Montana Office of Public Instruction sent this bulletin at 03/27/2023 02:48 PM MDT
Available in print! School Breakfast Photo Props
USDA’s Team Nutrition initiative is excited to share that printed copies of the School Breakfast Photo Props [gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com] are now available. Schools can use these colorful props to add fun and excitement to school breakfast events during National School Breakfast Week, as well as other activities or celebrations throughout the school year. Each kit includes 40 fun images of breakfast foods, comment bubbles, and signs printed on perforated cardstock.
School Meal Participation Dramatically Increased As Kids Returned to School and to Free School Meals, Report Finds
Report reveals nearly 1.6 million more children received school breakfast and 10.1 million more children received school lunch during the 2021–2022 school year compared to the previous school year.
WASHINGTON, March 9, 2023 — With most schools back to in-person learning and offering breakfast and lunch at no cost to all of their students, participation in school meals grew dramatically during the 2021–2022 school year, slightly surpassing participation prior to the pandemic, according to a report released by the Food Research & Action Center [default.salsalabs.org] (FRAC) during National School Breakfast Week (March 6–10, 2023).
FRAC’s The Reach of Breakfast and Lunch During the 2021–2022 School Year [default.salsalabs.org] reveals that just over 15.5 million children received a breakfast, and 29.9 million children received a lunch on an average day during the 2021–2022 school year — an increase of 1.6 million children (11.2 percent) for breakfast, and 10.1 million (51.1 percent) for lunch compared to the previous year, and slightly above participation prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This sharp increase in participation demonstrates what is possible when meals are provided to all students at no charge and children are back in school,” said Luis Guardia, president of FRAC. “Congress must build on this lesson learned and make healthy school meals for all a permanent reality for all children across the country.”
Key report findings:
During the 2021–2022 school year, almost 2.4 billion breakfasts were served through the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) and School Breakfast Program combined, an increase of just over 237 million meals when compared to the 2020–2021 school year.
Lunch saw an even more dramatic increase: During the 2021–2022 school year, almost 4.5 billion lunches were served through SSO and the National School Lunch Program combined, an increase of 1.5 billion meals when compared to the previous school year.
Participation in 2021–2022 was higher than that of pre-pandemic levels, with just over 866,200 additional children participating in breakfast when compared to the 2018–2019 school year (the last full year before the pandemic), and 1.4 million additional children participating in school lunch.
At the onset of the pandemic, schools shuttered and participation in school meals dropped. Congress gave the U.S. Department of Agriculture the authority to issue nationwide child nutrition waivers through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to provide the flexibilities needed during the pandemic to help reduce child hunger by maintaining school meal participation, most importantly the ability to offer free meals to all students. Unfortunately, these waivers are not available this school year, and states are already reporting a drop in the number of meals being served during the 2022–2023 school year.
Several states have responded to the expired waivers by making free school meals a permanent part of the school day, including California, Maine, and Colorado. Additional states have established free school meals for the 2022–2023 school year, including Massachusetts, Nevada, and Vermont.
“If we wish to maintain these high levels of participation and ensure that children have the nutrition they need to achieve in school, we need Congress to make additional investments in School Nutrition Programs. We’re seeing states act to make Healthy School Meals for All a permanent part of the school day. Now, it’s time for Congress to do the same,” said Guardia.
The benefits of providing meals to all children at no cost are numerous [default.salsalabs.org], from increasing meal participation, reducing hunger, and supporting academics and health, to reducing the stigma associated with eating school meals, ending unpaid school meal debt, and easing the administrative burden for schools.
Reminder that yearly sponsor training must be completed prior to submitting the application in MAPS. To access the required training, visit https://mtsfsptraining.com/ [u15376568.ct.sendgrid.net] and use the course catalog access code mt-406 to register for trainings. There is MT-179 refresher training for returning sponsors/staff or the MT-178 comprehensive training for new sponsors or staff, and also an MT-150 Civil Rights Training course for all SFSP staff.
To increase access to healthy meals over the summer, SFSP program operators in rural areas have a new non-congregate meal service option currently available for summer 2023 only. This new non-congregate meal service option allows for determined rural sites to provide meal pick up such as grab and go meals, curbside service, take-home backpack meals, or even home delivery of meals. Non-congregate meal service is not intended to replace congregate meal service and cannot be provided along with congregate meal service. This new rural non-congregate meal service option is intended to increase access to healthy meals to children who are widely disbursed and not being served by congregate meal service.
Sponsors planning to provide non-congregate (grab and go) meals will need State agency approval. Please complete this Rural Non-Congregate Form [u15376568.ct.sendgrid.net] to report on your non-congregate meal service plan.
FNS Requests Support for the Farm to School Census
The fourth Farm to School Census will be conducted in Fall 2023, with surveys sent to all school food authorities (SFAs) participating in the National School Lunch Program. The Census will ask all SFAs about their farm to school activities in the 2022-2023 school year.
The Farm to School Census is the largest survey of its kind, providing a national snapshot of farm to school activity. In 2019, USDA found that an estimated 65 percent of SFAs were participating in some type of farm to school activity. For information on how States responded to the 2019 Farm to School Census, please visit https://farmtoschoolcensus.fns.usda.gov/ [gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com]
DGA Proposed Rule - New Resource Available for Community Meals Program Operators
On February 7, 2023, the Proposed Rule Child Nutrition Programs: Revision to Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans was released by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services (FNS). The proposed rule proposes updates to the school nutrition standards to reflect the goals of the most recent Dietary Guidelines, as required by law. Updates for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) are also detailed within certain provisions of this proposed rule.
As a reminder, written comments on the proposed rule [fns.usda.gov] should be received on or before April 10, 2023.
Free or Low-Cost Internet Services Available to All Households with Kids at Schools Participating in the Community Eligibility Provision
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) provides eligible households a discount of up to $30 per month off their internet bills (or up to $75 per month for households living on Tribal lands), as well as a one-time discount of up to $100 off an eligible connected device like a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet. In many cases, households can get high-speed internet without paying a dime by choosing a fully covered internet plan.
On August 8, 2022, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published a PartnerWeb announcement to promote participation in the ACP. This letter serves as a reminder that a household is eligible to participate in the ACP if a child in the household receives free or reduced-price school meals. Therefore, under the ACP rules, every household with a child attending a school participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program is eligible for ACP benefits.
While this reminder is specific to schools that are participating in CEP, additional information about eligibility for CEP discount benefits can be found in the School Outreach Toolkit (available in English in PDF/Word [whitehouse.gov] and Spanish in PDF/Word [whitehouse.gov]) which provides information about other ways households can qualify for the ACP—including through an individual student’s participation in the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program providing free or reduced price meals; through a household member’s participation in a wide range of other Federal assistance programs like Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and many others; or based on the household’s income (up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level).
This memorandum provides guidance on the administration and operation of non-congregate meal service in rural areas during summer of 2023 for the Summer Food Service Program and National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option.
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance regarding the expiration of the offsite monitoring for CACFP and the School Meal Programs after the COVID-19 public health emergency ends.
The purpose of this guidance is to clarify how to determine eligibility in SY 2023-24 for severe need reimbursement for breakfasts served through the School Breakfast Program and for the two cent differential reimbursement for lunches served through the National School Lunch Program. This guidance provides clarification to SP 11-2022, Determining Eligibility for Severe Need Reimbursement for the School Breakfast Program and the Two Cent Differential Reimbursement for the National School Lunch Program in School Years 2022-23 and 2023-24.
SP 02-2023
Please ensure the Application Packet in MAPS has up-to-date contact information
The Claim Contact can update the Application Packet. If you do not know your sponsor's Claim Contact, please call 406-444-2501.
It is best practice to have a different staff person listed for each of the three MAPS roles.
The SNP module and FDP module do not share information and must be updated separately.
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.
