Weekly School Nutrition Newsletter

Indiana Department of Education sent this bulletin at 01/19/2018 08:47 AM EST

1/19/2018

Dear Food Service Contact,

This email provides the most up-to-date news for schools about the Child Nutrition Programs from USDA and the State. If you are the food service contact for your school or corporation, it is your responsibility to relay important information provided to you about the Child Nutrition Programs to other staff members.

Upcoming Requirements

After School Snack Program

All schools implementing the After School Snack Program (ASSP) are required to conduct an on-site review within the first four weeks of operation and a second time sometime later in the school year.
This review is necessary to ensure that the snacks are meeting meal pattern requirements, proper documentation is kept, reimbursable snack counting is accurate, etc.
To access the program review form and other helpful ASSP resources, click here.

Breakfast Notification

Schools that operate the School Breakfast Program are required to notify households of their program.
The notification must include when breakfast takes place, where breakfast is located, and how much it is for paid and reduced students.
Notification can be in the form of a flyer that is mailed to households, included in the school newsletter, posted on the school website, announced in a school phone system, etc.
Schools must vary their methods of outreach and notify households multiple times through the year.
Schools should maintain this notification process on file.
To view the original USDA Memo, click here.

Health Inspection Letters

All schools participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs are required to obtain two food safety inspections.
The inspection requirement applies to all food preparation-service sites and service-only sites.
Schools that do not regularly receive two inspections are required to send a letter to their local health department notifying them about USDA’s requirement.
Schools should maintain this outreach effort on file.
If only one inspection takes place during the school year, as long as the school can show that they notified the health department of the 2 inspection requirement, then there will be no compliance issues.
If the school did not notify the health department of the 2 inspection requirement and they only received one inspection during the school year, then this will be a compliance issue during the Administrative Review.
Don't forget to post your most recent health inspection report in a public place.
Make sure your to maintain and update your food safety plan. Click here for a food safety plan template and here for Standard Operating Procedures.
To view the USDA regulation, click here. For a USDA Q&A about this requirement, click here.
To access the health inspection template, click here.

3rd Direct Certification Match

USDA requires all sponsors to conduct a minimum of three Direct Certification match uploads each school year.
Typically schools run their first match before the school year begins, the second match right before the verification process begins, and the third match at some point during the second semester.
Please note - the IDOE highly recommends sponsors conduct Direct Certification matches more frequently throughout the year. The more matches attempted, the more students identified for free or reduced meals.
For more information on the Direct Certification process, click here.

Contract Review/Renewal

Procurement specifications must be developed for a Food Service Management Company, vendor, distributor, and/or processor.
A signed copy of the Food Service Management Company Contract or Vended Meals Contract must be sent to Cindy Harris.
Sponsors are not required to send in contracts with distributors or processors.
For more information, visit the Procurement Webpage or contact Cindy Harris at 317-232-9143.

Pre-Order Survey

The 2019 annual Pre-order survey opens on Monday, January 22, 2018.
In order to be eligible, your school must have been on the National School Lunch Program and submitted claims for reimbursement for at least one school year by the end of SY 2017-18.
The Pre-order survey is the time to make USDA Foods (formerly known as commodities) choices from the list of USDA food items available in Indiana.
Correspondence was sent to Recipient Agencies via email that contains open and close dates, forms and resources to assist in completing the survey.
To access this information, click here. For questions, please contact Cheryl Moore at cmoore@doe.in.gov.

Calendar of Due Dates

To keep track of all upcoming due dates, print out and/or bookmark the Calendar of Due Dates.

Upcoming Training Opportunities

Online: Winter Coffee Break Webinars

The IDOE School Nutrition team will be offering a series of coffee break-length webinars all taking place at 1:30 pm ET.
Learn about hot topics in school nutrition and earn Professional Standard Training Hours.
Topics include:

Unpaid Meals Refresher: Charging Procedures and Bad Debt Policies (Wednesday, January 24)
Food Distribution Program Pre-Order Survey (Wednesday, January 31)

Click here for registration links for the webinars.

Indiana School Nutrition Association Winter Seminar 2018

Please join the Indiana School Nutrition Association to learn more about:

Feeding a Diverse Gen-Z Palate in Schools (includes food demo)
From Farm to Fork: Modern Agriculture and our Future Food Supply
Candid Conversation: Turning Food Waste Into Opportunity
Indiana Department of Education Updates
Going Greek: Cultural Food Immersion
You Are What You Eat: New Year’s Resolution Rescue

The Winter Seminar offers a variety of presentations from different perspectives and information that any school can utilize.
The Winter Seminar will help fulfill USDA Professional Standard hours while giving attendees great information to take back and implement within their own programs!
Friday, February 2, 2018 – 6729 Westfield Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46220 at the The Willows.
For further details and to register, click here. Questions? Contact Ashley Maue.

Indiana School Health Team Training

Join us for the 2018 Indiana School Health Team Training on Wednesday, February 21 in Indianapolis, IN.
Hosted by Indiana Action for Healthy Kids (IN AFHK).
The training teaches school community members how to work collaboratively to improve school policy and practices related to students eating better and moving more. Make student wellness a priority in your school!
The training is offered free of charge to all school health team members and will include a certificate of attendance.
Click here to register. Questions? Contact Hannah Ramsland.

McKinney-Vento Training

The Office of the Coordinator for Education of Homeless Children and Youth is offering professional development for the 2017-2018 school year on March 19, 2018 at MSD of Warren Township Warren Central High School.
This training is designed to prepare individuals for work with and on behalf of young children and their families.
ESSA mandates that all McKinney-Vento Liaisons (statewide) participate in extensive McKinney-Vento training year round and furthermore every district must receive the same training annually, provided by the State McKinney-Vento Liaison. (This includes all public school, non-public schools, charter schools and online academy & schools Liaison/POC.)
Food Service Directors are highly recommended to attend.
To register and for additional information, click here.
Questions? Contact Deepali Jani at 317-233-3372.

Missed a Weekly School Nutrition Newsletter? Click here to access previous newsletters!

Please do not reply directly to this email. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this email, please contact Allie Caito-Sipe at acaito@doe.in.gov, call (317)232-0849 or toll-free at 1-800-537-1142 ext. 20849. Or, contact Sarah Kenworthy at skenworthy@doe.in.gov, call (317)232-0857 or toll-free at 1-800-537-1142 ext. 20857.

Allie Caito-Sipe
School Nutrition Specialist
Indiana Department of Education
(317) 232-0849 | acaito@doe.in.gov
www.doe.in.gov | Feedback: How are we doing?

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