Summer Food, Summer Moves is a fun, hands-on resource kit designed to get kids and families excited about healthy eating and physical activity during the summer months. The kit is designed for use by summer meal site operators and focuses on using music, games, art, and movement to motivate kids and families to choose more fruits and vegetables, choose water instead of sugary drinks, get enough physical activity every day, and to limit screen time.
30-Day Carryover Guidance for SY 2022-2023
Schools that operated under the SSO in SY 2021-2022 and do not have eligibility determinations from SY 2021-2022 should use the most recent free and reduced-price determinations since SY 2019-2020 for the 30-day carryover period of SY 2022-2023.
Summer 2022 Waivers
Due to the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, USDA is extending nationwide waivers allowing flexibilities in the Summer Food Service Program through September 30th, 2022.
To use the three meal service waivers above, schools need to notify OPI by filling out this Waiver Request Form.
Area Eligibility and Application Deadline Waivers
USDA has extended the Area Eligibility Waiver for Summer 2022, allowing sponsors who do not qualify for SFSP under traditional Area Eligibility requirements to operate.
The OPI School Nutrition Programs extended Application deadline for new sponsors is July 31st. Contact OPI SNP to inquire about using these waivers.
FNS has provided flexibilities for certain monitoring and review requirements for the Summer Food Service Program such as:
First Week Site Visits - Waives the first week site visit requirements for sites that have operated successfully in the previous year, for SFA sponsors in good standing, and for CACFP sponsors in good standing.
Offer Versus Serve - Extends OvS to non-school food authority sponsors.
Online Free and Reduced Price Application (FRAPP)
You may begin using the online free and reduced price application for the 2022-23 school year starting on July 1, 2022.
You will then be able to process anything a family submits online through DCA when it comes back up, usually around the 3rd week of July after the annual DCA shutdown for unenrollment and decertification process is completed.
There are two sides to the free and reduced price application system. One where families enter information. The other you can use to enter paper applications received.
The other side of the system is in the Direct Certification Application (DCA) where you opt-in your district to use the online free and reduced price application, process the applications that are submitted, and run reports. The eligibility math is done in the system. It’s super easy!
There is a Determining Official User Manual on the DCA login page. This tells you how the system operates and how to set up your district. It’s a simple opt-in process in DCA, then copy a URL to publicize to your families.
Call Bitsey Draur, IT Project Manager, with questions at 406-461-5423.
USDA Foods Update
Deliveries of USDA Foods are scheduled to start the week of August 22. If your school has a new food service director, please contact us with that information. We will reach out to them to ensure that USDA Foods orders are set up correctly for the coming year. Contact Pam Fruh, Food Distribution Program Manager at 406-444-4412 or pamela.fruh@mt.gov
Revised Procuring Local Foods for Child Nutrition Programs Guide
On June 21, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s (FNS) Farm to School Program released the revised Procuring Local Foods for Child Nutrition Programs Guide, which provides an overview of federal procurement principles and covers topics related to sourcing and purchasing local foods, for State agencies and child nutrition program operators. This guide highlights a variety of mechanisms schools can use to purchase local products while staying in accordance with federal procurement regulations. Featured are examples of how to target local foods when conducting both formal and informal procurements, use the Geographic Preference option, and use the USDA Foods and DoD Fresh Programs to enhance local purchasing. Please feel free to share the guide across your networks.
Updated brochures now available from Team Nutrition
Three Team Nutrition brochures have been updated and are now available online.
The Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (FBG) [fns.usda.gov] brochure describes the purpose of the FBG and the various features, such as the Recipe Analysis Workbook, Exhibit A Grains Tools, and FBG Calculator, included in the Web-based Tool and Mobile App. The FBG is the go-to source of food yield information for all Child Nutrition Programs and is used by Program operators as well as food industry. The brochure also provides links to FBG training resources such as recorded webinars, training videos, and the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) training modules.
The Professional Standards for School Nutrition Professionals [fns.usda.gov] brochure provides an overview of the Professional Standards and describes the annual training requirements and hiring standards for school nutrition professionals. The brochure also lists the various resources available to help school nutrition professionals meet the Professional Standards requirements. These include the Guide to Professional Standards for School Nutrition Programs, the Professional Standards Training Database, and the Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool.
The Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool (PSTTT) [fns.usda.gov] brochure provides information on the PSTTT, a free, web-based tool available for school nutrition professionals to record their annual training hours. Learn about the user-friendly and time saving features of the PSTTT such as:
Recording trainings for all employees at once
Auto-populating training information into training records
Generating and printing summary reports
Printing certificates of completion
For more information about these technical assistance tools and related resources visit these Team Nutrition webpages:
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.
Nationwide waiver of the summer sponsor application deadline and to allow reimbursement for meals served prior to notification of approval for summer 2022 operations.
Pursuant to the authority in Section 2202 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and current national supply chain constraints due to COVID-19, FNS is granting a waiver of certain fiscal action requirements in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. This waiver is available for any state where there is a supply chain disruption with respect to foods served under such a qualified program and such disruption is due to COVID–19. FNS is also extending this flexibility to the NSLP Seamless Summer Option for the duration of this waiver.
Pursuant to Section 2202(a) of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and based on the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, FNS is establishing a nationwide waiver to allow school food authorities to claim National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option meals and snacks at the applicable Summer Food Service Program reimbursement rates in summer 2022. This waiver will ensure continuity of program operations and access to nutritious meals for program participants this summer.
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide funding allocation amounts for all state agencies for FY 2023; to provide information on funding requirements and deadlines; and to serve as a reminder of important program requirements.
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 guidance to state agencies and school food authorities as they transition from COVID-19 nationwide waivers. This guidance applies to state agencies and school food authorities administering the NSLP and the SBP in SY 2022-23 and SY 2023-24.
SP 11-2022
NEW! Fueling My Healthy Life Nutrition Education for 7th and 8th Grade Students
USDA’s Team Nutrition is excited to announce the release of new Fueling My Healthy Life nutrition education for 7th and 8th grade students, available at fns.usda.gov/tn/fueling-my-healthy-life [gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com]. This standards-aligned and inquiry-based collection of educational resources is designed to engage middle school students using a variety of learning styles.
Educators can pick and choose from a variety of learning activities to create a fun lesson with easy to access digital materials including informational text articles, student assessments, digital interactives (i.e., games), and videos.
The new 7th and 8th grade materials will join the previously-released resources for 6th grade. All materials for each grade are available on the Team Nutrition website:
Students explore how sodium affects the human body, how to track nutrients in the foods they eat, and how to make healthy snack and meal choices.
State agencies are encouraged to share this announcement with their Child Nutrition Program operators and others who may be interested. Questions about this announcement may be sent to TeamNutrition@USDA.gov.
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.
