Faith-Based Organization Final Rule 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and eight other Federal agencies recently published a final rule titled, Partnerships With Faith-Based and Neighborhood Organizations, which went into effect on July 2, 2024. The new rule applies to faith-based organizations participating in any Child Nutrition Program and contains new requirements local operators must provide to beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries in writing. This written notice must be provided to beneficiaries prior to program enrollment or receiving services, when possible. For more information on implementation, please review the Notice to Beneficiaries and prospective Beneficiaries.

2024–25 Statewide Attendance Factor

The statewide attendance factor for School Year (SY) 2024–25 is 91.47%. Schools have the option of using either the state or their local attendance factor for monthly attendance-adjusted edit checks.

Confidentiality and Disclosure of Student Meal Eligibility Status

Households must provide consent to share their student meal eligibility information with anyone outside federal or state education and nutrition programs. Any local education program—such as athletics, afterschool care, standardized testing or other programs that offer a reduced or waived fee to households qualifying for meal benefits—requires consent specific to that program.

The consent statement must be in writing. It may be obtained at the time of application or at a later time. It must enable parents, guardians or adult participants to limit consent to only those programs with which they wish to share information. For example, the consent statement could use a check-off system under which the applicant would check or initial a box to indicate they want to have information disclosed to determine eligibility for benefits from a certain program.

Additional requirements can be found on Page 91 of the USDA Eligibility Manual for School Meals. Confidentiality and disclosure templates and the Confidentiality and Disclosure Essentials training video are available on the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) website.

Counting and Claiming Meals by Eligibility Category Requirements

Schools not operating the Community Eligibility Provision must count and claim meals by student name and their meal eligibility (free, reduced-price and paid) category.

The 2024–25 Application for Educational Benefits must be made available to households to complete. The letter sent to households to notify them of the results should clearly identify their determined meal eligibility benefit level and that meals are provided at no charge, regardless of benefit level. Use this template household notification letter.

Not all directly certified students qualify for free meals. Some will qualify for reduced-price meals via Medicaid. Be sure to read the detailed direct certification reports to assign the correct benefit level. Use the household notification letter templates found on MDE’s Direct Certification webpage.

If you use template notification letters from your Point of Service (POS) system, ensure they contain the correct and required information.

Direct Certification Webinar and Training Resources

Visit the MDE Calendar to register for the Addressing Common Direct Certification Mistakes webinar scheduled for Tuesday, August 20, at 2 p.m. Avoid direct certification mistakes and perfect your direct certification processes this school year. This session will focus on recent updates, unique situations and commonly missed steps.

For an overview of the direct certification process, review the Direct Certification training and/or the Direct Certification Handbook – Public Schools prior to attending the webinar.

Meal Pattern Updates and Flexibilities

USDA’s “Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans” took effect on July 1, 2024, and is being phased in over the next several years. Required changes to the school meal patterns will not begin until SY 2025–26 and will be phased in through SY 2027–28. There is flexibility to adopt some requirements in the 2024–25 school year. This is outlined in USDA’s Implementation Timeline for Updated Nutrition Requirements in School Meals.

School Food Authorities can read the final rule, view the webinar recording and slides and see other related resources on the USDA Nutrition Standards Update webpage.

Team Nutrition Recording Trainings Available

MDE, in collaboration with Alliance for a Healthier Generation, developed two trainings on the topics of family and youth engagement. The trainings were funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Team Nutrition Training grant funds. The trainings may be shared with staff who assist with Local Wellness Policy efforts.

• The Collaborative Partnership: Family Engagement Best Practices (38 minutes)
• Engaging Youth Voice in Nutrition Programming (42 minutes)

Additionally, the resources shared in the trainings can be viewed on the Alliance for a Healthier Generation Resources webpage.

Updated Training Guide: Reducing Added Sugars at School Breakfast

USDA released an updated training guide for school nutrition professionals which provides information on:

• How to determine added sugars in foods and drinks.
• Menu planning tips.
• New added sugars limits.
• Tips for reducing added sugars in recipes.
• Talking with families and caregivers.

View the guide in English or Spanish.