 180 days. We await further information and progress on this recommendation.
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure the Food and Nutrition Service updates its SAE guidance to reflect current SAE grant requirements and is useful to state agency personnel responsible for compliance. (Recommendation 4)
Open
USDA agreed with this recommendation, noting that it aligns with the agency's guiding principles and priorities of executing programs with integrity and accountability. USDA plans to provide more detailed responses on its actions within 180 days. We await further information and progress on this recommendation.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Federal Actions Needed to Help Connect College Students with Benefits
GAO-25-106000
Apr 10, 2025
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5 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should develop a written plan for implementing provisions in the FAFSA Simplification Act related to sharing FAFSA data with SNAP administrators, to aid in benefit outreach and enrollment assistance. (Recommendation 1)
Open
The Department of Education did not comment on this recommendation. We will monitor the agency's efforts to address it.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should, in consultation with USDA, evaluate its approach to identifying and notifying FAFSA applicants who are potentially eligible for SNAP benefits and adjust its approach as needed. (Recommendation 2)
Open
The Department of Education did not comment on this recommendation. We will monitor the agency's efforts to address it.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should inform colleges and state higher education agencies that FAFSA notifications are being sent to applicants who are potentially eligible for SNAP benefits. (Recommendation 3)
Open
The Department of Education did not comment on this recommendation. We will monitor the agency's efforts to address it.
Department of Agriculture The Administrator of USDA's Food and Nutrition Service should, in consultation with Education, issue guidance to state SNAP agencies—such as in its SNAP outreach priority memo—to clarify permissible uses of student data, including FAFSA data, for SNAP outreach and enrollment assistance. (Recommendation 4)
Open
USDA did not comment on this recommendation. We will monitor the agency's efforts to address it.
Department of Agriculture The Administrator of USDA's Food and Nutrition Service should issue guidance to state SNAP agencies—such as in its SNAP outreach priority memo—to clarify the permissible uses and disclosure of SNAP data to support SNAP student outreach and enrollment assistance. (Recommendation 5)
Open
USDA did not comment on this recommendation. We will monitor the agency's efforts to address it.
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