Nutrition Program Bulletin – Week of July 6, 2020
Each section contains updates relevant to those nutrition programs. You can jump to the section you're interested in by clicking the link.
Nationwide Waiver Extensions
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) recently extended four nationwide waivers for use through the 2020-21 school year. For more information, please review the full text of the waivers:
- The meal pattern flexibility waiver has been extended for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), National School Lunch Program (NSLP), and School Breakfast Program (SBP) through June 30, 2021. To learn more about using this waiver, please read the Nationwide Waiver to Allow Meal Pattern Flexibility in the Child Nutrition Programs – Extension #4. Please note that the previous waiver allowing for meal pattern flexibility in Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is still scheduled to expire July 31, 2020.
- The non-congregate feeding waiver has been extended for the CACFP, NSLP, and SBP through June 30, 2021. To learn more about using this waiver, please read the Nationwide Waiver to Allow Non-congregate Feeding in the Child Nutrition Programs – Extension #2. Please note that the previous waiver allowing for non-congregate feeding in SFSP is still scheduled to expire August 31, 2020.
- The parent and guardian pick up waiver has been extended for the CACFP, NSLP, and SBP through June 30, 2021. To learn more about using this waiver, please read the Nationwide Waiver to Allow Parents and Guardians to Pick Up Meals for Children – Extension #2. Please note that the previous waiver allowing for parent or guardian pick up in SFSP, is still scheduled to expire August 31, 2020.
- The meal service time waiver has been extended for the CACFP, NSLP, and SBP through June 30, 2021. To learn more about using this waiver, please read the Nationwide Waiver to Allow Meal Service Time Flexibility in the NSLP, SBP and CACFP – Extension #2. Please note that the previous waiver allowing for meal service time flexibility in SFSP is still scheduled to expire September 30, 2020.
Grant Opportunity: Expanded Meal Access for Minnesota Children and Adults
MDE was funded $10 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) for Minnesota nonprofits (including faith-based organizations), educational institutions (e.g., early care, K-12 school districts, higher education), tribal nations and local governmental units to provide meals to children, youth, adults without families and families experiencing increased food insecurity as a result of COVID-19. These funds will supplement existing funds in order to enhance the grantee’s capacity to meet the increased demand for meals.
The term of the grant period is September 1, 2020, through December 30, 2020. However, awards may be applied retroactively to July 1, 2020, to cover eligible expenses that meet reimbursement guidelines. The Request for Proposal can be accessed on the MDE Competitive Grant Opportunities webpage. Applications are due by July 20, 2020, at 11:59 p.m.
View the MDE press release about this grant opportunity.
Update: Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) Deadline Extended
Application window extended through July 31, 2020!
The Minnesota Department of Human Services is offering additional funds for the families of children ages 5 to 18 who qualify for free and reduced-price meals. This new program, called Pandemic EBT (P-EBT), will provide $325 per child that families can use to purchase nutritious food for their household. Families with children who received free or reduced-price meals at school, and who were between the ages of 5 and 18 on Sept. 1, 2019, may qualify. Benefits are available to two groups:
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Families receiving Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on March 18, 2020. Benefits for these families were issued automatically and appeared on their EBT balance on May 30, 2020.
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Families receiving free or reduced-price school meals, but not SNAP or MFIP benefits. These families need to fill out a short application for a P-EBT card. Families can apply between June 8, 2020, and July 31, 2020. If approved, families will receive a P-EBT card in the mail, which will arrive with the funds preloaded.
You can find sample outreach materials on the MDE website, including a flyer translated into Hmong, Russian, Somali and Spanish.
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July Webinars for CACFP Multi-Site Sponsors
Navigating SharePoint and CACFP Management Plans
July 8, 2020, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Register for the Navigating SharePoint and CACFP Management Plans webinar
CACFP Budgeting for Multi-Site Sponsors
July 14, 2020, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Register for the CACFP Budgeting for Multi-Site Sponsors webinar
July Webinar for CACFP Independent Sponsors on Budgets
Planning Your CACFP Budget for Independent Sponsors
July 16, 2020, 1-3 p.m.
Register for the Planning Your CACFP Budget for Independent Sponsors webinar
Upcoming Training Webinars in October
The CACFP Basic Training Webinars Part 1 and Part 2 are for child care centers, adult care centers, emergency shelters and outside school hours care centers. This webinar series targets new staff, such as center directors, food production staff and staff with CACFP responsibilities. Each session requires 30 minutes of prework that is emailed two weeks prior to the webinar.
The July webinars for the CACFP Basic Training series are full. Register now for the October sessions
New Resources: Tracking CACFP Income and Allowable Expenses
New resources to help sponsors track their CACFP income and allowable expenses are now available in three places on the MDE website: 1) CACFP for Centers Recordkeeping webpage, 2) At-Risk Afterschool Meals Food Service Operations webpage, and 3) At-Risk Afterschool Meals Applications webpage of our website.
The two new resources include:
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Expenses: Allowable Expenses and Supporting Documentation - CACFP: This resource will help sponsors recognize and categorize allowable expenses in the CACFP and identify supporting documents required for various expenses.
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Expense and Income Ledger: This replaces the previous "Journal Ledger." The Expense and Income Ledger can be used to track monthly CACFP expenses and income and document non-profit food service. The ledger provides monthly and year-end expense summaries. Expense categories in the ledger are the same categories available in the Cyber-Linked Interactive Child Nutrition System (CLiCS) Budget and on the new Allowable Expenses and Supporting Documentation – CACFP resource.
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Nationwide Waiver for Offer Versus Serve in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
The USDA FNS recently released a nationwide waiver of the offer versus serve (OVS) requirement for senior high schools for the 2020-21 school year. This waiver is intended to make it easier for high schools to serve meals in the classroom, for pickup or via home delivery. Additionally, the waiver is available for use by all Minnesota schools participating in NSLP without the need for Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) approval. For more information, please review the Nationwide Waiver to Allow OVS Flexibility for Senior High Schools in the NSLP for School Year 2020-21.
School Nutrition “Back to School” with COVID-19 Webinars
Join us for a five-part webinar series designed to get you thinking about what your food service operation will look like as you go back to school with COVID. The series will be offered on Tuesdays at 2 p.m., from July 7 through August 4, 2020. Read the session descriptions and select the links below to register for the webinars.
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Emergency Meal Distribution Equipment Grants for Minnesota
Action for Healthy Kids is providing Emergency Meal Distribution Equipment Grants to help school districts across the state distribute food safely and create grab-and-go curbside pick-up and mobile delivery.
If your school/district is currently feeding students at school or other sites, you may be eligible to receive a $1000 to $2,000 credit per site to purchase equipment through Hubert. Equipment may include coolers, insulated bags, carts, packaging and personal protection equipment.
Emergency Meal Distribution Equipment Grant applications are currently live and will be awarded weekly until all funds are awarded. Within a week of application, you will receive award notification. For more information, contact Ellen Dillon or COVID-19 Support for Schools and Families.
Farm to School Resources
Are you wondering how your school nutrition program can begin, diversify and expand purchasing from Minnesota producers? Below are farm to school-related resources.
Farm to School and Early Care Resources
The National Farm to School Network is adapting their work during the COVID-19 pandemic to support the farm to school and farm to early care and education (ECE) community in this rapidly changing and challenging environment. As part of those efforts, they have created several Farm to School and ECE resources related to COVID-19. To learn more, visit the National Farm to School Network website.
Check out the new resource released this week related to Farm to ECE: The Significance of Farm to Early Care and Education in the Context of COVID-19.
Minnesota Small Business Relief Grants Program
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) is overseeing the Minnesota Small Business Relief Grants Program, which will distribute $10,000 grants to Minnesotan-owned and operated businesses that can demonstrate financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Twin Cities Rebuild for the Future Fund
The Greater Twin Cities United Way, the Minneapolis Foundation, and the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation announced they will distribute $2.5 million in funding from the Twin Cities Rebuild for the Future Fund. The grants will provide emergency support to small businesses owned by Black people, Indigenous people and people of color in areas most impacted by the unrest following the killing of George Floyd.
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