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National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
March & April 2023
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USDA POLICIES & MEMOS
Sponsoring organizations and institutions are required by regulation to keep Bulletins, Instructions, and USDA Policy Memorandums for reference and to apply immediately the appropriate instruction to agency programs. Call Child Nutrition Programs if you need further clarification.
NSLP & School Breakfast Program (SBP) Updates:
For all Policy and Memos from USDA go here .
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Food Nutrition Services Response to COVID-19 web page (including Extension memos).
Food Distribution Program (FDP)
Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)
Summer Options
NEW - Implementation Guidance: Summer 2023 Non-Congregate Meal Service in Rural Areas | Food and Nutrition Service (usda.gov)
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Updates & Reminders:
- April 12th - NSLP Round Table Discussion 2:00pm
- April 14th - Revised Permanent Agreements are due.
- April 14th - Paid Meal Equity Notifications due for Non-Pricing Schools
- April 26th - NSLP Round Table Discussion 2:00pm
- April 30th - Paid Meal Equity Notifications due for Pricing Schools
- May 30th - Food Safety Inspection Summary due
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NEW - PERMANENT FUND DIVIDEND (PFD) – The Energy Relief Payment included in the 2022 Alaska PFD should not be considered as income when determining eligibility for free and reduced-price meal benefits. This guidance will make free and reduced-price meals available to a great number of Alaska’s schoolchildren and families.
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PRIMERO EDGE – Check your potential matches list.
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CLAIMS - Submit claim data online through the CNP Web Database. Please submit the claim within the 30-Day Claim Submission Date:
- December Claim Month - Due 01/30 / No later than 03/01
- January Claim Month - Due 03/02 / No later than 04/01
- February Claim Month - Due 03/30 / No later than 04/29
The final claim will not be accepted if it is not in the Pending Approval status by the 60-Day Claim Deadline (see below). Upward amended claims may be submitted throughout the 60-day period but no later than the 60-Day Deadline. Be aware that claims in Error status cannot be paid and if help is needed from Child Nutrition the agency must contact Child Nutrition well in advance of the 60-Day Deadline.
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AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM (ACP) - Help spread the word about a new program to lower costs for families and close the digital divide. As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the President and Congress created the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides eligible households up to $30/month (or $75/month for households living on Tribal lands) toward their internet bills, as well as a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet.
- All households with a child who is approved to receive free or reduced-price school meals under the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program, within the last 12 months, including children who attend schools participating in the Community Eligibility Provision, are eligible for ACP benefits. Households are also independently eligible if (1) their income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level ($55,500 for a family of four); or (2) a member of the household participates in certain other Federal benefit programs—including, among others, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Medicaid, and Federal Public Housing Assistance.
- To further lower costs, the Biden-Harris Administration secured commitments from internet service providers across the country to offer high-speed plans that are fully covered by the ACP. As a result, millions of working families can now get high-speed internet without paying a dime. White House Fact Sheet on the ACP and its benefits.
- Families can check their eligibility, sign up, and find fully covered plans at GetInternet.gov (mobile-accessible and available in Spanish) or by calling 877-384-2575.
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LISTSERV – Sign Up! 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.http://list.state.ak.us/mailman/listinfo/ak_child_nutrition_programs and fill 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. To receive all of the hottest news and updates from Alaska Child Nutrition Programs, Subscribe to:
http://list.state.ak.us/mailman/listinfo/ak_child_nutrition_programs and fill 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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NEW - USDA 2023 PROPOSED RULES:
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Proposed Rule: Revision to Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020 Dietary Guideline for Americans
USDA is proposing a gradual multi-year approach to implementing revised nutrition standards. The proposed rule indicates that USDA expects to issue a final rule in time for schools to plan for school year (SY) 2024-2025. However, the proposed rule would not require changes from current meal patterns to take effect in SY 2024-2025. As proposed, new requirements to the school meal patterns would not begin until SY 2025-2026, at the earliest.
Additional information about the Proposed Updates to the School Nutrition Standards, including webinar recordings, comparison charts, and timelines can be found at: https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/proposed-updates-school-nutrition-standards
The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has extended the deadline to submit comments on the “Child Nutrition Programs: Revision to Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020 Dietary Guideline for Americans” proposed rule to May 10, 2023. This extension is intended to give the public additional time to review the proposed rule and submit comments.
USDA encourages public comments on the proposed implementation timelines, in addition to the proposed changes to the regulatory text. To review the proposed rule and provide comments, go to: https://www.regulations.gov/document/FNS-2022-0043-0001
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Proposed Rule: Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) - Increasing Options for Schools.
CEP allows schools to offer breakfast and lunch each school day at no cost to all students. CEP also eliminates unpaid meal charges, minimizes stigma, reduces paperwork for school nutrition staff and families, and streamlines meal service operations. The proposed rule is open for public comment until May 8, 2023. More information about the proposed rule can be found here: Child Nutrition Programs: Community Eligibility Provision - Increasing Options for Schools | Food and Nutrition Service (usda.gov). The proposed rule will allow for more schools to be eligible for CEP by:
- Lowering the minimum ISP eligibility threshold from 40% or higher to 25% or higher, and
- Changing the Grace year and 5th year eligibility to become less than 25% but equal to or greater than 15% in year 4 of the CEP cycle.
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NEW - Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)
Effective immediately, sponsors are no longer required to have a current SAM.gov registration to participate and receive payment for child nutrition, TEFAP, or other USDA reimbursements made through the state. All sponsors must have a UEI number, but do not need to renew and maintain an active SAM.gov registration. All currently active sponsors meet this requirement, so no action is required on your part.
New sponsors and sponsors that have not been active yet in FY2023 must obtain a UEI number if they do not already have one and provide proof of registration, such as a screenshot of the registration page displaying your name and UEI number.
This change is only applicable for reimbursements made through the state for child nutrition/FNS programs. If you receive Federal funds directly, you must have an active SAM.gov registration. If you participate in other Federal grants, you should check with the grantor to ensure you comply with their requirements.
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Grant Opportunities:
Healthy Meals Incentives Grants for Small and/or Rural School Food Authorities (SFA)
GRANT APPLICATION OPENING SOON! As part of a cooperative agreement to develop and implement the USDA Food and Nutrition Service's Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, Action for Healthy Kids is offering competitive grants (up to $150,000 per SFA) for small and/or rural school food authorities to support efforts to improve the nutritional quality of their school meals. The online grant application portal will open on April 10, 2023. The deadline for submitting a grant application is 5:00pm EST on May 26, 2023.
Is your SFA eligible to apply? See the Grant Eligibility Requirements below:
- Must participate in the National School Lunch Program and/or School Breakfast Program
- Must meet the definition of small and/or rural (see below).
Small School Food Authority: SFA with an enrollment of less than or equal to 5,000 students.
Rural School Food Authority: The majority of students within the SFA are enrolled in a rural school as defined by a locality code of 41, 42, or 43, according to the National Center for Education Statistics online tool. You must apply as a school food authority for this grant; individual schools are not eligible entities.
The Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative seeks to improve the nutritional quality of school meals through food systems transformation, school food authority recognition and technical assistance, the generation and sharing of innovative ideas and tested practices, and grants. Action for Healthy Kids will facilitate the sharing of best practices across the country and provide grants to help small and/or rural SFAs innovate and advance their efforts. AFHK will work in partnership with RMC Health to design, lead and manage the overall training and technical assistance strategy. In addition, AFHK will partner with Chef Ann Foundation to provide in-depth individualized technical assistance to support and guide SFAs in implementing key strategies to improve school meal quality, meet the Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Award, and mitigate any potential roadblocks to success. Learn More
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STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS
Child Nutrition
Program Manager
I have 18 years of experience in food service, including over 10 in higher education dining doing every job from scanning meal cards at the campus mess hall to barista, pizza cook, dish slinger/washer, and every level of supervision in operations and finance. My favorite years have been the last seven that I have spent working in Child Nutrition Programs. Over these years, I’ve had the opportunity to be part of something that truly maters to our society and to me personally. While I love food (citation: see waistline), I love coming to work and supporting Alaska’s school children and the school nutrition professionals that serve them. I have always admired Alaska’s state agency which treated SFAs and Sponsors as partners and working together to support child nutrition. I am honored to take the role and responsibility of Alaska’s Child Nutrition Programs Manager and I look forward to continuing our partnership with districts large and small across our great state as we work together to fuel our future generations and solve the known and unknown challenges the future will bring us.
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Resources
The Guide to Professional Standards for School Nutrition Programs is a central resource that comprehensively outlines the required USDA Professional Standards for State and local school nutrition program professionals who manage and operate the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP).* The resource supports school nutrition professionals in ensuring they have the knowledge, training, and tools they need to ensure the success of the NSLP and SBP. This updated version includes the four new hiring flexibilities established March 1, 2019, for new school nutrition program directors in small local educational agencies (LEAs) and new State directors of school nutrition programs under the Professional Standards regulations for the NSLP and SBP. It also provides useful information regarding available trainings in the Professional Standards Training Database and tracking training using the Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool (PSTTT).
Master the Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool (PSTTT)! This webinar provides a demonstration of the PSTTT, as well as an overview of the Professional Standards requirements and resources. The webinar can be viewed in English and with Spanish captions at https://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/professional-standards-resources.
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Now available: Professional Standards Summary of Updates Flyer in Spanish! /Ahora disponible: ¡Boletín de resumen de las actualizaciones de los estándares profesionales en español!
The Professional Standards Summary of Updates Flyer provides an overview of the Professional Standards requirements which consist of hiring standards and annual training requirements for school nutrition professionals. This Spanish version, which was released in English in 2021, includes the hiring flexibilities established in 2019.
Access the Professional Standards Summary of Updates Flyer on the Professional Standards Resources webpage. In addition, you can also check out Team Nutrition’s other Professional Standards Resources such as recorded webinars available with Spanish captions and the Professional Standards Training Database that includes trainings available in English and Spanish.
Back to School Success with Team Nutrition’s Menu Planning Tools and Resources
Menu Planning Resource Sheet
The Nutrient Analysis Protocols: How to Analyze Menus for USDA’s School Meals Programs (NAP Manual) is a technical assistance resource for school nutrition or state agency professionals.
This manual provides guidance for the calculation of nutrient analyses of school menus, which allow the school and state agency to provide documentation that the school is meeting the dietary specifications for National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.
Link to Manual: Nutrient-Analysis-Protocols-Manual
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ICN Updates:
April 6th - CICN Webinar - What a Chef Can Do for You: Promotion of Culinary Professionals in School Nutrition Programs 03:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Across the nation, school nutrition programs are utilizing the skills of chefs for various roles within their operations, and there is a growing interest in employing more culinary professionals. This webinar aims to delve deeper into the possible positions that trained chefs can occupy in school nutrition programs. Attendees will learn about the Institute of Child Nutrition Applied Research Division’s Exploratory Investigation of the Roles, Responsibilities, and Impact of Chefs Working in School Nutrition Programs. Additionally, attendees will hear testimonials about the impact of a chef from the Garland Independent School District Director of Student Nutrition Services and Culinary Supervisor.
Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition: https://theicn.org/cicn/ This new section of trainings from ICN is great for districts that want to do more scratch cooking, or have cooks who need additional culinary skills training.
iLearn – ICN E-learning (docebosaas.com)
Child Nutrition Sharing Site (CNSS) - recruiting new resources
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Food Safety Protection Manager Training On-line If you are in need of Food Safety training to meet your Professional Standard training requirements you can check out this great ICN on-line training.
https://alwaysfoodsafe.com/food-protection-manager?state=Alaska&county=All%20counties%20(Todos%20los%20condados)#productBoxes
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Access to Food for Homeless and Highly Mobile Students This flyer has a lot of great information on student eligibility for categorically eligible students and what kinds of documentation is required for school meals. You can find this great resource on our Child Nutrition Resources web page at: https://education.alaska.gov/cnp/resources .
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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
Contact Us
- Program Manager
- Program Coordinator (NSLP)
- Program Coordinator (FDP, FFVP)
- Program Coordinator (CACFP)
- Project Specialist(SFSP)
- Grants Administrator III
- Project Assistant/CDC Grants (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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