Weekly School Nutrition Newsletter

Indiana Department of Education sent this bulletin at 05/11/2018 11:21 AM EDT

5/11/2018

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.

Happy School Nutrition Employee Week!

  • Indiana's school nutrition professionals are challenged on a daily basis to provide healthy meals, meet stringent requirements, and demonstrate the best customer service to students. Not only do Indiana school nutrition professionals rise to the challenge, many frequently go above and beyond!
  • We want to thank you for your hard work, dedication, and care that you bring to school food service every single day! 
  • Check out the School Nutrition Association's School Lunch Hero Day webpage for suggetions to celebrate your school's heroes and a sample press release and proclamation. 

Disclosure Reminders

  • Don't forget - sponsors are required to maintain strict confidentiality with applications and eligibility information.
  • Sponsors must ensure that data systems, records, and other means of accessing a student's eligibility status are limited to officials directly connected with administration of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). 
    • Teachers, principals, counselors and any other individuals not directly connected to processing f/r applications, conducting verification, and/or administering appeals, do not have the right to access eligibility information.
    • Only the household member that signed the application can have access to that application or notification of eligibility. 
  • Sponsors are permitted to share eligibility information with other schools/organizations that operate a Child Nutrition Program, like the National School Lunch Program, Summer Food Service Program, and After School Snack Program. 
  • Sponsors must take every step to prevent overt identification. Think about: 
    • Registration - Do you have a special room or table where people line up to submit their free/reduced application? Is the application processed in front of the household (and potentially others waiting in line)? If so, you will need to adjust this process to ensure households can discreetly submit an application and confidentially receive notification of eligibility. 
    • School Software/POS - Make sure the software does not publicly label student eligibility to teachers, staff, or other students. 
    • Testing - Schools are allowed to share f/r eligibility for National or State testing (like I-STEP) however only those who are "need to know" should have access to this information. The f/r eligibility should not be posted visibly for anyone who is not considered "need to know." 
  • To determine what kind of disclosure process you must follow, consult USDA's Disclosure Chart on page 86 in the Eligibility Guidance Manual and Indiana's Disclosure Chart. 
  • Additional steps for disclosing information include:
    • Entering into an agreement or Memorandum of Understanding with all involved parties. 
    • Sending households information about disclosure (if no permission is required) or a request for disclosure (if permission is required).
    • To find templates of agreements and parent letters, click here. 
  • For more information on disclosure requirements: 
  • Questions about disclosure? Contact Allie Caito-Sipe at acaito@doe.in.gov or call 317-232-0849. 

Preparing for School Year 2018-2019 

  • We have received a lot of inquiries about the 2018-2019 Free and Reduced (F/R) Application and Parent Letter. 
  • We are currently waiting for approval to post everything online. 
  • Once posted, an announcement will be made in the Weekly School Nutrition Newsletter. 
  • Remember schools must wait until the newest applications are available before sending to the printer or free and reduced software company. 
  • Schools may not release the free and reduced applications until Sunday, July 1, 2018. 
  • Direct Certification for the new school year will not be updated and accessible until after the first week of July. 
  • Check out our Coffee Break Webinars in May featuring topics like - SNP Updates and Reminders, 2019 Direct Certification Walk Through, Free and Reduced Application Updates and Reminders, and Verification Reminders.
    • To register for the webinars, click here. 
  • Questions? Contact Allie Caito-Sipe at acaito@doe.in.gov or 317-232-0849.

Food Distribution Program Update

  • A USDA Foods (formerly commodities) “surplus dump” is scheduled for May 15, 16 and 17, 2018.
  • Surplus dumps are scheduled to move product out of the four state contracted warehouses and into school physical inventories as soon as possible.
  • For information on how to participate, click here. 
  • Questions? Contact Cheryl Moore at cmoore@doe.in.gov or 317-234-2516. 

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.