Montana Office of Public Instruction sent this bulletin at 11/24/2021 08:34 AM MST
Coming Soon to Your Cafeteria … Pasta Sauce Made in Montana
In response to numerous requests for locally sourced products for school menus, we are excited to announce that a complimentary sample of Montana Marinara sauce will be delivered with an upcoming shipment of USDA Foods. The sauce is being produced at the Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center in Ronan, and incorporates Montana-grown onion, carrot, leek, safflower oil, and butternut squash into a versatile tomato-based sauce that will easily adapt to many recipes. Schools are encouraged to taste test and provide feedback on student response. If well received, production of Montana Marinara could be expanded in future years.
LEP Access
In accordance with Federal Law, Child Nutrition Program operators and sponsors must adhere to all civil rights regulations, including ensuring meaningful access to program information for persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) in the language they understand. To access free language interpretation services, refer to the MAPS homepage or contact OPI School Nutrition Programs at 406-444-2501.
Waiver Request Form
If you have not yet completed the 2021-22 school year Waiver Request Form, please fill it out to provide information about the flexibilities your district is using.
To provide operational flexibility, School Nutrition Programs Flexibility waivers have been extended through the 2021-22 school year that schools can opt into using as needed. Flexibility will allow schools to continue with classroom meals, outdoor meals, and other meal service models that support social distancing for in-person and distance learning students. These waivers allow for schools to offer non-congregate meals (grab and go), parents or guardians can pick up meals to take home to their children, offer vs. serve flexibility in high schools, and schools can establish meal service times that support streamlined access to nutritious meals.
Additionally, specific meal pattern flexibilities have been extended to support alternative meal service options which schools can request on a case by case basis by completing the second section of this form below.
Schools should only use these waivers for the duration and extent needed.
The MAPS Verification Report submission deadline was Nov 30th. Sponsors that collected free and reduced-price meal applications during SY 2021-22, including those operating SSO, are required to annually verify 3% of applications on file. If your organization has yet to begin the verification process please see the Verification Deadline Extension Request Form to request an extension of the verification activities up through December 15th. Sponsors operating SSO may utilize this supplementary flyer to accompany the materials sent to households.
Sponsors operating certain types of programs are exempt from having to complete the verification process itself. However ALL sponsor types must submit the Verification Report in MAPS, except for those operating a milk only program.
Types of Sponsors Exempt from the Verification Process:
Sponsors that did not collect SY 2021-22 Free and Reduced-Price Applications
Sponsors operating CEP district-wide
Residential Child Care Institutions (RCCIs)
Sponsors exempt from the verification process should complete the following items on the MAPS Verification Report: 1-1 (schools), 1-2 (RCCIs only) and check the boxes for items 5-1 and 5-6.
School Nutrition Document Library in MAPS
The new Document Library in the Montana Agreement and Payment System (MAPS) has replaced Download Forms for all your forms, web links, and resource documentation regarding Child Nutrition Programs. It is under the Applications menu in School Nutrition Program and Summer Food Service Program modules, and it is available under the Agencies menu in the Food Distribution Program module. It is easy to use, as you can see categories of information that expand into detail that you can view and/or download. The robust Search feature can be used by typing in key words. To return to MAPS, simply click on the upper right hand corner icon that looks like a Rubik’s cube to get ‘Back To Montana OPI Nutrition Programs’.
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 notifies state agencies and child nutrition program operators of the changes made by OMB to the federal informal procurement method, micro-purchases and the micro-purchase threshold.
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.
FNS has used its authority under FFRCA to waive certain onsite monitoring requirements for the school meals programs, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program, so that programs can to maintain program integrity and support social distancing while providing meals.
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.
