Summer Meals Notification
Prior to the end of the school year, all sponsors must notify households of the availability of summer meals. Sponsors are encouraged to promote their own program operations, but if not offering summer meals this year, consider the suggested language below. This announcement should be provided to all households via school newsletter, email, robocall, or any other preferred communication. Save proof of notification in food service records.
Example Notification:
USDA meal programs for children operate all summer! To find the nearest summer meal site, call 211 or text ‘Summer Meals’ (English) or ‘Verano’ (Spanish) to 914-342-7744. Households in need of assistance any time of the year can call the USDA National Hunger Hotline at 866-3-HUNGRY to speak with a representative who will find resources, such as summer meal sites, food banks, and other nearby social services.
Healthy Meals Incentives Grants for Small/Rural Schools
As part of a cooperative agreement to develop and implement the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, Action for Healthy Kids is offering competitive grants (up to $150,000) for small and/or rural schools to support efforts to improve the nutritional quality of their school meals. The deadline for submitting a grant application is 5 p.m. ET, on Friday, May 26.
Eligibility Criteria:
- SFA Must participate in the National School Lunch Program and/or School Breakfast Program
- SFA must meet the following definitions of small and/or rural:
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Small SFA: SFA with an enrollment of less than or equal to 5,000 students.
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Rural SFA: The majority of students within the SFA are enrolled in a rural school as defined by a locality code of 41, 42, or 43, according to the National Center for Education Statistics online tool.
Need assistance with writing or implementing this grant? The Healthy Schools Action Team (HSAT) would love to help schools using their network and resources. Reach out to the HSAT Chair, Elizabeth Sons, at elizabeth.sons@mhsindiana.com.
PLE Guidance for SY 2023-2024: Paid Lunch Equity (PLE) Tool Exemption Requests
- Any SFA with a positive or zero balance in its non-profit school food service account as of June 30, 2022, may be granted an exemption by IDOE from the PLE Pricing Requirements.
- While not required, exempt SFAs may still use the PLE tool to complete the steps necessary to determine their target SY 2023-2024 paid lunch price, consistent with Program regulation at 7 CFR 210.14(e), and adjust the paid lunch prices accordingly. The weighted average price for 2023-2024 should be at or above $3.56 Consistent with 7 CFR 210.14(e)(4)(i), SFAs are not required to raise their paid lunch price by more than 10 cents for SY 2023-2024 from the last year they charged for paid lunches. SFAs can still choose to raise the price by more than 10 cents.
- RCCIs do not need to complete the Paid Lunch Equity Tools, as all students are free. Exception: RCCIs with day treatment centers (where students are not residents)
- SFAs wishing to apply for the PLE Exemption must complete an attestation statement verifying the SFA has a positive or zero balance in the non-profit school food service account as of June 30, 2022 (SFAs do not need to submit documentation verifying the balance, but will need to keep documentation (a bank statement, accounting software report, or ledger print-out) showing the balance in their non-profit school food service account as of June 30, 2022.
- SFAs that had a negative balance in the non-profit school food service account as of June 30, 2022, must follow PLE requirements according to 7 CFR 210.14(e) when establishing their paid lunch prices for SY 2023-2024.
- PLE Tool 2023-2024, guidance, instructions, attestation statement, and common questions and answers can be found on IDOE's Financial Management webpage under the headers Pricing Guidance and Paid Lunch Equity (PLE)/PLE Tool SY 2023-2024.
For additional questions, please email SCNFinance@doe.in.gov and include “PLE Tool” and your sponsor number in the subject line.
Supply Chain Assistance (SCA) Funds Rounds Two and Three
For those who applied, SCA funds for rounds two and three have been disbursed and should appear under the payments tab in CNPweb. The comments listed in the ACH deposit notification will be SC_R2 for the round two disbursement and SC_R3 for round three. The deposits should come within a few days of each other. Please remember all Supply Chain Assistance Funds must be deposited into the School Foodservice Account (0800) and used specifically for the purchase of food as described in the Supply Chain Assistance Funds Q&A. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact scnfinance@doe.in.gov, and include SCA and your sponsor number in the subject line.
Breakfast: Real Grain Required!
When planning breakfast menus, be sure that every reimbursable meal includes at least one-ounce equivalent of real grain. Real grain means whole grain-rich or enriched grain products like cereal, waffles, pancakes, biscuits, bagels, toast, etc. Only after one-ounce equivalent of real grain has been planned can the menu planner add meat/meat alternate products and have them credit towards the grain component weekly requirement at breakfast. If the school operates Offer versus Serve, students may decline the grain, but must be offered at least one-ounce equivalent real grain. If the school does not operate Offer versus Serve, students must take the real grain as part of their reimbursable breakfast. View IDOE’s School Breakfast Program webpage for more information on meal pattern and operations.
Transitional Meal Pattern Standard
The transitional meal pattern standards are still in place through school year (SY) 2023-2024.
- At breakfast and lunch, milk can be flavored or unflavored and skim or 1% low-fat.
- At breakfast and lunch, at least 80% of the total grains offered over the course of the week must be whole grain-rich. The remaining grain products must be enriched.
- Breakfast sodium levels remain at Target 1 for SY 2023-2024.
- Effective Saturday, July 1, lunch sodium levels change to Target 1A for SY 2023-2024.
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Grades K-5 and K-8 overall weekly limits
- Target 1: < 1,230 mg
- Interim Target 1A: < 1,110 mg
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Grades 6-8 overall weekly limits
- Target 1: < 1,360 mg
- Interim Target 1A: < 1,225 mg
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Grades 9-12 overall weekly limits
- Target 1: < 1,420 mg
- Interim Target 1A: < 1,280 mg
USDA Foods Allocations To End Sunday, April 30
USDA Foods allocations into schools’ inventories will end on or before Sunday, April 30, based on the school’s annual pre-order survey. Schools can view this information in CNPweb via the FDP link under the Surveys tab.
Now is the time to remove USDA Foods from the state-assigned warehouses and processors, as well as spend USDA Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program funds by Friday, June 30. USDA Foods are intended to be utilized in the school year allocated. IDOE will sweep all Direct Delivered (Brown Box) USDA Foods from all school inventories as of Friday, June 30.
Updated USDA Foods Year-at-a-Glance Document
IDOE has updated the USDA Foods Year-at-a-Glance document. Click here for more information.
Professional Development (PD) with IDOE Webinars
Registration for all upcoming training, including Introduction to School Nutrition Leadership and Culinary Skills for A+ School Meals, can be found on IDOE’s Trainings webpage.
E-Learning Meal Service Reminder
E-Learning meals must be served at school in a congregate setting and meals must meet the National School Lunch Program/School Breakfast Program (NSLP/SBP) meal pattern. Meals must be documented at the point of sale according to the individual student's eligibility. Corporations may serve in a limited number of locations, however, students who regularly attend Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) buildings should not be charged for a meal if they eat at a non-CEP building that day. Contact your field specialist if you have any questions.
Natural Disasters Resulting in Unexpected School Closures
IDOE is committed to keeping children fed even when disaster strikes. When schools have an unexpected closure due to a natural disaster, please reach out to IDOE about the available options to continue meal service.
Additional USDA resources for disaster assistance:
The FNS Resilience and Recovery Tool can be used for preparedness and resiliency purposes to identify areas of highest need in the Underserved Communities data tab and overlay information such as flooding risks. The tool can help determine communities that may need alternative emergency messaging due to disabilities, limited English capabilities, or lack of vehicle or internet access. The tool can also be used for response and recovery purposes, by allowing users to estimate how many households, schools, and retailers are in the disaster area. Additional data may be added such as evacuation routes, FEMA open shelters and infrastructure data (e.g. fire stations and State Emergency Operations Centers). Live feeds of weather, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, drought, and COVID-19 cases are included.
School Year Pandemic EBT (PEBT) Issuance Update
PEBT distributions for reported COVID absences for school-age students will be issued by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) this weekend. This distribution is only for reported COVID-related absences through December. Unlike the previous summer 2022 issuance for all free/reduced-price lunch students, the school year issuance only covers specific COVID-related absences for eligible students with a benefit amount of $8.18 per day absent.
Benefits will be loaded onto existing PEBT cards. If a student has not received benefits in the past, new cards will be mailed and should be expected to arrive one to two weeks after the issuance date. If a replacement PEBT card is needed, it must be requested from the PEBT website, not from the EBT customer service number on the back of EBT cards.
Additional information is available here.
Toolkit to Help Students and Families Maintain Medicaid Coverage
Healthy Schools Campaign is partnering with the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) and other organizations to disseminate a toolkit designed for schools to help inform families of steps needed to maintain their Medicaid coverage in the coming year. Developed by AASA, Georgetown Center for Children and Families, and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the toolkit includes backpack fliers, newsletter blurbs, robocall scripts, and social media posts.
Friday, May 5, is School Lunch Hero Day!
Join the School Nutrition Association (SNA) and schools around the country to celebrate the school lunch heroes in your life. View School Lunch Hero Day ideas, resources, and materials here.
Fuel Up to Play 60 Equipment Grant Funding
Looking for funding to improve the healthy eating opportunities at your school? K-12 schools can apply for an equipment kit to improve access to healthy foods. To qualify for funding, schools must participate in the National School Lunch Program and have an account on the Fuel Up to Play 60 site. Not registered? Click here to join.
For more information, click on the linked equipment kit options below:
For resources and ideas on how to incorporate the equipment into your feeding program, check out these Plays from the Fuel Up to Play 60 Playbook: Highlight Healthy Foods — Go Nutritious and Breakfast For Everyone — First Meal Matters.
Apply here by Tuesday, May 2.
Families Who Have Chosen Home or Virtual School for COVID-related Reasons May Qualify for Federal Funding
Families who meet certain income requirements and have chosen home or virtual school for their children due to the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible for PEBT (federal food assistance), but they must act quickly.
Families must apply for this benefit before Monday, May 15. To access the application and other information about PEBT, click here. More information about FSSA and all its divisions and programs is available at www.IN.gov/FSSA.
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