Weekly School Nutrition Newsletter

Indiana Department of Education sent this bulletin at 09/12/2018 12:45 PM EDT

09/12/2018

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.

Now Available! Updated Menu Planner for School Meals School Year 2018-2019

  • The Menu Planner assists the school nutrition staff in developing healthy, safe, affordable, and appealing school breakfasts, lunches, and snacks.  
  • The Menu Planner is divided into seven chapters:
    • Child Nutrition and School Meals
    • Food-Based Menu Planning
    • Menu Development
    • Meal Preparation Documentation
    • Procurement and Inventory Management
    • Menu Modifications to Accommodate Students with Disabilities
    • Marketing School Meals for Success!
  • You may access the updated Menu Planner at: https://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/menu-planner.

Reimbursable School Meals + Special Dietary Needs Trainings

  • The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) will be hosting Reimbursable School Meals + Special Dietary Needs Trainings. Attendees will be able to attend both trainings or can select to attend only one training.
  • The Reimbursable School Meals session, presented by Cathy Powers, provides general information on meal pattern planning and Offer versus Serve (OVS).
  • For more information on the Reimbursable School Meals session, click here.  All materials will be provided.
  • The Special Dietary Needs session, presented by IDOE staff, covers topics such as dietary needs within the meal pattern, dietary needs outside of the meal pattern, milk accommodations, religious and lifestyle accommodations, school implementation, and resources.
  • Attendees will receive credit toward their annual professional standards requirements.
  • All trainings are from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. local time.
  • Register here.
  • Questions? Contact Maggie Schabel at mschabel@doe.in.gov.

CNPweb Program Year (PY) 2019 Approvals

  • In order to begin claiming reimbursement for School Year 2018-2019, Sponsor and Site Applications must be completed and approved in the CNPweb PY 2019.
  • If your application status says "Pending Approval," then your School Nutrition Program application has been submitted and is on the list for review.
  • The approval team reviews the applications in the order they were submitted and are working to approve everyone as quickly as possible.
  • To help:
    • Make sure your application is in “Pending Approval,” not “Pending Submission.”
    • Make sure you have submitted all starred offline forms on the packet tab.
      • 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.
      • All sponsors operating the After School Snack Program in PY 2019 are required to take the After School Snack Program online course in inTEAM’s Blackboard before PY 2019 will be approved in CNPweb.
      • Newly hired Food Service Director (FSD) must be submitted to the Indiana Department of  Education's (IDOE) New School Nutrition Programs Director Hiring Form for verification with the professional standards set by the USDA.
  • If something is missing from your application or if there are questions, a member of the approval team will contact you when they reach your application.
  • Questions? Contact Sarah Kenworthy at skenworthy@doe.in.gov or 317-232-0857.

Free and Reduced Reminders

Verification

  • Beginning October 1st, schools should start their annual verification process. Here are a few tips to help you prepare:
    • Conduct a Direct Certification Match before Verification. 
      • This will help identify more students that automatically qualify because of Food Stamps, TANF, Medicaid or Foster Status. 
      • If a student was found eligible for free meals through Direct Certification (DC), disregard the application that they submitted. This application can be removed from the verification count.
      • Please remember, the DC system is based on information from the previous month, and the DC system will reflect the previous month's date when updated.  
      • As a reminder, if a student was DC because of Food Stamps, TANF, or Medicaid (free or reduced), that DC status extends to everyone else in the household. If the student was DC because of Foster status, the DC status only applies to the student.
      • Please note - 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.
    • Determine the verification method you should follow.
      • Schools with a 20% or higher non-response rate last school year based on their verification summary report are required to conduct Standard (Error Prone) Verification.
      • Schools with a low non-response rate can choose if they want to conduct Standard (Error Prone) Verification, Alternate One (Random) Verification, or Alternate Two Verification. Most schools with this option choose Alternate One (Random).
      • If you are not sure which method you should follow, contact Sarah Kenworthy at skenworthy@doe.in.gov.
  • The verification process must be completed on or before November 15th.
  • Refer to the Eligibility Guidance Manual if you have questions about the verification process. Click here to access the manual. 
  • For additional instructions for the verification process, click here and check out the recorded Indiana Verification Updates and Reminders Coffee Break Webinar.
  • If you have any questions about this process, contact your Field Specialist.

 Effective Date Waiver

  • USDA released a policy, titled SP 11-2014 - Effective Date of Free or Reduced Price Meal Eligibility and SP 51-2014 – Eligibility Effective Date for Directly Certified Students.
  • This waiver allows schools to retroactively apply benefits beginning the date the application was originally submitted and date stamped.
  • Additionally, schools could retroactively apply Direct Certification benefits the date the student’s record first appeared on the automated data matching file, generated in the current school year, as the effective date of eligibility for all Directly Certified students.
  • Schools wanting to use the effective date for eligibility must:
    • Apply for the waiver.
    • Give this flexibility to all applications received and to all directly certified students.
    • Use a date received stamp for proper documentation for applications and letters from other agencies received by the SFA.
    • Refund any money paid and/or forgive accrued debt on behalf of the student for reimbursable meals when they qualified for free or reduced meals.
    • Retroactively claim direct certification benefits for the months that are still revisable in the CNPweb (60 day claim period).
    • If categorical eligibility is based on SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid, extend eligibility to all household members.
    • Save all documentation showing the date the student’s record first appeared on the automated data matching file.
    • Save all documentation showing that the school has credited the student account appropriately.
    • Save all documentation for 3 years plus the current year.
  • To access the waiver, click here and after carefully reading and completing the form, send to Marcia Yurczyk. Scan/email to myurczyk@doe.in.gov or fax to 317-232-0855.
  • Click here to view memo SP 11-2014 and here to view memo SP 51-2014.

Coffee Break Webinars

  • A new set of Coffee Break Webinars have been scheduled for October. 
  • Topics include: 
    • Smart Snacks for elementary, middle, and high school
    • Food Safety Basics
    • Food Safety Plans
    • Verification Summary Report
  • Coffee Break Webinars last a maximum of 30 minutes, so this is convenient way to meet your professional standard requirements. 
  • Can't attend the live session? Each webinar will be recorded and posted on inTEAM's Blackboard. 
    • As a reminder, there is only ONE log in per school. This log in information is registered to the Food Service Contact for your school.
  • To register, click here for a flyer with all scheduled webinars and registration links.
  • Questions? Contact Maggie Schabel at mschabel@doe.in.gov.  

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.