Healthy Kids Collaborative

Alaska has been invited to participate in The Culinary Institute of America’s Healthy Kids Collaborative, which is a year-round initiative designed to both accelerate innovation and deepen technical and professional expertise in K-12 school food. They are looking for two participants to join the program; there is no financial obligation, and working groups meet once per month for approximately 1hour.

We encourage any interested school nutrition chefs or directors implementing scratch-cooking in their district to apply here. Please reach out to Sandy Curwood at sandy.curwood@culinary.edu with any questions.

School Meals Program Reminders: 

Claims - Submit claim data online through the CNP Web Database.

• March Claim Month - Submit to DEED by April 30, 2026. Late submissions will be accepted until May 30, 2026.
• April Claim Month - Submit to DEED by May 30, 2026. Late submissions will be accepted until June 29, 2026.

The final claim will not be accepted if it is not in the Pending Approval status within 60 days of the last day of the claim month. Upward amended claims may be submitted throughout the 60-day period but no later than 60 days.  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.

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CEP Election Workbooks Due June 30, 2026 - Submit through Smartsheet.

If your district wishes to elect a new cycle for Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), you must notify DEED by June 30, 2026, through the Smartsheet submission process. Workbooks were sent out last week; please reach out if you have not received it (and are expecting it) or if you have any questions.

Sites must have a 25% or higher ISP to qualify for CEP. Breakfast and lunch must be offered to all enrolled students of a CEP school at no cost to the student.  

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Upcoming Child Nutrition Meetings 

May 5, 2026 @ 2 PM PrimeroEdge Working Group, End of Year/Beginning of Year (Amy Rouse, FNSBSD)

May 13, 2026 @ 2 PM Child Nutrition "round table" 

July 28-30, 2026 Child Nutrition Annual Conference, Virtual

Please request any link if you don't already have it :)

Northern Bites

Let’s beef frank, we’re always excited to taco about food!

Submit your photos today: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/047441e6af7d42e29f1d502c440922b6

Highlight the incredible meals that your children are eating by submitting a photo of your school meal trays.  The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) will highlight one to two photos each month (or more) featuring school meals from around the state.

Photos may be submitted by any school or nutrition staff.  The photos should feature a complete meal, meeting the meal pattern requirements of the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program. The meal can be a main line or alternative meal, such as a special dietary accommodation.  The goal is to highlight the great meals our students are receiving.  We hope to receive enough photo entries to host a “March Madness” style competition in March.  Please be sure that the food is the focus of the photo, we cannot share photos that contain students faces or other identifying imagery (hands, arms, shirts, etc. are okay in the background).

May is Food Allergy Awareness Month 

SNA has a full resource hub to help your team stay informed, prepared and confident when it comes to managing food allergies in your program.

We encourage you to equip yourself with some of our featured food allergy resources:

• The Big Nine: More than 90% of food allergy reactions are attributed to nine common foods. Learn what they are, and how dangerous they can be.
• Ask the Allergy Expert: Submit your questions to a real allergy expert—or view previous questions and answers on food allergy reactions, treatment and research.
• Food Allergy FAQ: View our FAQ page to find practical information to help create a safer and more socially comfortable environment for kids with food allergies.
• CDC Resources: Use this toolkit from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement the Voluntary Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies.

Food Allergy Resources brought to you by the National Peanut Board.

Want more?

Stay up to date with the latest bills related to School Nutrition by subscribing to the "Tuesday Morning" newsletter by SNA! It is very informative and a good read.

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