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School Meals Program

November 2026 

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Food for Thought: A group of turkeys attended a two-day training program to learn how to fly sponsored by the Eagle School of Flying. They learned the principles of aerodynamics, and then they practiced morning, afternoon, and evening. They became skilled at flying with the wind and against it, over mountains and plains, together and solo. At the end of two days, they were pleased with everything they had learned and practiced. They announced it was the best training ever and they all... ***the finale is at the bottom.

Highlights in Tuluksak School, Yupiit SD! 

LuAnn Miller, Food Service Coordinator

Exciting updates from Tuluksak School in the Yupiit School District! We have successfully set up our new hydroponic tower and officially kicked off the growing season by planting tomato and onion starter pods. On a smaller unit we started green onions and basil and it is thriving. We look forward to transplanting these smaller crops into the main tower system in the coming days. Our students have been highly engaged, enjoying the opportunity to observe the progress of this project first-hand. We look forward to a successful harvest in the near future.

This project was funded by the Patrick Leahy Farm to School grant in 2026.

Alaska School Meals Program Reminders

November 12 @ 2:00 PM School Meals Monthly Call (***November 11 is a holiday***)

• Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, ins and outs
• Please email cnp.eed.schoolmeals@alaska.gov for link if you don't already have it

December 9 @ 2:00 PM School Meals Monthly Call

• Identifying youth experiencing homelessness/runaway
• Please email cnp.eed.schoolmeals@alaska.gov for link if you don't already have it

February 1, 2027 - FNS-742 (verification report) due to DEED

Claims - Submit claim data online through the CNP Web Database. September Claim Month - Submit to DEED by October 30, 2026. Late submissions will be accepted until November 29, 2026. October Claim Month - Submit to DEED by November 30, 2026. Late submissions are accepted until December 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.

Verification Wrap Up PRICING SCHOOLS: All household applications selected for verification must be contacted at least once prior to November 15. Verification collection report is due to DEED February 1. CEP SCHOOLS, RCCI, and DJJ: Verification collection report may completed as early as October 31, and MUST be submitted to DEED by February 1. The verification collection report (FNS-742) form will be emailed to all sponsors from eed.cnp.schoolmeals@alaska.gov.

New Civil RightsTraining in eLearning! You can access the eLearning Civil Rights module online.  In school year 2027/2028, this training will be required for all sponsor directors.  There are many other modules available online! If you haven't yet reached your training hour requirements, we highly encourage you to go check out our eLearning website at https://education.alaska.gov/ELearning.

Alaska School Nutrition Association Conference

DEED is offering a grant for travel reimbursement (which includes flight, hotel, land transportation, and conference fees) for school nutrition staff (this includes residential childcare institution staff) to the Alaska School Nutrition Association annual conference. Please fill out the travel reimbursement application by 11/30/2026 at https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/f4993d271b91426586be29b1364fe728?utm_source=chatgpt.com to receive this reimbursement.

If you have not already, you may register for the AKSNA annual conference here: 2027 AKSNA Conference Registration Link.

Hotel information:

A room block has been reserved at the: Marriott Anchorage Downtown, 820 W. 7th Ave. Anchorage, Alaska. Book your group rate for AKSNA Annual Conference 2027 (Group Rate: $189 per night). The hotel block is available for stays from January 25–29, 2027. Reservations must be received by Monday, January 11, 2027, or until the room block is filled.

Other Program Updates and Resources

Prevalence of Binge Eating Behavior Among High School Students and Associations with Social Media Use, Mental Health, and Suicide Risk — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2025 During 2025, 40.5% of U.S. high school students reported binge eating at least 1 day in the past 30 days, with 17.2% reporting ≥3 days. Prevalence of binge eating on ≥3 days was higher among female (18.6%) than male students (15.9%); higher among Hispanic (20.5%) and Black or African American (18.7%) than White (14.6%) and Middle Eastern or North African (9.9%) students; and higher among multiracial (19.6%) than Middle Eastern or North African students.   Overall, students who reported using social media hourly or more, having poor mental health, having persistent sadness or hopelessness, or having seriously considered attempting suicide had a higher prevalence of binge eating on ≥3 days than those who did not report these factors. These associations between binge eating and social media use, mental health, and suicide risk were observed among both female and male students. The findings might guide efforts to expand binge eating surveillance among adolescents and identify correlates that could support surveillance and future intervention research. Read the MMWR here: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/75/su/su7501a5.htm

USDA Harvest to Hallways Equipment Grant USDA is releasing an additional $50 million in funding through the Harvest to Hallways NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant, which State Agencies may apply for. Alaska Department of Education and Early Development will notify sponsors of this award if granted, and will send out sub-award notices. The anticipated performance period for this grant will be two years beginning February 2027 through March 30, 2029. Pledge for Healthier School Meals Toolkit On October 28, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a toolkit to support the pledge for healthier school meals. This toolkit is intended to help schools implement options in the pledge to support healthier school meals. Food Recalls USDA sends out frequent communications about food recalls. If you are interested in receiving these communications, please click here to manage your subscription.

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.

School Nutrition PLUS  💡Keeping up with menu trends and kids’ food preferences can feel like a full-time job—especially on top of everything else you do to keep your program running. But part of keeping kids nourished is serving meals they’ll want to come back for day after day. Listening to what students want, or what they’re already eating at home, can help you stay ahead of the game. In “Kids These Days: Listening to Students for Menu Inspiration,” a new SN Plus article, Bettina Applewhite, registered-dietitian and school nutrition specialist, shares how she approaches menu development through the lens of the students. Whether it’s large-scale taste tests, casual chats in the lunch line, or exploring your area’s local food culture, incorporating the flavors your students already love outside of the school cafeteria will make your menu much more appealing—and keep them coming back for 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.

Child Nutrition Recipe Box Featured this month: Apple Cinnamon Crumb Muffin

Team Nutrition Sign up to receive Team Nutrition updates in English and in Spanish.

DEC Food Worker Card Test Now Available! School Food Service Directors may request no-fee tests for their food service staff or students 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 11-2026 Simplified Geographic Preference Procurement in Child Nutrition Programs

SP 10-2026 Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program: Allocation of Funds for FY 2027

SP 09-2026 Buy American Accommodation Process for School Year 2026-2027

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.