Nutrition Program Bulletin – Week of September 7, 2020
Each section contains updates relevant to those nutrition programs. You can jump to the specific section by clicking the link.
Celebrate in October – It’s Farm to School Month
October is National Farm to School Month – a time to celebrate our connections between students and local food, share our farm to school stories, and show gratitude to our school nutrition and farmer heroes providing essential services during these pandemic times. No celebration is too small! Register your farm to school month activities. Let everyone know you are celebrating by using the hashtag #MNfarmtoschool and #F2SMonth on your favorite social media outlets. To learn more, visit Minnesota’s Farm to School Month website.
Use this image to spread the word.
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Options to Provide Meals to Students
Per information presented in the Special Bulletin for September 4, 2020, School Food Authorities (SFAs) now have three options to provide meals to students during in-person, hybrid and distance learning for the next several months: participation in the National School Lunch/Breakfast Program, Seamless Summer Option and Summer Food Service Program. Each option has different regulations and offers different benefits and challenges, and Local Educational Agencies (LEA) will need to analyze the options and select the best fit for their school/district needs. Please review the September 4 Special Bulletin for additional information and the companion Questions and Answers document. More information will be available as U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidance is provided.
P-EBT Appeal Process
Please be aware of the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) appeal process, which may result in parents contacting schools for information.
P-EBT is a joint program of the Minnesota Departments of Education and Human Services. P-EBT benefits provide a temporary food benefit to Minnesota families with children who would have received free or reduced-price meals if schools were open during the last school year. To be eligible for P-EBT benefits, children would have been enrolled in a school that offered free or reduced price meals, were receiving free or reduced price meals, or were receiving free or reduced-price meals while enrolled in a school district-run prekindergarten program during the 2019-2020 school year. The P-EBT application closed on July 31, 2020.
P-EBT denial notices are currently being sent to approximately 42,000 students or 26,000 households with instructions on how to file an appeal. Those who wish to file an appeal must include supporting documentation to prove they could be eligible for P-EBT benefits. The appeal deadline is September 18. Examples of documentation include:
- The free and reduced-priced meal program enrollment letter with each child’s name
- A letter from your school administrator validating each child’s enrollment in free or reduced-price meals
- A report card or other school enrollment documentation from your 2019-2020 enrolled school with each child’s name if your child attends a school where all children are certified for free or reduced-price school meals (a community eligibility school)
View the Notice of Denial of P-EBT Benefits that is being sent out on Tuesday, September 8, 2020.
Webinar – Food Safety from Beginning to End: Follow the Flow of Food
The Institute of Child Nutrition is sponsoring the free webinar Food Safety from Beginning to End: Follow the Flow of Food on Thursday, September 17, 2020, from 2 to 3 p.m. The webinar will highlight a bird’s eye view of school nutrition programs’ food safety plans from beginning to end. Speakers will include Cyndie Story (Culinary Solution Centers) and Lauren McClean (Food Safety Specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Food and Nutrition Service Office of Food Safety). A continuing education certificate will be available after completion of the webinar. Register for the Food Safety from Beginning to End webinar.
Tuesdays @ 2 Webinars
Join school nutrition staff for a training webinar every Tuesday at 2 p.m. Read session descriptions and register for Tuesdays @ 2 webinars.
- Food Components, Meal Patterns and Flexibilities (September 15, 2020)
- Farm to School in Minnesota (September 22, 2020)
- Verification 100 for School Nutrition Programs (September 29, 2020)
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