Weekly School Nutrition Newsletter

Indiana Department of Education sent this bulletin at 08/22/2018 03:58 PM EDT

08/22/2018

Dear Food Service Contact,

This email provides news for schools concerning 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.

IDOE Day

The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) will be hosting a one day training on school nutrition topics including procurement, USDA Foods, finance, and Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).
Where: MSD of Warren Township Schools - Indianapolis, IN
When: Wednesday, November 7 (the day before the ISNA Annual Conference) from 8 a.m.- 1 p.m.
Click here for the agenda.
Click here to register.
Questions? Contact Maggie Schabel at mschabel@doe.in.gov.

Save the Date! ISNA Fall Regional Workshops

The Indiana School Nutrition Association (ISNA) will host a training on the "39 Customer Service Tips All School Nutrition Programs Should Know."
- This training will count towards your USDA Professional Standards requirements for the school year.
Click here for the course overview, dates, locations, and registration.
Questions? Contact Sheri Shipp at sheri@indianasna.org.

Food Distribution Program/USDA Foods Reminders

Orders for USDA Foods (brown box) deliveries must be made in the CNPweb no later than 4:00 p.m. Indianapolis time on Wednesday before the delivery period week the Recipient Agency (RA) wants to receive the delivery. For example, if the RA has the delivery period for the week of August 27 to August 31 and wishes to receive an order that week, the order must be placed by 4:00 PM on August 22.
It is the Recipient Agency’s responsibility to have school staff available to receive, inspect the product and bill of lading, and accept the delivered USDA Foods.
State contracted warehouse deliveries may be delivered during inopportune times, such as inclement weather, school breaks, lunches, recess, etc. The warehouses are contracted to deliver USDA Foods to RAs, Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. local RA time. Staff must be available to accept the delivery in order to avoid a missed delivery and restock fee.
A minimum of 10 cases is needed when placing an order to be delivered by the state contracted warehouse, Dilgard, McFarling, Stanz, or Wabash to avoid a delivery drop fee.
IDOE will begin charging excess storage fees again as of Monday, October 1. Information regarding excess storage is explained in detail in the 2018 Summer Edition of our Brown Box to Bulk Newsletter.
Questions? Contact Cheryl Moore at cmoore@doe.in.gov.

Written Charging Procedure Notification

All sponsors are required to have a written charging procedure.
This must be provided in writing to all households at the start of each school year and to households transferring to the school throughout the year.
Sponsors also must provide the written meal charge procedure to all school staff responsible for collecting payment for meals at the point of service, staff involved in notifying families of low or negative balances, and staff involved in enforcing any other aspects of the meal charge procedure.
School social workers, school nurses, the homeless liaison, and other staff members assisting children in need (or who may be contacted by families with unpaid meal charges) also should be informed about the policy.
Check out question five in the Unpaid Meal Charges: Guidance and Q&A for acceptable methods of notification.
For additional information on written charging procedures and bad debt policies, click here.
Questions about charging procedures or notification requirements? Email Sarah Kenworthy at skenworthy@doe.in.gov or call her at (317) 232-0857.

National School Lunch Week

Mark your calendars! National School Lunch Week (NSLW) is October 15-19.
The #NSLW18 theme is "School Lunch: Lots 2 Love."
Visit here to find resources to help you get started planning today.
Curious as to what other schools have done with themes in the past? Click here.
Planning an event? Share what your school is doing with Sarah Kenworthy at skenworthy@doe.in.gov.

Finance

Annual Financial Reports
- With the close of the 2017-2018 school year comes the completion of the Annual Financial Report (AFR). Here are some reminders about the AFR:
  - The AFR is found by entering program year 2018 in CNPweb, then clicking on the Claims/AFR tab.
  - Click Add next to the AFR at the bottom.
  - AFRs are due by September 1.
  - Financial information entered in the AFR must match the financial records for your non-profit school foodservice account.
  - To save the AFR without submitting it to IDOE, click Submit without checking the box at the bottom. DO NOT CLICK CALCULATE…your information will not save by clicking calculate.
  - If you receive errors they will be listed on the AFR. Please read the errors and contact the finance team if you have any questions.
  - AFRs may be returned to schools for corrections. Check back on the status of your AFR periodically to see if it has been returned for revisions.
  - AFR instructions and a sample worksheet are available on the CNPweb Resources page.
  - Click here to access the CNPweb.
  - Email questions about the AFR to SCNFinance@doe.in.gov.
Paid Lunch Equity (PLE) SY 2018-2019
- The USDA Paid Lunch Equity (PLE) Tool for the 2018-2019 school year is posted online on the Pricing Guidance webpage, below Pricing Requirements for Lunch ONLY.
- Every school charging less than the target price of $2.92 must complete and submit a PLE Tool for School Year (SY) 2018-2019 as part of your Program Year 2019 approval process.
- Schools approved for the PLE Exemption do not need to raise their paid lunch prices but are still required to submit a completed PLE Tool.
- Send completed SY 2018-2019 PLE Tools to SCNFinance@doe.in.gov.
- Questions? Contact Joe Olivadoti at jolivadoti@doe.in.gov or (317) 234-4378 or Tina Herzog at cherzog@doe.in.gov or (317) 232-0872.

USDA - FNS Comment Request

The USDA - Food and Nutrition Service recently published a comment request in the Federal Register, regarding the Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review on the Contact Information of Schools That Participate in the National School Lunch Program and Organizations That Participate in the USDA's Child and Adult Care Food Program.
For more information, including instructions on how to submit comments, please visit: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=USDA_FRDOC_0001-1875. Comments must be received on or before August 29.

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 Ashley Heller at aheller@doe.in.gov, call (317) 232-0544, or toll-free at 1-800-537-1142 ext. 20544 or contact Sarah Kenworthy at skenworthy@doe.in.gov, call (317) 232-0857, or toll-free at 1-800-537-1142 ext. 20857.

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