|
|
THANK YOU School Nutrition Professionals!
Happy School Nutrition Professionals Week, May 1-5, 2023.
We celebrate your successes for the past school year! We heard of kindness shared, warm meals prepared, problems solved and outstanding service.
We echo the sentiments of the Dorothy Moses Elementary students in Bismarck: You are HANDS DOWN the Best!
|
Master the Menu - Incentivized Training - Registration Now Open!
North Dakota was awarded a Team Nutrition Grant for School Nutrition Professional Readiness and Retention. This grant is to support building and retaining a strong school nutrition workforce that is empowered to provide nutritious meals that meet National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) meal requirements and weekly dietary specifications.
|
|
|
North Dakota selected the "Incentivized Training" Track. This means that upon selection and completion of our training program, attendees will receive an incentive bonus!
Training begins May 31st, 2023, and runs through the 23-24 SY, but the goal is early completion!
This grant will offer two tracks:
- 8-Hour Track: Meal Pattern Breakdown is open to Food Service Frontline Staff
- Receive $100 bonus if completed within 6 months
- Registration will be open until training has reached 650 participants!
- More information can be found HERE.
- 40-Hour Track: A Manager's View is for Directors and Managers
- Receive $500 bonus if completed within 6 months
- Geared to those relatively new to School Nutrition
- Approval by NDDPI to participate as only 50 spots total! WE HAVE A FEW SPOTS LEFT, SO FILL OUT THE REGISTRATION FORM ASAP.
- NDDPI will be reviewing registration and reaching out to you by Mid-May if you have been chosen to participate in the 40-hour Track.
- More information can be found HERE.
Our Master the Menu Course Guide can be found HERE.
Sub-grants will also be available in two categories:
- Support purchasing equipment based on post-training implementation. Information can be found HERE.
- Provide support to the district for personnel expenses paid during participation in training. Information can be found HERE.
If you have questions about this training program, please reach out to Amy Nelson, Project Director at amylnelson@nd.gov or Emily Karel, Project Coordinator at ekarel@nd.gov
A link to register can be found HERE or by scanning the QR Code below:
Before your afterschool snack program closes operation for the year, remember to complete the second self-review of the program. Two copies of the self-review document are included in the red-covered Afterschool Snack Program Production Record book. This is a convenient place to keep both copies, however, if you are not in the kitchen and need a copy, please click this link.
This is the second required annual review for the Afterschool Snack program. The first review must be conducted during the first four weeks of operation each year. Please contact the NDDPI-CNFD office at dpicnfd@nd.gov if you have any questions on the Afterschool Snack Program self-review or other issues.
Welcome to May! We sure hope this spring will kick into gear soon.
May is the last of the Harvest of the Month program, and we end the year with celebrating beef. And it’s perfect timing, because whether it’s in cafeterias or at your home, spring and beef just go well together.
Hopefully, you signed up for the ND Beef Commission challenge and are making some awesome beef dishes this month. We hope you enjoy the aprons and utensils when they arrive in the mail from the ND Beef Commission. Don’t forget to take photos of your school enjoying beef this month and post them on your school’s social media. Tag the North Dakota Beef Commission @ndbeefcommission (Facebook and Instagram). School Food Service staff participating in Beef Month celebrations, AND posting on social media will receive a gift from the NDBC. Make sure to tag them so they can see it and share it. If you have any questions, you can contact Nicole Wardner ndbeef@ndbeef.org or 701-328-5120
Lastly, I wanted to share with you a new website link for Farm to Child Nutrition. This website has lots of resources to help you with your Farm to School or Farm to Early Childcare program. It also includes a great toolkit that CNFD (DPI) and ND Dept. of Ag. (NDDA) created for North Dakota School Nutrition Programs. This toolkit incorporates resources and ideas to bring a successful farm-to-school program to your district. It also can be used for CACFP.
|
|
Thank you so much for your hard work to feed kids in North Dakota. You are truly a hero and are so appreciated.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.
Amanda Olson, Farm to School Specialist
|
Help kids have access to meals this summer by participating in the Summer Food Service Program!
Renewals for the Summer Food Service Program are now open in NDFoods. Schools who participated last summer will see a SFSP renewal in NDFoods, to complete for this summer’s operations. New schools who want to participate this summer can contact our office to start the application process.
If your school is interested in participating in SFSP this summer, please reach out to mdanderson@nd.gov with any questions or guidance on how to apply.
Some schools are busy signing up to participate in the Summer Food Service Program. Applications are now open in NDFoods.
Outreach Required for ALL SCHOOLS – Here’s help:
Even if your school is not offering summer meals this summer you can still share valuable meal site information to families in your community. All schools are required, under USDA regulation, to provide SFSP site information to their enrolled families. USDA collects site information from across the nation and provides meal site locations through the Meal Site Finder. Families can use these tools to find directions to nearby meal sites, as well as their hours of operation and contact information. Ways on how to find meals can be included on printed materials home to parents, websites or on social media. Share the information below to help families find meals this summer. The USDA Meal Site Finder link also has the information in Español.
USDA Call in and/or text info to find sites: 1-866-348-6479 or text “Summer Meals” to 97779
The goal of the FFVP is to create healthier school environments by:
-
Providing healthier food choices
-
Expand the variety of fruits and vegetables children experience.
- Increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption.
-
Make a difference in children’s diets to impact their present and future health.
This program is an important catalyst for change in efforts to combat childhood obesity by helping children learn healthier eating habits. The FFVP introduces school children to produce they otherwise might not have been able to sample.
Selected schools receive reimbursement for the cost of making free fresh fruits and vegetables available to students during the school day. These fresh fruits and vegetables must be provided at least twice a week separately from the lunch or breakfast meal during the official school day.
To fill out an application, you may download it HERE.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Scott Egge at segge@nd.gov.
If you have been notified by your milk distributor that you will have issues receiving milk for any amount of time, please contact us. We can issue a temporary waiver for “Inadequate fluid milk supply” as stated at 7 CFR 210.10(d)(2).
Schools with a positive or zero balance in the nonprofit school food service account as of June 30, 2022, are exempt from PLE pricing requirements. The USDA does require that schools request an exemption. The exemption process will be completed during the Program Renewal process after July 1, 2023.
While not required, exempt schools may still use the PLE tool to complete the steps necessary to determine their target SY 2023-24 paid lunch price.
Most North Dakota schools had a positive balance on June 30th, 2022. Only a few schools reported a negative balance. You will be contacted if you are required to complete the PLE tool. If you have questions, please contact Lynellejohnson@nd.gov or 701-328-3718.
Mark your calendars and plan to attend one of the Workshop Days. Registration links are provided below.
We hope to see you there!
Will you have new school managers or cooks this summer? Want to prepare them for the upcoming year ahead? NDDPI is hosting its annual New Kitchen Manager Training where we will go through menu requirements, production records and more to help new staff understand the details of School Foodservice.
Our New Kitchen Manager Training is a time to get to know your State Agency Staff! Come to complete the Initial 8 Hour Sanitation Training, then come back the next day to learn about program operation and receive assistance from your State Agency Staff on your production records!
This training is provided by NDDPI at no cost to you!
Please join the Teams channel below – Tuesday, May 16, 2 p.m. CST to wrap up the 22-23 School Year and look forward to the 23-24 School Year!
We will go talk through:
-
Free/Reduced Price Meal Applications
-
PLE Tool
-
Nonprogram Food Revenue Tool
-
And the most up to date information from the 2023 Legislative Session (including the Lunch Shaming Bill and the results from the Free/Reduced Price Lunch Bill).
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join on your computer or mobile app
Click here to join the meeting
Join with a video conferencing device
teams@join.nd.gov
Video Conference ID: 115 372 266 8
Alternate VTC dialing instructions
Or call in (audio only)
+1 701-328-0950,,282939126# United States, Fargo
Phone Conference ID: 282 939 126#
- “Nourishing the Nurturer” 2023 NDSNA State Conference, May 31-June 2, Bismarck State College
- “Reach Higher” 2023 SNA Annual National Conference, July 9-11, Denver, Colorado Convention Center
|