Weekly School Nutrition Newsletter

10/18/2018

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.


Special Dietary Needs Courses

  • The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) has released *NEW* Special Dietary Needs courses on inTEAM Blackboard.
  • There are four courses for the Special Dietary Needs learning path:
    • Part 1: Understanding USDA Guidance and How it Relates to Civil Rights Laws for Accommodating Disabilities in Child Nutrition Programs
    • Part 2: Understanding the Role of the 504 Coordinator in Accommodating Disabilities in School Meals
    • Part 3: Understanding the Role of the School Nurse in Accommodating Disabilities in School Meals
    • Part 4: Understanding Food Service's Role in Accommodating Disabilities in School Meals
  • inTEAM provides a printable post–test and sign-in sheet, in order to train others. 
  • To access the courses, click here.
  • Click here to access the inTEAM User Guide.
  • Questions? Contact Ashley Heller at aheller@doe.in.gov

Orientation to School Nutrition Management Training

  • IDOE, in partnership with the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN), is providing a week long Orientation to School Nutrition Management Training.
  • The target audience includes school nutrition program staff with fewer than five years of experience as a director or those on the track to become a director.
  • The training will provide an overview of the management components of the School Nutrition Programs.
  • This five-day training will be held Monday, December 3 through Thursday, December 6 from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Friday, December 7 from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET.
  • Attendees will receive credit toward their annual Professional Standards requirements.
  • All materials will be provided. For more info, click here.
  • To register, click here.
  • Questions? Contact Maggie Schabel at mschabel@doe.in.gov.

Categorical Eligibility: Homelessness Q&A

  • The following are common questions that we receive on the topic of approving students for free meal benefits based on homelessness.
  • What documentation needs to be on file for a homeless student to receive free meal benefits?
    • Schools must confirm every situation of homelessness with their homeless liaison.
    • The liaison must provide a letter, list, or email with the student’s name, the date determined homeless, and the liaison’s signature. The homeless student is now considered Direct Certified. This is all sponsors need on file for documentation of free meals.
  • One student was determined homeless by our homeless liaison, can that student’s free meal benefits extend to all other students in the household?  
    • No, free eligibility only applies to the student determined to be homeless by the liaison.
  • A student was kicked out of his home and is staying at another student’s house. Can he fill out an application for himself?
    • This student might be considered homeless, even though he has a roof over his head, check with your school’s homeless liaison first to see if he would qualify for free meals due to homelessness. If he is determined homeless, no application is necessary. If he is not considered homeless, then ask how much he pays in rent, if he pays all of his own expenses, and his share of the utilities. If so, he can complete his own application because he is a separate economic unit from the rest of the household. If he is not paying his way, then the adult household member must complete an application and include all household members and all income.   
  • A family is doubling up with another household. Do they all need to be included on the same application for benefits?
    • Run this situation by your school’s homeless liaison. If they are determined homeless, no application is necessary. You only need the letter from your liaison for documentation purposes. If this is not a homeless situation, then determine if the two families are separate economic units or one economic unit in order to determine who needs to be included on the application.
  • A student that was determined homeless at the beginning of the school year has now moved back home with his family. Should her free meal benefits change?
    • Once determined free due to homelessness, the student can maintain her free benefits for the entire school year and up to 30 operating days into the new school year, unless the household chooses to decline her benefits.  
  • For more information, click here to access the Free/Reduced Fact Sheet: Homeless/Migrant/Runaway.
  • Need help finding your school’s homeless liaison? Click here for more information.
  • Does your school not have a homeless liaison or do you have questions that your school liaison cannot answer? Contact the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education State Coordinator, Deepali Jani, at 317-233-3372 or djani@doe.in.gov.
  • Have questions about free and reduced meal benefits? Contact your Field Specialist or Allie Caito-Sipe at 317-232-0849 or acaito@doe.in.gov.

Team Nutrition Cooks!

  • Team Nutrition recently released Team Nutrition Cooks! (TNC), a series of cooking-based nutrition activities for out-of-school and afterschool programs.
    • This program is geared for children around ages 8 to 12 years old.
    • Team Nutrition Cooks! contains five modules, and each module is centered around a kid-friendly recipe that can be prepared at your afterschool or out-of-school program site.
    • Step-by-step instructions for each module are included in this Activity Guide. Modules can be completed in any order you choose, and you can spread them out over the course of a week, month, or year.
    • Find the activities here.

Coffee Break Webinars

  • Don't forget! This month, we are conducting a whole new set of coffee break webinars.  
    • Upcoming webinar topics include: Smart Snacks for High School Managers (TODAY!), Food Safety Plans, and the Verification Summary Report (VSR).
  • To register for these webinars, click here

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. You can also contact Sarah Kenworthy at skenworthy@doe.in.gov, call (317) 232-0857, or toll-free at 1-800-537-1142 ext. 20857.