March 2024 School Nutrition Announcements

National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) March 4-8, 2024 National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) celebrates the importance of a nutritious school breakfast in fueling students for success. This special observance during the first week of March celebrates the National School Breakfast Program and the many ways it gives kids a great start every day.

Summer Food Service Program 2024

MT OPI is gearing up for the 2024 Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) season! The SFSP is operated by local non-profits and schools that distribute and serve free meals over the summer to all children 18 and under. Applications to operate the SFSP this year will be open on MAPS from March 1st to May 10th. Montana Sponsors will again have the option of operating rural non-congregate sites at eligible locations. Please consider attending our Wednesday Webinar on March 6th at 2:00 pm for more information on new program regulations and basic logistics for operating the SFSP. This webinar will be recorded and uploaded to our website.

If you are a returning SFSP Sponsor, please hold off on completing our annual training on Bright Track until it is updated on March 1^st. Site area eligibility may be determined using this map provided by the USDA.

Check out our Summer Food Service Program Website for additional resources. Please see our Google Drive folder contains useful forms for SFSP recordkeeping. If you have any questions, please contact your regional specialist or our Summer Food Service Program Specialist, Britta Binde at britta.binde@mt.gov or (406) 594-9747.

USDA Foods 7th Delivery March 4 - 29 2024

Updated Community Eligibility Provision Guidance & Technical Assistance Materials

FNS is pleased to share updated Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) resources for State and local Program operators. The resources were updated primarily to reflect changes made to CEP due to FNS’ Final Rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Community Eligibility Provision – Increasing Options for Schools [fns.usda.gov], effective on October 26, 2023. Revisions were also made to improve clarity and to reflect other changes in CEP since these resources were originally published. The resources below will be available at the CEP Resource Center on the FNS website at: https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/community-eligibility-provision-resource-center [fns.usda.gov].

SP 08-2024: Community Eligibility Provision: Planning and Implementation Guidance - Updated

Policy Memo: for the PDF version, click [here [partnerweb.usda.gov]]

Policy Memo: for the Word document, click [here [partnerweb.usda.gov]]

CEP Guidance (highlighted changes): for the PDF, click [here [partnerweb.usda.gov]]

CEP Guidance (non-highlighted version): for the PDF, click [here [partnerweb.usda.gov]]

SP 09-2024: Community Eligibility Provision: Guidance and Updated Q&As

For the PDF version, click [here [partnerweb.usda.gov]]

For the Word document, click [here [partnerweb.usda.gov]]

SP 10-2024: Community Eligibility Provision: Statutory Annual Notification and Publication Requirements and School Year 2024-2025 Election Deadline

Policy Memo: for the PDF version, click [here [partnerweb.usda.gov]]

Policy Memo: for the Word document, click [here [partnerweb.usda.gov]]

Attachment-State Agency Template: for the Excel file, click [here [partnerweb.usda.gov]]

SP 11-2024: Community Eligibility Provision: State Agency Procedures to Ensure Identified Student Percentage Accuracy 

Policy Memo: for the PDF version, click [here [partnerweb.usda.gov]]

Policy Memo: for the Word document, click [here [partnerweb.usda.gov]] 

Worksheet for LEAs: for the PDF, click [here [partnerweb.usda.gov]]

State Checklist: for the PDF, click [here [partnerweb.usda.gov]] 

Community Eligibility Provision Fact Sheet

For the PDF, click here: [here [partnerweb.usda.gov]]

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.