School Nutrition Policy
USDA Announces School and Summer Meals Reforms
Secretary Perdue announced two proposals that will put local school and summer food service operators back in the driver’s seat of their programs.
Resource | Policy Memos | SP05-2020 Questions & Answers Regarding Professional Standards for State and Local School Nutrition Program Personnel
This Questions & Answers (Q&A) memorandum is designed to provide an overview of the policies related to the Professional Standards regulations (7 CFR 210.30 and 235.11(g)) for state and local school nutrition program personnel. The regulations seek to ensure that school nutrition program personnel have the knowledge and skills to manage and operate the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program correctly and successfully. This document includes responses to questions submitted by state agencies and program operators on specific aspects of the regulations. This memorandum rescinds and replaces SP 38-2016, “Questions & Answers (Q&As) on the Final Rule ‘Professional Standards for State and Local School Nutrition Programs Personnel as Required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.” This document has been updated to include questions regarding the final rule titled Hiring Flexibility Under Professional Standards (84 FR 6953/8247).
Resource | Policy Memos | FD-147 Policy Cancellation Memorandum
In order to update and streamline policy guidance for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), the Nutrition Services Incentive Program (NSIP), the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is cancelling Policy Memoranda FD-010, FD-027, FD-028, FD-029, FD-032, FD-053, FD-055, FD-071, FD-073, FD-074, FD-083, FD-086, FD-087, FD-090, FD-105, and FD-115. The guidance provided by these memoranda are either outdated, obsolete, or otherwise captured in more current memoranda.
Monthly Claims for Reimbursement Reminder
Please remember to submit your monthly claims for reimbursement by the 10th of the following month. January claims are due February 10.
Please call our office at 406-444-2501 with questions.
And Justice for All poster
Sponsors of the National School Lunch Program are required to prominently display the And Justice for All poster.
The poster must be placed in a location that enable program participants to read the text of the poster without obstruction.
Please contact our office at 406-444-2501 if you have questions.
Summer Food Service Program Policy
Summer Meal Newsletters
Every other month, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service creates a newsletter highlighting new resources available to assist with coordination and operation of the Summer Food Service Program.
Events
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National School Breakfast Week March 2-6, 2020
Mark your calendar for National School Breakfast Week—March 2-6, 2020! The #NSBW20 theme is “School Breakfast: Out of this World,” which is sure to captivate students and stakeholders with how your breakfast program is blasting off into new territory! Start planning your celebration today.
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Resources
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Cartewheel Menu Planner
The Montana Office of Public Instruction and Colyar Technology Solutions have partnered together to offer you Cartewheel Menu Planner!
Cartewheel simplifies the process of creating healthy, delicious menus, and communicating them to your site staff.
For now, as funding is available, the OPI will cover the cost for districts to use the software. Participating districts will likely pay a reasonable annual rate in the future.
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What You Can Do To Help Prevent Wasted Food
USDA’s Team Nutrition initiative is pleased to announce the availability of a slightly revised “What You Can Do to Prevent Wasted Food” booklet for school meal programs. Team Nutrition has updated this publication to include new tips and resource links. School nutrition professionals, parents, students, teachers, and school administrators can use this booklet to help reduce, recover, and recycle food to lessen food waste.
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Team Nutrition has made updates to allow users to:
- Deactivate and remove staff from their employee rosters who are no longer with the organization, and
- Report questions/concerns on navigating the tool via the ‘Report an Issue’ feature
This FREE web-based tool has many other user-friendly, time-saving features including:
- Accessing step-by-step training videos on the ‘Help’ tab,
- Auto-populating information from USDA's training database,
- Editing user profiles to update user roles and/or job titles,
- Printing certificates of completion for all employees,
- Recording trainings for multiple staff members all at once,
- Reminder notifications for annual training requirements, and
- Viewing and printing reports.
USDA Foods Data Trends Infographics
USDA is excited to release four infographics on USDA Foods purchases for School Year 2017 – 2018! These four infographics show nationwide data on USDA Foods purchases and can be used by States to learn more about USDA Foods in school meals. All four infographics are available for download on the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) website and can be used to communicate with your stakeholders about the USDA Foods program. Here is a quick overview of each infographic:
USDA Foods in Schools [lnks.gd] – This infographic summarizes nationwide USDA Foods purchases including the average cost per pound by food group and the breakdown of total spending and pounds received by food group.
USDA Foods in Schools: Summary by Program [lnks.gd] – This infographic shows a summary of purchases from all three programs: USDA Foods Bulk for Processing, USDA Foods Direct Delivery, and USDA DoD Fresh. It is important to note that the USDA Foods Bulk for Processing section only includes items classified as a bulk product on the USDA Foods Available List.
USDA Foods in Schools: State Overview [lnks.gd]– This infographic shows the average number of products ordered by States and the top five products by dollar value and volume. This infographic also displays the value of food orders by State.
USDA DoD Fresh in Schools [lnks.gd] – This infographic provides an overview of USDA DoD Fresh purchases including a summary of the top five fruit and vegetables received and the total pounds purchased. It is important to note that the items available through USDA DoD Fresh may vary by State.
Visit the FNS website [lnks.gd]and download your copy now!
The OPI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, require an alternate format, or have questions concerning accessibility, contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov, TTY 406-444-0235.
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