School Districts that have more than one school site where students are served school meals are reminded to complete the onsite monitoring, which is required annually (at each site prior to February 1).
You can find this site monitoring document in your green lunch production record book (pages 13 & 14) or HERE to print out a site monitoring worksheet.
Lunch procedures that ensure an accurate meal count and claim system must be reviewed every year at each site. Breakfast must be done at 50% of the sites each year.
If you are only a one-site school, you are not required to complete this form. It may still be beneficial for you to go through to ensure program compliance!
Once this form is complete, it must be kept with your other program documents (3 years + current year!). *If you are up for your Administrative Review, we will be asking you about this!
We received an update from Prairie Farms on December 28th regarding the issue with ‘ropy’ milk. They have shut down their machine that was manufacturing the 8-ounce cartons for schools. The machine that processes the gallons and half gallons has not had a problem and is still in production. To cover the demand of school milk, they are getting the cartons of milk from a plant at Woodbury, MN and Sioux Falls, SD. This has stopped all complaints and they feel confident you should be able to return to your normal milk use after the New Year.
Returning to Proper Procurement Procedures
On January 17th at 2 p.m., we will revisit proper procurement for federal school meal programs. If you have not started working on your procurement for next year, this is the time to do so as there is a significant amount of work and time needed to walk through the steps correctly.
We will hear from Lisa Truax who manages the North Dakota Co-op school foodservice bid. The Co-op is switching to a new format that will contract with manufacturers for pricing but not for the delivery of those items. Schools choosing this route will need to solicit delivery price and contract on their own.
If schools do not participate in the ND Co-op bid, they will need to do the entire process on their own.
We will leave time for your questions on the topic of Proper Procurement Procedures. As always, this session will be recorded and be posted with the rest of the topics under the ‘Updates’ tab of our website.
Use this link to join us on Tuesday, January 17th at 2 p.m.
Microsoft Teams meeting
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Virtual Instructor-Led Trainings (VILTs) will be held on a variety of relevant School Nutrition Topics!
Looking for some professional development this winter? ICN has virtual led training sessions. These sessions fill quickly, so don’t wait!
Thank you to all of the schools that participated in the 2022 Crunch Off in October.
ND earned 2nd place in the number of 'crunches' that happened throughout the State as well as 2nd place in the number of unique sites registered.
Nebraska came in 1st place. Let's keep the momentum going in 2023!
More information on the 2023 Crunch Off will be released as it approaches.
We hope you proudly display the poster featuring potatoes as a top product of North Dakota this month. One of our most versatile crops for cooking and preparing; and likely a fan favorite of your students. (*Remember potatoes credit as a starchy vegetable!)
Send us pictures of how you feature POTATOES in JANUARY! We would love to see them!
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We hope you display the 'pulses' poster during February.
As you prepare for the month ahead, check out the Northern Pulse Growers Website for recipes, printable handouts and more.
Activity Book | Northern Pulse Growers Association
Activity Book #2 | Northern Pulse Growers Association
Recipes | Northern Pulse Growers Association
Pulses are something that you are likely already including to help meet your "Bean, Peas and Legume" Vegetable Subgroup. Pulses include dried peas, lentils and chickpeas.
We have seen schools incorporating chickpeas, hummus or roasted chickpeas on their menu or salad bar. Some have been roasting their own chickpeas. Then you have the ability to choose your spices/seasonings. They are a fun 'crunch' to a salad.
Send us pictures of how you feature PULSES in February!
To view our full listing of the 2022-2023 SY Harvest of the Month planning information, check it out HERE!
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We are already planning our Back To School Workshops (BTSW) for this summer. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend one of the Workshop Days:
- Tuesday, August 1st Fargo - Ramada Hotel
- Wednesday, August 2nd Grand Forks - Canad Inn
- Thursday, August 3rd Minot – Grand Hotel
- Wednesday and Thursday, August 9th and 10th Mandan - Baymont Hotel
*NOTE CHANGES IN LOCATIONS:
- We only have ONE day in Fargo, as we added ONE day in Grand Forks.
- Location in Bismarck Area has changed; it is in Mandan at the Baymont Hotel
Registration information to follow.
Team Nutrition decided to retire the Team Nutrition Network as the growth of Team Nutrition Schools and Team Nutrition CACFP Organizations has been declining over the past four years. The Team Nutrition Network is an online platform for information sharing and awareness. Retiring the Team Nutrition Network will simplify how schools and CACFP organizations can stay connected to Team Nutrition and request printed resources. Current members do not need to take any actions. Members of this network will continue to receive updates from Team Nutrition through its GovDelivery subscription. To check your GovDelivery subscription, please visit: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USFNS/subscriber/new?topic_id=USFNS_94.
Team Nutrition will also continue supporting Child Nutrition program operators and recognize their work.
NDDPI was awarded a 2022 Team Nutrition Grant!
The Grant Kick-Off will occur at the 2023 NDSNA Conference (May 31-June 2) and run through June 2024. In-person and virtual training options will be available for professional development.
This is an incentivized training focused on all things Meal Pattern related to promote understanding and confidence in your roles. This grant will offer two tracks:
- 8-hour track open to all Food Service Staff
- Receive $100 bonus if completed within 6 months
- 40-hour track for Directors and Managers
- Receive $500 bonus if completed within 6 months
Sub-grants will also be available in two categories:
- Assist with staffing costs to attend grant related trainings
- Equipment purchases related to post grant training implementation
Watch for more details and registration COMING SOON!
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