• Handling Food Service Staff Shortages on the Food and Nutrition COVID-19 Resources webpage 
• Fluid Milk Substitute Notification on the School Nutrition Programs Special Dietary Needs webpage 
• Food Safety Requirements on the School Nutrition Programs Food Safety webpage 

The Continuing Appropriations Act 2021 and Other Extensions Act (P.L. 116-159) extends Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) through the end of September 2021, meaning that P-EBT will be available for the whole school year 2020-21. Through P-EBT, eligible children receive temporary emergency nutrition benefits loaded on EBT cards that are used to purchase food. There are two levels of eligibility. First, schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program become eligible after they are closed or operating with reduced hours or attendance for at least five consecutive days. Once a school meets the eligibility requirement, students who are eligible for free or reduced-price (FRP) meals during school year 2020-21 qualify for P-EBT benefits on days they do not eat meals at school (e.g., distance learning). Benefits are not available immediately but may be retroactive to September 2020, depending upon when FRP eligibility is determined. 

In the first round of P-EBT, households applied for P-EBT through an online application. In this new round of P-EBT, there is not an online application. Students gain eligibility based on district data. The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is working to identify the least burdensome approach for gathering the necessary information from school districts. 

Action items: 

1. Communicate with families the urgency to submit their free or reduced-price meal application. You may use or modify this sample P-EBT message, if desired.
2. Encourage families to update their physical address, phone number and email address in the student information system so benefit cards are sent to the correct place. 

MDE has received inquiries from Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) sponsoring organizations and licensed child care centers who participate in CACFP on whether they can participate in the USDA Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) during the pandemic and while schools operate on a hybrid or distance learning model. 

Based on USDA guidance, licensed child care centers operating CACFP in most cases cannot operate as a SFSP site unless they meet the following criteria:

1. One of the following:
   • The child care center is closed as a result of COVID-19.
   • The center has a separate food program for children not enrolled in the child care center. In this case, SFSP can only be operated for non-enrolled children if the childcare is still open.
2. The center meets the SFSP site eligibility criteria, including proximity to an existing site.
3. The center ensures that the same children are not served meals in both programs.
4. The center ensures separate records are maintained for each program.

For-profit SFSP sites, including for-profit licensed child care centers, have additional criteria applicable under SFSP:

1. The non-profit sponsoring organization will maintain operational control of the meal service at the site.
2. No SFSP reimbursement funds are provided to the site.
3. Site operators may not prepare the meals, and funds may not be provided to pay the site to employ site staff.
4. Only sponsors’ trained staff, volunteers and site staff are permitted to distribute the meals.

This guidance can be found in the USDA SFSP Administrative Guidance Handbook (pages 11-13), USDA Memo CACFP 09-2020 Q&A (questions #1 and #2) and USDA Memo SFSP 13-2011.