Nutrition Program Updates for the Week of May 6, 2019

Minnesota Department of Education sent this bulletin at 05/06/2019 05:45 PM CDT
department of education

Nutrition Program Updates for the Week of May 6, 2019

Each section contains updates relevant to those nutrition programs. You can jump to the section you're interested in by clicking the link.

All Nutrition Programs

Remember to Re-Subscribe to the Nutrition Program Bulletin by June 17!

MDE is updating the bulletin subscriber list! Our goal with this update is to ensure we have up-to-date and accurate information for those who administer nutrition programs.

To continue receiving the bulletin, you must subscribe using the new Quick Subscribe link before June 17, 2019. After this date, only those who have subscribed via the Quick Subscribe link will receive the bulletin. 

Update of Food Crediting in the Child Nutrition Programs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released several memoranda that provide details on how to credit additional foods in the School Nutrition Programs (SNP), Child and Adult Care Food Programs (CACFP), and Summer Food Service Programs (SFSP). The memoranda are as follows:

If you have any questions, please contact us at 651-582-8526 or 1-800-366-8922.

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Child and Adult Care Food Programs

Upcoming CACFP Training Opportunities 

Upcoming Infant Meal Pattern and Infant Feeding Workshops

There will be four in-person workshops on the infant meal pattern and infant feeding hosted in locations around the state. This training is for infant room staff and other staff who need to understand the CACFP infant meal pattern requirements and infant feeding best practices. All attendees will receive a copy of the new Feeding Infants handbook and a certificate of attendance. Training dates and locations:

  • May 7, 2019 (8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) Lakes Country Service Cooperative, Fergus Falls
  • May 8, 2019 (8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) Blandin Foundation, Grand Rapids
  • June 12, 2019 (8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) Lincoln Community Center, Mankato

Access further information and register for the Infant Feeding workshop.


Upcoming CACFP Basic Trainings

This in-person CACFP Basic Training provides an introduction to the CACFP program and is great for new center staff. Training date and location:

  • July 25, 2019 (8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.) Roseville

Access further information and registration for CACFP Basic Training.

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Food Distribution Program

Department of Defense Fresh Produce (DoD) Site Change

Due to a recent revision of the USDA website, the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Order Receipt System (FFAVORS Web) has changed. New login information to FFAVORS is available on the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Order Receipt System (FFAVORS) webpage. Your username and password are not affected by the change. Likewise, the USDA web address is www.fns.usda.gov. Update your stored links to access your DoD account and place new orders. 

 

2020 Distributor Selection

The deadline to select your USDA commodities distributor for School Year (SY) 2019-20 is May 15, 2019.  Your prompt attention to this matter is needed to prevent commodity delivery issues. 

If you are not in the bidding process, please go into the Cyber-Linked Interactive Child Nutrition System (CLiCS) 1 and make your selection. Not doing so could hinder the prompt and accurate delivery of your commodities for next year.  Sponsors who utilize a Food Service Management Company (FSMC) or have a contract for Vended Meals in place should work with that company to ensure this task is completed.

Please note two distributor changes beginning in SY 2019-20:

  • Variety Foods is now S. Foods – Sioux Falls.
  • H. Hermel will no longer be a distributor of USDA Foods for the National School Lunch Program in Minnesota.

These distributor changes have been made in CLiCS. To make your distributor choice in CLiCS 1 select: Food Distribution > Profile > “Green Customers” Tab > Click Dropdown: Select 2020 > Search > Click the “2020” Hyperlink > Select Distributor from the dropdown menu > Save.

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School Nutrition Programs

2019-20 Renewal Applications

The following renewal applications are now available to submit online in the Cyber-Linked Interactive Child Nutrition System (CLiCS) on or before June 10, 2019.

  • School Nutrition Program (SNP)
  • Federal Special Milk Program (SMP)
  • Minnesota Kindergarten Milk Program (MKMP)

Access CLiCS to renew your applications.

Refer to the Application Renewal Instructions for School Nutrition Programs 2019-20 and Milk Programs Application Renewal Instructions 2019-20 on the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) – Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) website.

Required: Sponsors must ensure that the email address and contact information on the sponsor and site application(s) are current and accurate.

When an application renewal is approved for the 2019-20 program year, a CLiCS system-generated email confirming approval will be sent to the email address for the contact person listed on the sponsor application.

Contact the Applications Team with any questions at 651-582-8526, 1-800-366-8922 (Minnesota toll-free) or email mde.fns@state.mn.us. To facilitate our response, include your CLiCS sponsor identification (ID) number in all correspondence.

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Reminder: Community Eligibility Provision Application

Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) applications for School Year 2019-20 are due no later than June 28, 2019.

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) allows eligible districts and/or schools in low-income areas to provide school lunches and breakfasts at no charge to all students, using simplified meal counting and claiming procedures. More information about CEP and the application process is available on the CEP webpage.

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Paid Lunch Equity (PLE) Tool SY2019-20 Now Available

USDA released the school year (SY) 2019-20 Paid Lunch Equity Tool to use when evaluating SY 2019-20 paid lunch prices. Memo SP 27-2019 outlines the flexibility available to school food authorities (SFAs) when electing whether to use the USDA PLE tool for SY 2019-20. Any of the following is an acceptable reason for SFAs to elect not to use the USDA PLE tool:

  • SFA has a positive or zero balance in their nonprofit school food service account (NSFSA) as of December 31, 2018. SFAs that meet this condition are exempt from PLE requirements found at 7 CFR 210.14(e) for SY 2019-20. 
  • All SFA sites are participating in the Community Eligibility Provision
  • SFA has a SY 2019-20 average paid lunch price that will be $3.00 or greater.

If you will not be using the USDA PLE Tool to evaluate paid lunch prices for SY 2019-20 for any of these reasons, you must complete the following one-question survey.

Complete the School Nutrition USDA PLE Tool Survey.

If the survey is not complete, the PLE Tool will be required for evaluating paid lunch prices for SY 2019-20 and must be available upon request.

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From Our Partners

USDA Launches Ace the Waste! Food Waste Contest for Students

Food waste is a problem everyone can tackle, including our nation’s youth. As part of Winning on Reducing Food Waste Month, the USDA is launching Ace the Waste!, a student competition for food waste reduction ideas. Students age 11 to 18 are encouraged to submit their proposals for how to reduce food waste by 3 p.m. on Friday, May 24, 2019. You can encourage the youth in your nutrition program to submit their ideas to the Ace the Waste! Competition today. The proposals can focus on reducing food loss and waste anywhere along the supply chain, from the farm to the dinner table and beyond.

Go to the USDA website to learn more about the collaborative Reducing Food Waste Initiative and how you can get involved.

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Action for Healthy Kids Webinar

Action for Healthy Kids' Game On program is an online framework that provides resources to host a successful school wellness program. Action for Healthy Kids is hosting two webinars that provides an overview of the Game On program and highlights ways​ school health teams can use Game On to support new or existing school health​ activities. Get ready to equip your school wellness champions to hit the ground running in the fall.

Note: If you register for either webinar but are not able to attend, you will receive a link to the recording.

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