P-EBT Communication 

Moving forward, all P-EBT communication will be sent through a new P-EBT bulletin. School nutrition sponsor contacts, food service contacts and Minnesota Automated Reporting Student System (MARSS) coordinators will be added automatically to the bulletin list. Everyone else must sign up to receive the 
P-EBT bulletin. You may forward this link to other school staff. Please do not share it with families as the information will not be relevant to them.   

P-EBT School Training 

If you missed the P-EBT training for public and nonpublic schools on Wed., February 3, watch the P-EBT Data Portal webpage for the recordings to be added as soon as possible. The training includes essential information for making sure your students receive the most P-EBT benefits possible this school year.  

Additional training on the P-EBT Data Portal will be available after assessing the need.  

Learning Model Training 

Education Identity and Access Management (EDIAM) Training 

School personnel who are responsible for submitting student data through the P-EBT data portal must create an Education Identity and Access Management (EDIAM) user account if they don’t already have one. Learn more about EDIAM at the Education Identity and Access Management (EDIAM) Training on February 8, 2021, at 11 a.m. 

Student ID Validation Training for Nonpublic Schools 

Since nonpublic school students do not have State Student ID numbers, nonpublic schools must work with their local public school district to assign these numbers before submitting student data to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). Either the public school district can assign numbers for nonpublic students, or the public district can grant a nonpublic school staff person access to the Student ID Validation Training to assign numbers on their own. This training is directed at nonpublic school staff who will be granted access to the system by their public school counterpart. Register for the Student ID Validation Training on February 10, 2021 at 10 a.m. 

Coming Soon: Minnesota Harvest Recipe Contest 

Starting next week, staff from Minnesota schools will have the opportunity to submit recipes to MDE's Minnesota Harvest Recipe Contest. If you have a school meal recipe that features a Minnesota locally grown food as a main ingredient and is appealing to K-12 students, consider submitting the recipe to MDE for a chance to win prizes. Contest details and instructions (including information about the 18 Minnesota food items that are featured in the contest) will be available on the MDE Team Nutrition webpage February 10–March 10, 2021. Look for additional details in next week’s bulletin. 

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. 

• Ready, Set, Shop (February 9, 2021) 
• Success with Standardized Recipes (February 16, 2021) 
• SFSP/SSO Operations Requirements Overview (February 23, 2021) 

Prevention of Wasted Food and Food Rescue Grants 

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is excited to announce the release of a second Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Prevention of Wasted Food and Food Rescue Grants. These grants provide up to $580,000 to organizations that help prevent food from being wasted and/or promote food rescue (food-to-people). Composting and food-to-animal programs are not eligible for this grant funding. Eligible applicants include Minnesota: 

Applications are due Friday, March 19, 2021, 4 p.m.  

Questions must be submitted to grants.pca@state.mn.us with the subject line “Prevention of Wasted Food and Food Rescue” no later than 4 p.m. on March 16, 2021.