Nutrition Program Bulletin – Week of August 25, 2025
Each section contains updates relevant to those nutrition programs. You can jump to the section you're interested in by clicking the link.
2025-26 Reimbursement Rates
All reimbursement rates for school year (SY) 2025-26, including cash in lieu of commodities, have now been released. Our office has updated the rates in the Cyber-Linked Interactive Child Nutrition System (CLiCS) for the July 2025 reimbursement claims. View the 2025-26 reimbursement rates.
Annual Public Notice for Child Nutrition Programs
MDE is distributing a public notice, including current income eligibility guidelines, to media on behalf of schools, childcare centers, family childcare sponsoring organizations, adult care centers, and other organizations that participate in these U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs:
- National School Lunch Program
- School Breakfast Program
- Child and Adult Care Food Program
- Special Milk Program
Federal regulations for these programs require the notice to be provided to local media so that, when possible, it may be printed as a public service to readers.
Offices Closed
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) offices will be closed Monday, September 1, due to the Labor Day holiday.
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Child and Adult Care Food Program Application Renewal
The 2025-26 Sponsor and Site renewal applications are now available in CLiCS.
How to Apply
Application Reminders
- Sponsors must ensure the email address and contact information on the sponsor and site application(s) are current and accurate.
- A CLiCS-generated email will be sent to the contact person listed on the sponsor application when approved.
- If a site receives vended meals, a fully executed vended meal contract must be uploaded to the site’s application. Check out the Child and Adult Care and Summer Food Procurement webpage for federal procurement requirements, resources and the template vended meals contract. The Small Purchase Price Comparison – Vended Meals resource includes instructions and a template to help non-school organizations procure a vended meals contract when the annual contract value is less than $250,000.
- If a site is exempt from Department of Human Services (DHS) or Tribal Council Licensure, indicate this in #4 on the site application and note in the description box which of the 23 statutory exclusions from licensure apply. See Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 245A.03, subdivision 2 Exclusion from licensure. For questions about licensing, call DHS at 651-431-6500.
Questions?
Email the Applications Team at mde.fns@state.mn.us or call 651-582-8526 or 1-800-366-8922 (Minnesota toll-free). Please include your CLiCS sponsor ID number in all correspondence.
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Update Sponsor Contact and Distributor Selection Information
Sponsors need to update their sponsor contact information and ensure they have selected and confirmed a distributor in CLiCS, prior to the start of SY 2025-26, to ensure delivery of selected foods.
- Instructions are found in the FDP Handbook on the MDE Food Distribution webpage.
- Sponsors contracting with a food service management company or vended meal provider are responsible for ensuring correct distributor information is provided in CLiCS.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) DoD Fresh Reminders
Sponsors need to update their contact information in the Fruit and Vegetable Order Receipt System (FFAVORS), prior to the start of SY 2025-26, in order to receive DoD deliveries. Sponsors should ensure at least one contact named in FFAVORS is employed by their organization.
- Directions on how to request a new FFAVORS user login are found in the FDP Handbook on the MDE Food Distribution webpage.
- Food Service Management Company (FSMC) or vended meal provider contacts are not allowed as the primary contact.
- USDA requires schools to receipt their USDA DoD Fresh deliveries in FFAVORS.
USDA Foods Fall Store Now Open
The fall store is now open and will close September 9, 2025, at 11 p.m. Direct Delivery and Processing are the two distribution channels being offered in this store. Your next opportunity to shop for USDA DoD Fresh will be provided in the SY 2026-27 spring store.
- SY 2025-26 Entitlement Meal Rate for USDA Foods is $0.45.
- Sponsors’ finalized entitlement for the Fall Store will be calculated using their SY 2025 meal counts.
- State entitlements will not be updated for SY 2026 with the SY 2025 meal counts until November 2025 per USDA’s finalization timeline.
- MDE will work to fulfill store requests to the fullest extent possible, but sponsors may notice a reduced quantity in their food requested due to the state entitlement amount available for this ordering period.
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Adult Meal Pricing Requirements for School Year (SY) 2025-26
The required minimum meal prices for adults and other non-program meals for SY 2025-26 are listed below. Sponsors contracting with a vended meal provider or food service management company may need to adjust upwards to cover the full cost of the meal. See FNS Instruction 782-5 REV. 1.
Minimum adult prices for SY 2025-26 (and other non-program meals):
- Breakfast: $2.50
- Lunch: $5.05
School Nutrition Program (SNP) funds may not be used to subsidize meals served to adults or other non-program food sales, such as second meals. The meal price must be set high enough so that the cost of the meal is fully paid by the customer. Meals may be provided at no charge only to “program” adults, as defined in the Ensuring Financial Compliance for Non-Program Foods document located on the SNP Resource Management webpage of the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) website.
Fill the Form Communications Toolkit Now Available for Schools
Help your families understand why the Application for Educational Benefits still matters — even now that school meals are provided at no cost.
The Application for Educational Benefits helps connect eligible families to valuable benefits and helps schools secure vital federal funding. If eligible students aren’t counted, state dollars are used to cover expenses that federal funding is intended to support. By encouraging every eligible family to apply, we can protect resources and keep this program strong for the long term.
The Fill the Form Communication Toolkit includes flyers, social media graphics, sample messages, and outreach templates.
Check out the toolkit today and use the flyers, graphics, and messaging to increase awareness and form completion at your school.
One form. Five minutes. A year of support for families, schools, and our state.
Highlight Your School’s Culinary Creativity. Share a Recipe!
MDE is developing a Global Flavors Handbook to help school nutrition professionals explore cultural meal options. This exciting resource will feature authentic, student-approved recipes from Minnesota schools, highlighting cuisines from African, Asian, European, Mediterranean, Indigenous, and Latin American traditions.
We would love for your district or school to be part of this project. If your district or school has a standardized recipe (50 servings or more) that celebrates culture, has been a hit with students, and you would like to be featured in the MDE’s Global Flavors Handbook, please submit it to mde.teamnutrition@state.mn.us by September 30, 2025.
Third Annual Say Yes! to School Meals Photo Contest
MDE will host its 3rd Annual Say Yes! to School Meals Photo Contest during the 2025-26 school year. If you would like to participate, it is beneficial to start taking photos of your school breakfast and lunch meals throughout the year so you will be ready to submit an entry when the contest opens. MDE anticipates sharing the contest instructions in the Nutrition Program Bulletin in January 2026. Schools will be encouraged to submit photos of breakfast and lunch meals that are unique, colorful, and reflect the preferences of their student population.
Photos must:
- Show a meal that was served sometime during school year 2025-26,
- Show a reimbursable meal with all meal components shown, and
- Not show people or a serving line.
Try to avoid showing food packages, other than milk and juice. View the 2024 contest winners and the 2025 contest winners.
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