The US Department of Agriculture waivers for the 2021-2022 school year for schools will continue to offer flexibility in feeding children and meeting local needs. These waivers are available for schools across the state regardless of student eligibility or in-person learning status.
Many of these flexibilities are extensions of existing waivers. In addition, the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) option was not extended for schools into the 2021-2022 school year. Instead, a new waiver will allow school districts to access theSeamless Summer Option(SSO) during the school year. Typically, schools operate the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) during the school year. The SSO program removes student income eligibility requirements providing free meals for all students and will provide the higher SFSP reimbursement. While very similar to the SFSP option schools have been running since March 2020, the SSO requires schools to follow the NSLP meal pattern as well as complete application and reimbursement forms under the NSLP section of MAPS.
Montana Office of Public Instruction is currently making administrative and technology changes to existing systems to accommodate the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) to align with the federal waivers. The MAPS update is tentatively scheduled to be in place by the week of June 21, 2021. After the update, schools will be able to login to MAPS, complete their NSLP application packet, and opt into the SSO via the site applications section.
Households with a child approved to receive free or reduced price meals under the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program during the 2019-2020 or 2020-2021 school year are eligible for the Federal Communication Commission’s Emergency Broadband Benefit. EBB is a federal program to help eligible families pay for internet service during the pandemic.
This memorandum states visual observation and identification by Child and Adult Food Care Program (CACFP) institutions and facilities and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sponsors is no longer an allowable practice for program operators to use during the collection of race or ethnicity data.
USDA is committed to providing nutrition assistance to hard-hit families across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic. In support of President Biden’s call to action on hunger, USDA announced that it is increasing the Pandemic EBT benefit by approximately 15 percent, providing more money for low-income families and millions of children missing meals due to school and child care closures.
This memorandum provides notice to child nutrition program operators regarding Sections 743, 764, 767, and 789 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 enacted on Dec. 21, 2020. This revised memorandum applies to state agencies administering, and local organizations operating the federal child nutrition programs. It is revised to correct the timeframe intended by Congress for Section 743.
FNS is establishing a targeted waiver, for all states and local educational agencies, to extend statutory and regulatory deadlines relating to Community Eligibility Provision reporting and election during the public health emergency due to COVID–19.
This memorandum announces the release of the state agency supplemental implementation plan templates for use in the Child Nutrition Emergency Operational Costs Reimbursement Programs.
SP09 CACFP07-2021
TITAN Menu Planner
Together, with You, We’re Making Schools Stronger
It has been our goal to bring you the best menu planning solution on the market. Today, we are pleased to announce that TITAN – A LINQ solution, is available to you at no cost as the MT OPI School Nutrition Program menu planning partner. You can now join over 600 other districts from across the country that are using TITAN to make their school stronger. Not only does Titan offer menu planning with nutritional analysis and checkpoints, administrative review reports, and production records, it also offers, inventory, forecasting, purchasing, menus, and a POS all under the same no-cost-to-you price tag! You can manage the entire food production workflow seamlessly with updates in real-time, and effortlessly plan, track, and report the nutritional value of every meal, including the Family Portal. Training is available via the on-line TITAN Academy. You can choose to opt in for just menu planning or for all of the software options – it’s up to you!
Over the next few weeks, you may be contacted by a representative of the TITAN team to introduce you to the possibilities. If you want to get started right away, you can review the demo at https://www.titank12.com/ and/or contact the Montana Field Representative, Lance Heggem, at lheggem@linq.com, 503-367-4703 (cell - best option) OR 916-467-4700, ext 730 (office).
TITAN Menu Planner Demos
Tuesday Meetings, scheduled for the next three Tuesdays between 1:00 – 1:45 MST
Topic: Introducing Montana to TITAN! Time: 1:00 – 1:45 MST. Scheduled for Tuesday, June 1: Tuesday, June 8: Tuesday, June 15 Join Zoom Meeting https://linq.zoom.us/j/92959338721?pwd=bTdHQWZ2d1hpVW5wY0FXR0hLdWYxZz09 [linq.zoom.us] Meeting ID: 929 5933 8721 Passcode: 996368 One tap mobile +13462487799,,92959338721# US +16699009128,,92959338721# US
Thursday Meetings, scheduled for the next three Thursdays between 8:00 – 8:45 MST
Topic: Introducing Montana to TITAN! Time: 8:00 – 8:45 MST. Scheduled for Thursday, June 3: Thursday, June 10: Thursday, June 17 Join Zoom Meeting https://linq.zoom.us/j/92463042930?pwd=TFBCY1pTR3lRRVpNQ0lJek9HaENEdz09 [linq.zoom.us] Meeting ID: 924 6304 2930 Passcode: 345027 One tap mobile +13462487799,,92463042930# US (Houston) +12532158782,,92463042930# US (Tacoma) Dial by your location +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
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, Relay Service: 711.
