School Nutrition Staff Updates
Amber Lyman is joining the OPI School Nutrition Program Specialist Team. Amber has a background in Hospitality and Food Service Management obtaining her bachelor’s degree from Johnson &Wales University in Denver. For the past 5 years, she worked as the Nutrition Services Supervisor at a School District in Northern California. Prior to that, she worked in Restaurant Management in Denver CO. She looks forward to continuing her service to the students of Montana in OPI’s School Nutrition Program. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, camping, traveling, and exploring new places.
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Lauren Donithan is the new School Nutrition Program Specialist. Lauren has a Public Health Degree with a concentration in Nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is also a Registered Dietitian. Her previous work experience has been in private nutrition practice as well as clinical nutrition, but she is excited to put her Public Health degree to good use as a part of the School Nutrition Program with Montana OPI and is ready to serve Montana’s schools! In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her husband and two boys as well as yoga, tending to her garden, and serving at her church.
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Resources to help with School Nutrition Administration for the 2022-23 School Year
School Nutrition Programs Checklist
Administrative Update Packet for Schools
Apply Now for up to $10,000 for the School Food Service Equipment Grant- Deadline to apply is November 4, 2022
The Montana Office of Public Instruction has available funding to award via competitive sub-grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 to Montana school districts. This School Food Service Equipment Grant funding opportunity is available for Montana school districts that operate the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) during SY2022-23 to obtain new equipment or to renovate or replace existing equipment.
Grant application and more information is available on the OPI School Nutrition Programs website: https://opi.mt.gov/School-Nutrition
Instructions for Submitting 2021-22 School Year Food Safety Inspections Report
Due November 10, 2022
Either the Food Service Director or Claims Contact for the district may enter the information. Thank you to those who have already entered the information!
1. Login to MAPS https://apps.opi.mt.gov/osp/
2. Click on School Nutrition Programs.
3. Click on Applications.
4. Click on Food Safety Inspections.
5. Click on Modify for 2021-2022.
6. For each site, click on None, One, Two, Three, or More for the number of inspections received at that site during the previous school year.
7. If fewer than Two inspections were received, click on the reason.
8. When finished entering for each site, click Save at the bottom of the page.
Food Safety Inspections Requirement
School Food Authorities that serve meals under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) are required to maintain proper sanitation and health standards in conformance with all applicable State and local laws and regulations. School Food Authorities are required to obtain two school food safety inspections per school year, which are to be conducted by a State or local governmental agency responsible for food safety inspections (see 7 CFR 210.13 for the NSLP regulations and 7 CFR 220.7 for the SBP regulations at www.fns.usda.gov/cnd). The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-265) increased the inspection requirement from one to two per school year, beginning in the school year 2005-06, and requires School Food Authorities to post the latest inspection report in a visible location and make it available to the public upon request.
Food Safety Inspections Reporting Requirement
The State Agency that administers the school meal programs is also required to collect information on the total number of inspections conducted in schools under the jurisdiction and report to USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service the number of inspections by November 15 each year.
The food safety inspection requirement applies to all food preparation service sites and service-only sites. The scope of the food safety inspection may vary according to the type of food service operation and is determined by the agency responsible for inspections.
Unpaid Meals: Best Practices to Ensure Student Access to Meals Webinar
On August 24, FNS delivered a live webinar featuring panelists from the Minnesota and Virginia State agencies sharing proactive strategies to prevent and manage unpaid meal charges as schools return to standard counting and claiming in the school year 2022-23.
Access the Recorded Webinar: Link [fns.usda.gov]
Please also visit Unpaid Meal Charges | Food and Nutrition Service (usda.gov) [fns.usda.gov] for policy guidance, best practice resources, and other tools state agencies and local Program operators can use in their efforts to overcome the challenge of unpaid meal charges.
MT School Meals Certification Program
Are you a new Food Service Director/Head Cook? Have you hired new staff within the last 2 years? If so, you may be interested in participating in the FREE Montana School Meals Certificate Program offered by the Montana Office of Public Instruction, School Nutrition Programs, and Montana Team Nutrition. It is a comprehensive training program for directors and front-line staff on the basics of school nutrition programs (meal patterns, offer versus serve, procurement, food production techniques, culinary skills, and required record keeping). A commitment from participating staff is required to agree to complete 8 hours of training (front line staff) and 40 hours of training (Food Service Director/Head Cook) within the timeline.
You can choose the timeline (Option A or B) and methods (live virtual; independent self-paced virtual; or in person) for receiving the training that best suits you and your staff.
- Option A timeline: February 2023 - July 2023
- Option B timeline: June 2023 - November 2023
Training Delivery Methods
- Attend workshops live, in person
- Attend virtual workshops (i.e. Wednesday Webinars)
- Completed self-paced online trainings independently (i.e. on your computer, on your own schedule)
A majority of the live workshops for Option B will be held at the 2023 Montana School Nutrition Association conference held in Great Falls.
A sub-grant to your school nutrition program (up to $7,500) is part of this program that can support employee bonuses if they complete the required number of hours within 6 months; small equipment needs (<$5,000), or travel/substitute pay.
If you are interested in learning more about this program, complete this simple form. [montana.qualtrics.com] Sign up now as participation (and grant funds) is limited. Feel free to contact Montana Team Nutrition staff [montana.edu] for more information.
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Montana Crunch Time
October 19, 2022
Montana Crunch Time is a state-wide event where students, teachers, farmers, community members, and local food enthusiasts come together and bite into any locally grown or raised Montana food.
This year the crunch has been expanded beyond apples. Crunchable foods include apples, carrots, chickpeas, beef jerky, and more!
Help Montana win the Crunch Off crown by sending your crunch photos by October 31 at:
https://www.montana.edu/mtfarmtoschool/mt-crunch-time.html
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Nondiscrimination Statement
Spanish-language NDS
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.
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