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Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)
October - 2022
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Alaska Department of Education and Early Development
Division of Finance and Support Services
Child Nutrition Programs
P.O. Box 110500
Juneau, AK 99811 |
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USDA Policy, Information, and Implementation Memos |
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Sponsoring organizations and institutions are required by regulation to keep Bulletins, Instructions, and USDA Policy Memorandums for reference and to apply them immediately to the appropriate agency programs. Call Child Nutrition Programs if you need further clarification.
To view the USDA SFSP policy memos, visit: DEED Child Nutrition Programs website or the USDA Policy Memorandum webpage by clicking on the links provided.
Streamlining Program Requirements and Improving Integrity in the SFSP
USDA has recently provided updates for regulatory changes and guidelines for the Summer Food Service Program and other child nutrition programs. There is a planned webinar for program operators regarding these regulation changes, however, the date for the webinar has yet to be announced. Please stay tuned for more information about this important event.
Summary:
This rule-making amends the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) regulations to strengthen program integrity by clarifying, simplifying, and streamlining program administration to facilitate compliance with program requirements. Through this final rule, USDA is codifying changes to the regulations that will streamline requirements among child nutrition programs, simplify the application process, enhance monitoring requirements, offer more clarity on existing requirements, and provide more discretion at the state agency level to manage program operations.
Waivers:
All USDA Waivers for the SFSP can be found here.
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Alaska Food Security and Independence Task Force
On February 9, 2022 Governor Mike Dunleavy issued Administrative Order 331 establishing the Alaska Food Security and Independence Task Force. Alaska currently imports 95 percent of its food supplies at a cost of $2 billion per year. The global pandemic triggered supply chain disruptions on the West Coast of the United States that continue to impact the regular delivery of food and other essential goods to Alaska. The 18 member task force will be responsible for recommendations on how to increase all types of food production and harvesting in Alaska, and to identify any statutory or regulatory barriers preventing our state from achieving greater food security.
The task force will have ten main duties and responsibilities:
- Provide recommendations that increase the procurement and use of Alaska-sourced foods within State and local agencies, institutions, and schools, including any administrative and statutory changes that are required.
- Identify barriers that farmers, stock growers, fishermen, mariculture professionals, and others engaged in the growing, harvesting, or raising of food, face when starting a business or getting their products in to the Alaska market. Provide recommendations on how the State can address those obstacles, including through administrative or statutory changes.
- Assess the levels of wild game and fish harvests in Alaska. Suggest measures that would increase the abundance and harvest of wild game, fish, and food by Alaskans.
- Recommend a program to assist communities and households impacted by fishery shortfalls and disasters.
- Identify factors, including regulatory or statutory burdens, that might discourage or prevent locally harvested and produced food from being purchased by federal, state, and local agencies, institutions, and schools.
- Identify research needed to support and encourage increased consumption and production of Alaska-sourced food within the state.
- Engage with the public to seek additional input on ways to promote the above listed goals.
- Assess the need for disaster food caches within the State; and how the caches can be developed utilizing Alaskan-sourced foods.
- Provide a report and summary of findings and recommendations, including what administrative and statutory changes would be needed to accomplish the recommendations of the Task Force.
- The Chair of the Task Force shall report regularly to the Office of the Governor on activities conducted and issues that arise under this Order.
The task force will be made up of Alaskans representing a cross section of the state’s farming, mariculture and seafood industries, state commissioners (Natural Resources, Fish and Game, Environmental Conservation, Military and Veterans Affairs) or their designee will serve on the board and ex-officio members from the Alaska House of Representatives and the Alaska State Senate are to be appointed by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House.
Alaska Office of Food Security
On September 16, 2022, to protect the health and well being of Alaskans, Governor Mike Dunleavy signed Administrative Order 338, creating the Office of Food Security. Alaska currently imports 95 percent of its food supplies at a cost of $2 billion per year. As an isolated state with limited infrastructure and tremendous dependency on imports, the State of Alaska has a duty to improve the local production, harvest, and growth of foods and increase access to a sufficient supply of nutritious and safe food, and A.O. 338 helps to fulfill this duty.
The Office of Food Security will operate within the Office of the Governor and has a number of duties and responsibilities, including coordinating the state’s efforts related to food security and serving as the first point of contact with agriculture, mariculture, food processing, and other related industries. Additionally, the Office of Food Security will be responsible for creating marketing materials and presentations that describe the state’s food security efforts and opportunities.
The Office of Food Security has three stated objectives:
1. Identify resources and set policies to build a strong, sustainable, and healthy food system in the state to ensure food security for all Alaskans;
2. Enhance access to, availability, affordability, and quality of food for all Alaskans; and
3. Identify or expand economic opportunities for the state in food production, food processing, and food distribution businesses.
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World Food Day!
Although we have made progress towards building a better world, too many people have been left behind. People who are unable to benefit from human development, innovation, or economic growth.
In fact, millions of people around the world cannot afford a healthy diet, putting them at high risk of food insecurity and malnutrition. But ending hunger isn’t only about supply. Enough food is produced today to feed everyone on the planet.
The problem is access and availability of nutritious food, which is increasingly impeded by multiple challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict, climate change, inequality, rising prices and international tensions. People around the world are suffering the domino effects of challenges that know no borders.
Worldwide, more than 80 percent of the extreme poor live in rural areas and many rely on agriculture and natural resources for their living. They are usually the hardest hit by natural and man-made disasters and often marginalized due to their gender, ethnic origin, or status. It is a struggle for them to gain access to training, finance, innovation, and technologies.
Let's all do our part to celebrate World Food Day on October 16, 2022 by doing what we can to come closer to ending world hunger and food insecurity.
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White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health
The September 28, 2022, White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health was an inspiring and unifying day, bringing together a wide range of partners from across the nation with one common mission of ending hunger by 2030 and laying out a strategy to achieve it. Having a comprehensive national strategy and deadline backed by the White House and Cabinet departments provides the structure and accountability necessary to bring diverse stakeholders to the table.
The Five Pillars of the White House National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health are:
Pillar 1—Improve Food Access and Affordability: End hunger by making it easier for everyone—including individuals in urban, suburban, rural, and Tribal communities, and territories—to access and afford food.
Pillar 2—Integrate Nutrition and Health: Prioritize the role of nutrition and food security in overall health—including disease prevention and management—and ensure that our health care system addresses the nutrition needs of all people.
Pillar 3—Empower All Consumers to Make and Have Access to Healthy Choices: Foster environments that enable all people to easily make informed, healthy choices, increase access to healthy food, encourage healthy workplace and school policies, and invest in public education campaigns that are culturally appropriate and resonate with specific communities.
Pillar 4—Support Physical Activity for All: Make it easier for people to be more physically active—in part by ensuring that everyone has access to safe places to be active—increase awareness of the benefits of physical activity and conduct research on and measure physical activity.
Pillar 5—Enhance Nutrition and Food Security Research: Improve nutrition metrics, data collection, and research to inform nutrition and food security policy, particularly on issues of equity, access, and disparities.
The Road Ahead:
- Presenters announced several organizational commitments in support of the Conference.
- Nutrition programs run by schools and community partners are essential to ending childhood hunger. Share Our Strength is proud to join the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health with our commitment to providing $500 million in support to strengthen programs that feed children. We will have a particular focus on under-served communities and communities of color, ensuring all children have the three meals they need to thrive, 365 days of the year.
- By 2030, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the anti-hunger nonprofit, Share Our Strength, commit to offering training to all 67,000 AAP member pediatricians on both screening for nutrition insecurity and referring patients to federal and community nutrition resources. AAP will also evaluate its training by tracking its members’ comfort discussing food insecurity, members’ nutrition insecurity screening rates, and the outcomes of pediatrician referrals.
- Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) will provide 600 million meals to children who are food-insecure between now and September 2023 through its “Turn Up! Fight Hunger” initiative, a partnership with No Kid Hungry. Food Network (a WBD brand) will also continue to highlight healthy programming and recipes on its channels. Warner Bros. Television Group will educate its creative leaders on food insecurity – encouraging story-lines that center hunger, nutrition, and health topics.
If you weren’t able to join on Wednesday, the videos of the event can be found on the White House YouTube page, including President Biden’s speech where he agrees that no child should go to bed hungry because hunger is a solvable problem. While the conference was an important and inspirational start, it is now on all of us to think about how to maximize this opportunity and look forward to partnering with all stakeholders to move forward together.
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Summer Food Program Resources
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Food Buying Guide There is a new feature available on the FBG Interactive Web-based Tool. Under the Food Item Details Page users can select the desired Serving Size per Meal Contribution for fruits and vegetables using a drop-down menu to auto-calculate the amount to purchase based on the serving size. You can download the Food Buying Guide. |
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Listserv- Did You Know? Alaska Child Nutrition Programs has a listserv. The purpose of the listserv is to provide information and updates on the USDA Child Nutrition Programs, including the National School Lunch Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program.
To receive all of the hottest news and updates from Alaska Child Nutrition Programs, Subscribe to ak_child_nutrition_programs by filling out the form found here:
Alaska Child Nutrition Programs ListServ.
You will receive a confirmation link via email which you should click to complete your subscription.
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Contact Us
- Program Coordinator (USDA Foods, TEFAP, FFVP)
- Program Coordinator (NSLP)
- Program Coordinator (CACFP)
- Program Specialist (SFSP)
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- Program Specialist (School Wellness)
- Education Program Associate II (Special Milk Program)
- Education Program Assistant (USDA Foods, TEFAP)
- Education Program Assistant (CACFP & SFSP)
- Pandemic EBT Specialist
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