The Healthy Futures Fall 2026 Challenge starts on the first of September across the state.

If you are looking for an opportunity to champion physical activity and preventative health measures for students, this program is for you!

How does the Challenge work? It’s simple! 

Students who are active for at least 60 minutes a day, 15 days a month, and record their activity on the Healthy Futures Activity Log are awarded fun incentives when their school representative submits the information to Healthy Futures via the online app.

The Healthy Futures Challenge is for ALL Alaska elementary school kids, whether they are learning in-school or at-home.

Registration is quick and easy online HERE.

Questions? Contact Kayla Williamson, Healthy Futures Coordinator 907-299-7248 kayla@healthyfuturesak.org

Paid Lunch Equity Due June 30, 2026

School Food Authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program who operate pricing programs are required to report their Paid Lunch Equity (PLE) tool findings to AK DEED, whether or not they are exempt from raising proces as outlined in SP 06-2026.

Please send completed PLE tool to rachel.spencer@alaska.gov.

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

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

USDA Announces Actions to Better Serve States, Nutrition Program Recipients, and the American Taxpayer

Last Thursday, USDA announced the creation of the Food and Nutrition Administration, reorganizing and relocating nutrition program leadership and staff from Washington, D.C., to hubs and program locations across the country.

Read the full article here.

Expanding Fluid Milk Options in the Child Nutrition Programs

This rule expands fluid milk options by allowing operators of the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Special Milk Program for Children to offer whole and reduced-fat milk to participants two years and older. This rule codifies milkfat requirements following enactment of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 (P.L. 119-69) and supports the statutory requirements for meals to align with the goals of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030.

Additionally, following up on the previous transmission of the new OIG fraud hotline posters, please note the following updated OIG hotline submission information:

If you need to provide any documents concerning your complaint, please fax to (202) 690-2474 or mail to USDA, OIG Hotline, P.O. Box 23399, Washington, D.C. 20026-3399.

Please note on your documents that you submitted your complaint online.

 Hotline Information | U.S. Department of Agriculture OIG. 

Digging In: Farm to School Activities, Case Studies, and Resources

The Center for Ecoliteracy, in partnership with CalFresh Healthy Living, University of California, has just launched Digging In: Farm to School Activities, Case Studies, and Resources. This resource comes at an important moment in the farm to school movement. As the SNAP-Ed program ends nationwide, they’ve designed Digging In to be a supportive resource for advancing farm to school programs. It includes sections on:

Community-Centered Farm to School

Local Procurement

Food Systems and Nutrition Education

Tracking Farm to School Success

Chef Ann Foundation 2027 Grant Applications for Salad Bars to Schools Deadline: March 31, 2027

Salad Bars to Schools (SB2S) is a grant program that provides schools and districts with everything needed to implement salad bars effectively as a part of a reimbursable meal, while supporting a journey to more scratch cooking and values-aligned procurement. Our Salad Bars to Schools program grants K–12 schools everything needed to install a salad bar — including salad bar equipment and all accessories, marketing materials, and comprehensive online training courses through the School Food Institute. Open to: K-12 school districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program with an enrollment of at least 100 students per school site. Learn more here. 

Ultraprocessed Foods: Recommended Definitions and Policies

The terminology for ultraprocessed foods is so new we haven’t even decided if they are called ultraprocessed, ultra-processed, or ultra processed yet. But researchers and scientist are trying to define them to help policy makers make evidence-based decisions.

Despite growing interest in ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), there is not consensus on how to define UPFs for policy purposes. To meet this need, Healthy Eating Research convened an expert panel to develop evidence-informed recommendations for policymakers and advocates interested in advancing policies to limit UPF exposure and consumption at the local, state, and federal levels. The panel assessed evidence to 1) recommend a definition of UPF suitable for guiding policy development and 2) identify policy options to reduce exposure and consumption of UPFs in the U.S.

https://healthyeatingresearch.org/research/ultraprocessed-foods-in-the-u-s-recommended-definitions-and-policies/

https://healthyeatingresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/UPF-Expert-Panel-Executive-Summary-03.pdf

These documents were released along with a really helpful webinar that will be posted here soon: https://nopren.ucsf.edu/nopren-state-science

 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.

Federal Updates 

💡Washington, DC celebrates the 80th anniversary of the National School Lunch Program!

Read more here.

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.

Mealtime Memo

Knowing where to keep fruits and vegetables helps them stay fresh longer. Here is a guide:

On the Counter
● Keep bananas and tomatoes at room temperature.
● Let avocados, mangoes, melons, peaches, plums, and pears
ripen on the counter. Once ripe, move them to the fridge to
stay fresh longer.
● Put fruit in a paper bag with a ripe banana to ripen it faster
and check daily.

In the Pantry
● Store potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, and
winter squash in a cool, dark, dry place like a pantry.
● Keep onions separate from other produce—they
release gas that can make other veggies spoil faster.

In the Fridge
● Keep cut, peeled, or cooked fruits and vegetables in a
covered container, labeled with the date the produce
was prepped or cooked.
● Refrigerate within four hours of cutting or cooking and
store at 41 °F (5 °C) or colder.
● Keep raw foods (like meat, poultry, or seafood) away
from and below produce to prevent cross-contamination.
● Store washed produce above unwashed or raw items.

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