October 2026 Announcements

Start the Free & Reduced-Price Verification Process October 1st

Verification is the process by which schools confirm the eligibility of a sample of approved free and reduced-price meal applications. The verification process starts on October 1st to establish your application pool subject to verification, complete the verification process by November 15th to include notifying households of verification results. Schools will then report the verification results and October eligibility data on the School Food Authority (SFA) Verification Collection Report in MAPS by November 30th. Please carefully read through the instructions to ensure reporting accuracy. Additional instructions can be found in the USDA’s Eligibility Manual.

School Determining Officials must be trained on the verification process and maintain an annual training log on file.

Please see the OPI SNP Training Calendar and recorded Verification training & resources here.

Annual Civil Rights Training is required: OPI Civil Rights Training & Required Civil Rights Training Documentation Form.

Verification resources are available on the OPI SNP website:

• Verification Application Tracker
• Verification Error-Prone Sponsors 2026-27
• Verification Instructions
• Verification Instructions - CEP Districtwide
• Verification Instructions - Residential Only RCCI
• Verification: We Must Check Your Application- Household Notification of Verification Letter
• Verification: We Have Checked Your Application- Household Letter of Verification Results
• Verification Deadline Extension Request Form

USDA has just published three new School Food Preparation Study briefs

https://fna-bwbufwdzbabpezgc.z01.azurefd.us/research/schoolmeals/food-preparation [fna-bwbufwdzbabpezgc.z01.azurefd.us]:

These briefs share the findings from the USDA School Food Preparation Study:

• State of Scratch Cooking in School Meals (.pdf) [fna-bwbufwdzbabpezgc.z01.azurefd.us]
• How School Food Authorities Use Scratch Cooking (.pdf) [fna-bwbufwdzbabpezgc.z01.azurefd.us]
• How State Agencies and Partners Can Support Scratch Cooking (.pdf) [fna-bwbufwdzbabpezgc.z01.azurefd.us]

Registration is open for the Montana Crunch Off in October You are invited to join schools, early care education sites, organizations, farmers, and individuals across Montana to Crunch into a local food during the month of October to celebrate National Farm to School Month, local producers, and nutritious foods!  Register your Crunch here  to tally the most Crunches per capita! https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/db19e13bd43f40e290b73ac2a3da821b [survey123.arcgis.com] Find more information include the Crunch Guide with activities, recipes, and more here: https://www.montana.edu/mtfarmtoschool/mt-crunch-time.html [montana.edu]

Ravalli County Economic Development Authority, Montana Team Nutrition, OPI, and Swanson’s Mountain View Orchard invite you to a free farm tour and apple tasting Thursday, October 16th from 3-5pm

The third annual Swanson’s Mountain View Orchard Meet and Greet will be all about Montana Grown apples! We are inviting school food service directors and staff, family consumer science teachers, and early childcare education providers to Swanson’s Mountain View Orchard. Taste test and learn about Swanson’s Orchard apple varieties, pricing, and how to order local fruit for your program! We’ll end the event by crunching into apples for Montana Crunch Off!

Swanson’s Mountain View Orchard Meet and Greet

Thursday, October 16th

3-5pm

1752 Mountain View Orchards Rd, Corvallis, MT

Want to know more about Montana Crunch Off? Find information here: Montana Crunch Off [montana.edu]

Can’t attend, but are interested in ordering local apples? Order here: Local Apples for Montana Schools [swansonsmountainvieworchard.com]

If you or any of your staff are interested in attending, please let me know by 10/12.

Thank you!

Grace Nichols

Food and Agriculture Development Center Director

Ravalli County Economic Development Authority

274 Old Corvallis Rd, Suite A

Hamilton, MT 59840

(406) 375-9416

USDA Foods Shipment

National School Lunch Week 2026 is October 12–16 Cafeteria Circus is your invitation to own the spotlight

Your cafeteria is the Big Top. You are the ringmasters keeping the show running, and this is your week to let the whole school see it.

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.