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School Meals Program

June 2026 

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Over the course of Independence Day weekend, Americans will eat approximately 150 million hot dogs; laid end-to-end, those hot dogs would stretch from earth to the moon and back again multiple times. Happy Independence Day!

Alaska School Meals Program Reminders

Income Eligibility Guidelines

You may view the income eligibility guidelines on our website at https://education.alaska.gov/cnp/nslp.

If you have any questions, please reach out to eed.cnp.schoolmeals@alaska.gov.

Required Annual Training (7 CFR 210.30)

All food service staff must receive Civil Rights training in SY26/27 (DEED recorded Civil Rights Training. Certificate for Training.)

School Nutrition Program Directors: 12 hours of annual education/training

School Nutrition Program Managers: 10 hours of annual education/training

School Nutrition Program Staff: 6 hours of annual education/training

Acting and Temporary Staff, Substitutes, and Volunteers: As applicable to responsibilities- free and reduced price eligibility, application, certification, verification, reimbursable meals, point of service, nutrition, health and safety standards, etc. 

Claims - Submit claim data online through the CNP Web Database. May Claim Month - Submit to DEED by June 30, 2026. Late submissions will be accepted until July 30, 2026. June Claim Month - Submit to DEED by July 30, 2026. Late submissions will be accepted until August 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.

Upcoming Child Nutrition Meetings  

July 28-30, 2026 @ 9 AM - 4:30 PM Child Nutrition Annual Conference, Virtual

Registration: Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

Agendas for conference:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

August 12 @ 2 PM School Meals Monthly Call

Other Program Updates and Resources

2026 Summer Reading Challenge The 2026 Summer Reading Challenge aims to build strong literacy skills, and, like summer meals, help ensure that children go back to school confident and prepared to learn. Participation is simple: From June 1 through September 4, children entering grades K-8 may read any 12 books and share a reflection to qualify for prizes, including a chance to visit Washington D.C. Posting flyers at meal sites or sharing the Reading Log with children as they pick up their meals are easy ways to get started. Through partnerships with school and public libraries, sponsors can provide books for students to read while they eat their meals. Sponsors may also conduct book drives by asking members of the community to donate used books, or work with local literacy organizations, to provide books that students can take home with them. Lastly, some friendly competition (and future bragging rights) might be encouraged by highlighting the Summer Reading Challenge Leaderboard. Let’s work together to make Second Lady Usha Vance’s 2026 Summer Reading Challenge a huge 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.

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  💡Dairy milk delivers essential nutrients that support healthy child development, making it a vital component in children’s diets. In “Making ‘Mooves:’ How Schools Are Embracing New Milk Choices,” a new SN Plus, you’ll get answers to all of those questions, and more. Plus, learn how school districts across the country are implementing new whole and 2% milk options provided through the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act while accounting for factors like student preferences, product availability and more. Click here to read the article, and check out the SN Plus archives in SNA’s online Resource Library for more strategies and solutions in K-12 foodservice. 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 Safe Meals for Field Trips

Team Nutrition Sign up to receive Team Nutrition updates in English and in Spanish.  Click here to order free printed materials.

DEC Food Worker Card Test Now Available! School Food Service Directors may request no-fee tests for their food service staff via email at decfwc@alaska.gov. For additional information, reach out to Laura Nielson at 907-269-6289. https://dec.alaska.gov/eh/fss/food-worker-card/

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 can be located here:

SP 08-2026 Expanding Fluid Milk Options in Child Nutrition Programs

SP 07-2026 School Meal Programs: Reviewing Product-Based Added Sugars Limits for Breakfast Cereals, Flavored Milk, and Yogurt

SP 06-2026 Paid Lunch Equity: Guidance for School Year 2026-2027

SP 05-2026 Appropriations Act: Effect on Child Nutrition Programs

SP 04-2026 Community Eligibility Provision: Election Deadline and Annual Notification and Publication Requirements

SP 03-2026 Incorporating Local Beef into Child Nutrition Program Meals

SP 02-2026 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030 Promoting Real Food In Child Nutrition Programs

SP 01-2026 Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act

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

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.

Nondiscrimination Statement

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the State or local Agency that administers the program or contact USDA through the Telecommunications Relay Service at 711 (voice and TTY). Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Mail Stop 9410, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.