2018-19 Federal and State Reimbursement Rates
View
the 2018-19 SNP Reimbursement Rates including entitlement value for USDA foods. State reimbursement rates
for breakfast and lunch meals remained the same as last year. Federal rates for
free lunch meals and reduced-price lunch meals increased by 8¢ per meal while
paid lunch rates remained constant. Federal breakfast paid meal rates increased
by a penny while non-severe need free and reduced-price breakfast meal rates
increased by 4¢. More information on
severe need breakfast, special milk, afterschool snacks and USDA foods
entitlement rates can be found at the above link.
2018-19 Minimum Prices for Adults
Non-program meals,
including meals served to adults and second meals served to students, may not
be subsidized by the nonprofit school food service account. Meal charges must
be set high enough to cover meal costs. The minimum prices that must be charged
for adults are: Breakfast – $1.80;
Lunch – $3.75 (includes value of USDA Foods). The minimum meal prices are
based on the current amount of federal reimbursements received for free school
meals, rounded up to the nearest five cents.
2018-19 State Attendance Factor Set at 93.6 Percent
The state attendance factor used by school food authorities
(SFAs) to determine average daily attendance for school year 2018-19 is 93.6
percent. The attendance factor is used to complete the required School
Daily-Monthly Claims Edit Check and to calculate the average daily
attendance reported for monthly CLiCS claims for reimbursement.
Verification Sampling Method – Standard 3 Percent Error-Prone
The list
of School Food Authorities (SFAs) that are required to use the Standard 3 Percent
Error-Prone
Sampling Method is posted on the Minnesota Department of Education
(MDE) website. This sampling method is required for SFAs with a 20 percent or
greater non-response rate from households chosen for verification in the
previous school year. Check the list to determine if you are required to use
this sampling method when determining your verification sample for 2018-19. If
your SFA is on the list, a separate communication was sent to the Foodservice
Director with further instruction.
Contact the School Nutrition Program at MDE if you did not receive these instructions.
State and Federal Procurement Thresholds Raised
Effective
immediately, state and federal thresholds (maximum amounts) for
micro-purchases and small purchases have been raised for all recipients of
federal funds.
Micro-Purchases: The federal threshold for micro-purchases
increased from $3,500 to $10,000. Purchases that do not exceed $10,000
may now be made by using the micro-purchase method as described in 2
CFR 200.67. Micro-purchases do not require competitive quotes, but
should be distributed equitably among qualified sources.
Small Purchases: The federal
threshold for small purchases (also referred to as “obtaining quotes” or
“simplified acquisition” in 2
CFR 200.88 ) increased from $150,000 to $250,000. However there
are state thresholds for small purchases that public schools must
follow:
- For
contracts up to $175,000, competitive quotes may be obtained instead of
sealed bids.
-
For
contracts that exceed $175,000, sealed bid procedures including
advertisement are required. For purchases up to
$10,000, public schools may continue to use non-competitive
“micro-purchase” procedures as allowed by federal regulations outlined above.
2018-19 Milk, Whole Grain and Sodium Flexibilities
The following three
flexibilities apply to SY 2018-19 only. USDA is currently developing a final
rule that will address the availability of flexibilities beyond SY 2018-19.
Milk: SFAs will have the option to offer flavored,
low-fat (1 percent fat) milk as part of a reimbursable meal for students in
grades K through 12 for breakfast and lunch. Flavored, 1% milk may be provided
to Special Milk Program and Child and Adult Care Food Program participants 6 years
of age and older. No demonstration of hardship will be required. Schools may
offer flavored, low-fat milk for a la carte sales as well.
Whole grains: If SFAs can
demonstrate hardship(s) in procuring, preparing, or serving whole grain-rich
products that are acceptable to students, they can request an exemption to
offer at least half of the grains as whole grain-rich for the 2018-19 school
year. Download the Whole
Grain-Rich
Menu Items
Exemption.
Sodium: Sodium Target 1 will continue as the regulatory
limit in the NSLP and SBP.
Back to top
Training: Procurement Basics for Food Service Directors – October 18-19
This year the annual Food Service Director Training will be
held on October 18 and 19, 2018, in six locations: Thief River Falls, Fergus
Falls, Mountain Iron, Sartell, Marshall and Roseville. The training will focus
on procurement basics and will be broadcast from MDE with a Child Nutrition
Specialist facilitating the training at each out-state location. Day One
will focus on the regulatory requirements for purchasing goods and services,
and participants will begin developing purchasing procedures for their
operation. Day Two will focus on five methods of procurement that may be
used by school nutrition programs. Learn
more about the Procurement Basics for Food Service Directors training and register.
Civil Rights Training for Students and Adult Volunteers
MDE has developed a streamlined civil rights training for
individuals who volunteer for short periods of time in the food service
area. Food authorities may distribute the Civil Rights Training for Students and Adult Volunteers
handout to volunteers and non-foodservice staff to fulfill the civil
rights requirement.
School Nutrition Advisory Council
Are you interested in
providing input to MDE on school nutrition program procedural guidance,
regulation implementation, food distribution program, training, and more? Fill
out the School Nutrition Advisory Council questionnaire to be considered for MDE’s School Nutrition
Advisory Team.
National School Lunch Week – October 15-19
This year’s theme is “School Lunch: Lots 2 Love.” For more resources and ideas to help you plan a successful campaign, download the 14-page NSLW 2018 Toolkit.
|
|
|
Verification Toolkit
FNS recently published
an all new Verification Toolkit for SFAs, highlighting strategies for reducing non-response in the
verification process. The Toolkit features resources that SFAs can use to
leverage their efforts towards improving verification response rates and
enhancing the overall efficiency of the process.
|
|
October – Farm to School Month
October is Farm to
School month – a time to celebrate connections that are happening all over the
state between schools and local food! Check out the Farm to School Month opportunities and see what works for your school.
Kick off Farm to School Month by participating in Minnesota Thursdays and adding some local flare to your menu on October 4, or
crunch your way through the day on October 11 for the Great
Lakes Apple Crunch. Use these hashtags in your social media
messages: #MNAppleCrunch and #MNFarmToSchool.
|
Fruit and Vegetable Portion Guides
Download these fruit and vegetable visual portion guides to have at your finger-tips. This visual training tool consisting of 13 vegetables and 9 fruits in ¼, ½ and ¾ cup sizes will be helpful for estimating portion quantities on cafeteria trays and determining compliance at point-of-service under OVS.
|
|
|
Back to top
Tuesdays @ 2 Webinars
MDE School Nutrition
hosts a weekly discussion-style webinar on various topics relating to school
nutrition. Join us every Tuesday at 2 p.m. to learn about relevant topics, get
your questions answered, and stay up to date! View
the Tuesdays @ 2 schedule and get registration instructions – we
look forward to you joining us! Details and registration information for
Tuesdays @ 2 and all MDE training opportunities are available on the School
Nutrition Training webpage.
MSNA National Conference – October 6: "Super Food – Super Power"
Join your school
nutrition colleagues at the annual Minnesota School Nutrition Association
Nutrition Conference. This year’s
conference will be held at Shakopee High School on Saturday, October 6. Attendees will receive 4 CEUs in Key 1. Register for the MSNA Nutrition Conference.
USDA Foods Webinars and Training Resources
Food distribution webinars present basics and
best practices for child nutrition program sponsors to make the best use of their resources. Check out the following
trainings:
|
Creating Smarter lunchrooms – Free Online Course
Interested in learning more about the Smarter Lunchrooms
Movement and want to earn continuing education credits? The new Creating Smarter lunchrooms course, available through Cornell University, is
a great introduction to behavioral economic theory and application in under two
hours! Two CEUs are offered.
Essentials for School Nutrition
MDE’s “Essentials for
School Nutrition” training modules provide entry-level training on requirements
for operating a successful school nutrition program. Each module contains
multiple lessons, and each lesson includes a video, practice activities and a
knowledge check. The modules are available 24/7 on the MDE-FNS website. A certificate is provided upon successful completion.
Check out the following modules:
Back to top
|
|
Cass Lake-Bena ISD Breakfast Yogurt Bar
|
Breckenridge ISD – Breakfast Bar |
|
|
|
|
Winona Middle School Breakfast Cart
|
Back to top
Equipment Grants Available for SY 2018-19
Minnesota has once
again been provided almost $400,000 of federal funding to competitively award
equipment grants to eligible SFAs. Look
for grant application information coming out later this fall. These funds will
allow SFAs to purchase equipment that are needed to serve healthier school
meals, improve food safety, and expand access to school meals.
Farm to School Grants – Application Due November 1
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has
Agricultural Growth, Research and Innovation (AGRI) farm to school grants
available for K-12 schools that participate in the National School Lunch
Program. MDA will award grants to increase the use of Minnesota grown and
raised foods. Previous recipients have used their funds to connect with farmers
in their areas, determine how seasonal produce fits into cycle menus, purchase
food processors or cooling and storage equipment. Apply for a grant by November
1, 2018, at 4 p.m. Instructions can be found on MDA’s
Farm to School Grant website.
Marketing to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Consumption
Can a little sticker
hold the power to get a child to eat a serving of vegetables? A recent study
suggests the answer may be yes! Elementary school students’ fruit and vegetable
consumption was observed before and after small toys and stickers encouraging
them to eat their fruits and veggies were used. The study found an increase in
fruit and vegetable consumption! Read Nudges to Increase Fruits and Vegetables Consumption: Results From A Field Experiment and consider employing some of these techniques in
your school.
Study Finds School Meals are Associated with Healthier Diets
The impact of your
school meals may extend beyond the school cafeteria. A study published in the
August 2018 issue of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
found that eating school breakfast and lunch every day was associated with
healthier dietary intakes. Read more about the findings in Eating School Meals Daily is Associated with Healthier Dietary Intakes: The Healthy Communities Study.
Join the Team: Become a Team Nutrition School!
Schools participating
in the National School Lunch Program are invited to sign
up as Team Nutrition Schools. Almost half of the schools
participating in the NSLP have signed up to be Team Nutrition Schools. By
signing up, you will be the first to hear about new nutrition education and
training materials developed under the Team Nutrition initiative.
Back to top
Procuring Local Foods Toolkit
USDA has released a
new resource that provides tools to school food authorities wishing to utilize
local food in their child nutrition programs. This toolkit guide covers general
procurement basics and guidance on how to find local food resources. Having local
foods as a part of your school nutrition programs can be a great way to
introduce students to new foods right from their own backyards. Access a printer-friendly
version of the Procuring Local Foods for Child Nutrition Programs guide and read more about how local foods can be a
rich component of your program!
|
|
USDA Menu Planner for Schools Now Available
The Menu Planner for School Meals: School Year 2018-2019 is
a comprehensive guide for local school nutrition professionals to assist them
with developing healthy, safe, affordable, and appealing school meals and
snacks that meet the meal pattern requirements. The Menu Planner includes an
introduction, seven chapters, an answer key, a glossary of terms, and
appendixes. Access the updated Menu Planner.
|
USDA Team Nutrition: Back to School Resources
Engage students
and their families using Team
Nutrition’s Back to School Resources! Access electronic resources
and request free printed copies of recipes, cafeteria posters, parent handouts,
activities for families, and more!
Back to Farm to School
Back to school is the
perfect time to tend to your farm to school program. Are you starting fresh
with farm to school or cultivating new goals this school year? Either way,
USDA's Planning
Guide can help you identify team members, map strategies, and set
targets for the year ahead. Check-out USDA’s School
Garden fact sheet.
Back to top
School
Nutrition Programs: Helping to ensure academic success!
|