Montana Office of Public Instruction sent this bulletin at 10/25/2023 09:01 AM MDT
Annual Free & Reduced-Price Verification
Verification is the process by which schools confirm the eligibility of a sample (3%) of the approved free and reduced-price meal applications. Districts will report the verification results on the School Food Authority (SFA) Verification Collection Report in MAPS (located within the 'Application' menu) during November 1st through November 30th.
Timeline: Free/Reduced Verification Process
October 1st
Application Counts – Document the number of free and reduced applications on file as of Oct 1st
October 1st – November 15th
Calculate the Number of Household Applications to Verify –
Randomly pull the number of applications to verify
Conduct a preliminary review of selected applications before sending household letters
The School Food Service Equipment Grant funding opportunity is available for Montana school districts that operate the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) during SY2023-24 to obtain new equipment or to renovate or replace existing equipment. The Montana Office of Public Instruction has $81,843 in grant funds available to award via competitive sub-grants ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 to Montana school districts.
This guidance updates previously issued Questions and Answers to clarify Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) requirements. It supersedes SFSP 05-2017, Summer Food Service Program Questions and Answers, Dec. 1, 2016.
This guidance updates previously issued guidance to clarify Summer Food Service Program simplified cost accounting requirements, as found in 7 CFR Part 225.
This memorandum provides guidance to state agencies for managing those situations in which sponsors have unused reimbursement in the Summer Food Service Program.
This memorandum provides guidance to state agencies and program operators for managing situations in which sponsors receive more reimbursement than they have spent on allowable costs in the Summer Food Service Program.
This memorandum provides information to assist state agencies in preventing approval of multiple sites offering meal services at the same time to the same population of children in the Summer Food Service Program.
This guidance applies to state agencies and local educational agencies administering the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. This guidance provides information on the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Community Eligibility Provision – Increasing Options for School.
SP 22-2023
Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Award
Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK)is offering Recognition Awards to celebrate School Food Authorities (SFA) that have made significant improvements to the nutritional quality of their school meals. The Recognition Awards will spotlight innovative practices, student and community engagement activities, and strategies schools have used to provide meals that are consistent with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. AFHK opened the Recognition Awards application portal on June 30th. The application portal and helpful resources to complete the application are available at https://healthymealsincentives.org/recognition-awards/. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through June 30, 2025. Applicants will be notified of their results within two months of submission by email and the application status will also be posted on the portal.
Team Nutrition School Lunch Menu E-Poster
USDA’s Team Nutrition is excited to announce the release of the new School Lunch Menu E-Poster. This resource is designed for school nutrition programs to display daily lunch menu options and remind students to eat a variety of foods while building a reimbursable meal. The fillable pdf file can be used for electronic message boards, webpages, and social media or can be printed and displayed in sign holders. To view and/or download, please visit: fns.usda.gov/tn/todays-lunch/.
USDA Expands Access to School Breakfast and Lunch for More Students
WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that it is giving an estimated 3,000 more school districts in high-need areas the option to serve breakfast and lunch to all students at no cost, by expanding the availability of the Community Eligibility Provision, commonly known as CEP.
“Today’s announcement comes as we approach the one-year anniversary of the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, where the Biden-Harris Administration promised to advance a pathway to healthy school meals for all students,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “USDA has taken an important step toward fulfilling that promise by expanding access to CEP. Increasing access to free, healthy school breakfast and lunch will decrease childhood hunger, improve child health and student readiness, and put our nation on the path to better nutrition and wellness.”
CEP is a simplified meal service option that allows schools to provide meals at no cost to all students without requiring families to apply for free and reduced-price meals. Instead, school districts receive federal funding based on a formula using existing data from SNAP and other programs, and local or state funds must fill any gap between program costs and federal support. Before this final rule, at least 40% of students had to live in households participating in certain income-based federal assistance programs, in order for a school, group of schools, or school district to be eligible for CEP. This final rule [lnks.gd] lowers that threshold from 40% to 25%.
The Montana Office of Public Instruction will begin using the 25% threshold in the 2024-25 school year beginning with the April 1, 2024 snapshot to determine eligibility for schools. Please conduct direct certification matching regularly and frequently throughout the school year and long before the April 1 snapshot date.
Call the OPI School Nutrition Programs at 406-444-2501 with questions.
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.
