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School Meals Program

September 2024

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USDA Policy Memos, from USDA, are located at the bottom!

Partnerships with Faith-Based and Neighborhood Organizations 

On July 1, 2024, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) distributed initial guidance on implementation of the final rule Partnerships with Faith-Based and Neighborhood Organizations, 89 FR 15671.  FNS included in that distribution guidance and a model written notice to beneficiaries, released by the USDA Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (OASCR).

Please be informed that the guidance/material to religious schools and institutions is being retracted pending a forthcoming clarification from USDA (see message for religious schools below). 

• Message for Religious Schools: This message is to inform you that USDA’s Notice to Beneficiaries and Prospective Beneficiaries guidance/material is hereby retracted as to religious schools and institutions.  As appropriate, we will send you USDA’s forthcoming clarification of this guidance/material. If you have any questions, please contact Tonia Parfitt at tonia.parfitt@alaska.gov.

School Meals Program Reminders: 

Claims - Submit claim data online through the CNP Web Database by:    

• July Claim Month - 60 Day Deadline, September 30, 2024
• August Claim Month - 60 Day Deadline, October 30, 2024
• 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, claims in Error status cannot be paid and if help is needed from Child Nutrition the sponsor must contact Child Nutrition well in advance of the 60-Day Deadline.

ISNL Cohort - School Meals Program ISNL Cohort, October 8, 2024 @ 2:00 PM

Roundtable - School Meals Program Roundtable, October 9, 2024 @ 2:00 PM

School Meals Program Updates:

"Argh Ya" ready: National School Lunch Week (October 14-18, 2024):

USDA’s Child Nutrition Programs can request free print copies of our materials, while supplies last. Order today! For bulk orders, please email TeamNutrition@USDA.gov. 

• Be a Food Critic! Poster
• Local School Wellness Policy Refresh! Infographic: English | Spanish
• MyPlate Guide to School Lunch for Families: English | Spanish
• Offer versus Serve Posters: Elementary | Middle | High School
• Stronger With School Meals Activity Booklet
• Taste-Test Poster
• Team Nutrition Popular Events Idea Booklet

Child Nutrition Programs Meal Patterns final rule:

Federal Register: Public Inspection: Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Forms Located in CNP Form Submission Studio:

• Claim Override Request 
• Community Eligibility Provision Election
• Food Safety Inspection Report Summary Submission 
• Free and Reduced-price Policy Statement (permanent statement only)
• On-Site Counting and Claiming Summary Submission
• Waiver requests (all programs)
  • Fluid Milk Waiver (Yes, this is new and needed from many!)
  • Mealtime Waiver
  • Technology in Lieu of Confirming Official
  • Unanticipated Site Closure

18-Year-Old Students:

School Meal Program applications need to include all income of the household an 18-year-old student is living in. Not just the 18-year-old students' income. If you need assistance with application verification, please email: eed.cnp.schoolmeals@alaska.gov.

Alaska DEED Awarded Grant:

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, also known as FNS, is awarding approximately $8.6 million in Team Nutrition Training Grants to 11 states that administer the National School Lunch Program. The grants will help ensure that school nutrition professionals have the skills and knowledge to prepare and serve nutritious meals that set children up for success. These enhanced skills are especially important right now, as USDA’s updated school nutrition standards will require gradual reductions to added sugars and sodium in upcoming years.

The states awarded with these grants for fiscal year 2024 include:

• Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
• Michigan Department of Education in partnership with the Nebraska Department of Education
• Minnesota Department of Education
• Montana Office of Public Instruction School Nutrition Programs
• New Hampshire Department of Education
• North Dakota Department of Education in partnership with the South Dakota Department of Education Child and Adult Nutrition Services
• Pennsylvania Department of Education in partnership with the Maryland State Department of Education
• Texas Department of Agriculture
• Virginia Department of Education
• Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Wyoming Department of Education in partnership with the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

These grants will also help schools in these states capture and share the knowledge of school nutrition directors, managers and front-line staff through coaching and mentoring programs.

More information about this year’s Team Nutrition Training Grants for Meal Pattern Modernization and Retention and Mentorship Opportunities are available on the FNS website.

For more information about the updated school meal standards, please watch this video and visit this webpage.

Awards

Get Recognized as a Trailblazer in School Meals  The awards are designed to celebrate and share best practices in school meals taking place across the country! The Breakfast Trailblazer Award and Small and/or Rural School Food Authority (SFA) Breakfast Trailblazer Award recognize SFAs that provide nutritious breakfasts with limited added sugars and engage students in the planning of breakfast menus. The award criteria include implementing at least two strategies to reduce added sugars. Examples include:   Only unflavored milk is offered. All breakfast cereals contain ≤ 6 grams of added sugars per dry ounce. All yogurts contain ≤ 12 grams of added sugars per 6 ounces. No grain-based desserts are offered. Weekly breakfast menus have been modified to reduce added sugars to less than 10 percent of the calories. To learn more, visit the Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Awards webpage.

Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Awardee Spotlight Webpage The Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Awards recognize and celebrate school nutrition programs across the country!  Visit the Awardee Spotlight webpage to discover a collection of best practices that support the implementation of the final rule including reducing added sugars and sodium in school meals. Stay Connected  Sign up to receive Team Nutrition updates in English and in Spanish.

Resources

CHILD NUTRITION (CN) LABEL

The Child Nutrition (CN) Labeling Manual is now available online. The CN Labeling Manual provides food manufacturers with instructions on how to apply for and obtain approval for a Child Nutrition (CN) label. It also contains instructions for calculating the contribution that meats, meat alternates, poultry, and seafood products make toward the meal pattern requirements for Child Nutrition Programs (CNP). CN labels are approved by USDA and provide a way for a manufacturer to demonstrate how a processed food product contributes to the meal pattern requirements in CNP.

FOOD BUYING GUIDE (FBG)

Two exciting new features have been added to the Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (FBG) Interactive Web-based Tool. Both features are available under the Tools menu on the toolbar: 

• Interactive flow chart on using the preparation yield walks users through when to use the Preparation Yield factor in the Recipe Analysis Workbook (RAW). 
• An Ounces to Pounds Calculator allows users to easily convert ounces to pounds and pounds to ounces to make converting units a breeze! 
  • New yields are now available in the Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs Interactive Web-based (FBG) Tool and FBG Mobile App! New yield data is available for: USDA Foods canned mixed fruit and canned beef, smoked salmon fillet, cactus fruit (prickly pear), purple rice, instant long grain brown rice, and quick cooking medium grain brown rice.  Stay tuned for additional yield data releases coming soon.

ICN's CICN SECTION The ICN section of training, Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition, is great for schools wanting to scratch cook or cooks needing additional culinary skills: https://theicn.org/cicn/ iLearn – ICN E-learning (docebosaas.com).  Child Nutrition Sharing Site (CNSS) - recruiting new resources.

MYPLATE CUT BACK on ADDED SUGARS TIP SHEET & CREDITING TIP SHEETS/NUTRITION FACTS LABEL/REDUCING ADDED SUGARS at SCHOOL BREAKFAST GUIDE   Share the MyPlate Cut Back on Added Sugars Tip Sheet as a resource to reduce added sugars at home.  Crediting Tip Sheets in Child Nutrition Programs | Food and Nutrition Service (usda.gov) Use tools such as the Nutrition Facts label, ingredient list, and nutrient analysis software to identify how much added sugars are in a product or recipe. Check out the Team Nutrition Reducing Added Sugars at School Breakfast Guide for additional information on how to identify sources of added sugars, ways to reduce added sugars in school breakfast meals, and ideas for connecting with families and caregivers about added sugars. PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS The Guide to Professional Standards for School Nutrition Programs includes useful information regarding available trainings in the Professional Standards Training Database and tracking training using the Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool (PSTTT).  The Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool (PSTTT) has a new look with graphic images of training statistics.  SERVING SCHOOL MEALS to PRESCHOOLERS TRAINING WORKSHEET This four-page worksheet assists National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program operators in planning menus that meet the preschool meal pattern.  Available for download today at fns.usda.gov/tn/serving-school-meals-preschoolers. For questions regarding this announcement, please reach out to TeamNutrition@USDA.gov. WHOLE GRAIN RESOURCE It is a must-have resource for anyone involved in planning school meals. This important resource provides examples of various grain products often served in schools and walks through the process of determining whether products are whole grain-rich, creditable as enriched, or not creditable. You may access the English version of the Whole Grain Resource at https://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/whole-grain-resource-national-school-lunch-and-breakfast-programs Stay tuned for the Spanish-translated version coming soon! Print copies of the resource in English and Spanish will be available at a later date.

USDA POLICY MEMOS

Regulation requires sponsoring organizations and institutions to keep Bulletins, Instructions, and USDA Policy Memorandums for reference and to apply immediately the appropriate instruction to agency programs. Please call Child Nutrition Programs, if further clarification is needed.

All Policy Memos from USDA are located here:

SP 24-2024 Geographic Preference Option Questions and Answers

SP 22-2024 Geographic Preference Expansion Related to the Final Rule titled, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent with the Final Rule titled, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

TA 02-2024 Child Nutrition Database | Food and Nutrition Service (usda.gov)

SP 15-2024 Non-Congregate Meal Service in Rural Areas Questions and Answers (#2)

SP 14-2024 Paid Lunch Equity: Guidance for School Year 2024-2025

SP13-2024 Non-Congregate Meal Service in Rural Areas Questions and Answers

Contact Us

Alaska Department of Education and Early Development
Division of Finance and Support Services
Child Nutrition Programs
P.O. Box 110500
Juneau, AK 99811

Disclaimer

This newsletter contains hyperlinks to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the reader’s convenience. DEED does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Furthermore, the inclusion of links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered, on these sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites.

Confidential Information

Confidential information should never be shared via email outside of the SFA’s email system.  Since email can easily be transmitted to the wrong recipient or intercepted by a third party, it could lead to a breach of confidential information.  When emailing Alaska Child Nutrition Programs, sponsors are encouraged to make arrangements with the recipient(s) to email documents with Zend To (https://drop.state.ak.us/drop/).  Please contact DEED CNP for further information.

USDA Nondiscrimination Statement (English)

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

      1. mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil                    Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

      2. fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

      3. email: program.intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.