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National School Breakfast Week celebrates the importance of a nutritious school breakfast in fueling students for success. During the first week in March, celebrate how the School Breakfast Program gives kids a great start to the day!
If you are an SNA member, they have a toolkit for download. Check it out here: National School Breakfast Week - School Nutrition Association
This year's theme is "Surf's Up," so bring out your Hawaiian and tropical decor to celebrate your School's breakfast program.
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Master the Menu - Subgrant Funding Extended!
If you have had School Nutrition Professionals take part in Master the Menu training activities, your District is eligible for funding in TWO categories! (Yes, you can apply for both)!
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Equipment Purchase (post training implementation) - EXTENDED to FEBRUARY 29, 2024!
- We will accept applications up to $5,000
- Personnel Reimbursement - Due March 29, 2024
Spots remain for the 8-hour track 'Meal Pattern Breakdown' for a $100 incentive bonus. If you are interested in taking part (English or Spanish), please register here: Master The Menu: North Dakota's Team Nutrition Training Grant Registration (office.com).
By the first day of February (today), you should have one more item checked off your to-do list for the school food service program. All school districts with two or more sites operating the National School Lunch Program must complete this worksheet. Single-site districts are also encouraged to run through the questionnaire, but not required.
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This tool is like a mini review of your program to ensure all the requirements are covered correctly. There are questions that deal with the eligibility of students, meal counts, what was served, civil rights, food safety, summer food service program outreach, and more. Therefore, several people may need to help fill this form out, i.e., the office will know about the student eligibility, while the kitchen will have the answers to the food safety questions. |
Where do you find this important worksheet? In the Lunch Production Record book, pages 11 and 12 OR the new Administrative Records, pages 115 and 116 OR download it HERE.
The District needs to keep these worksheets on file. Please do not send them to the State office. During an Administrative Review, the worksheets will be requested as a necessary part of the audit paperwork.
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What: Site Monitoring Worksheet
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Who: All Districts that have two or more sites; encouraged for single-site districts
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When: Complete any time before February 1st of the school year, (each year)
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Where: Store the worksheets where they can be accessed for the next Administrative Review – do not send them to DPI-CNFD
Site Monitoring required for ALL Afterschool Snack Programs
There are two copies of the Site Monitoring worksheet in the Afterschool Snack Program Production Record book. These two copies are required to be filled out each year by all districts operating the Afterschool Snack program, whether there is only one site or multiple sites. The first site review needs to be completed within the first 4 weeks of program operation. The second can be completed anytime before the program ends for the year.
It's starting to feel like spring, although only February - and it’s not too early to start thinking about summer! Applications for the Summer Food Service Program will be opened in NDFoods in March 2024. All applications must be completed by May 1 to allow time for our staff to conduct pre-approval visits for new sponsors and sites in May.
Our office is still determining eligibility for all school sites and the final determinations will be published on our website by February 29. Sponsors may only operate at sites that have been determined eligible. The SFSP 2024 Meal Reimbursement Rates will also be published on the NDDPI website in the coming weeks.
The USDA has published the interim final rule (IFR) for SFSP and has established permanent non-congregate meal options with some additional integrity rules in place. The non-congregate meal service option is limited to ‘rural areas with no congregate meal service’ however there may be some flexibility if sponsors want to provide both congregate and non-congregate meals to children. Sites must still be determined eligible to operate SFSP according to the USDA regulations. Non-congregate meals must meet all applicable state and local health, safety, and sanitation standards, and SFSP meal pattern requirements. NDDPI will establish a process for identifying gaps and barriers to reaching needy children and will use the new USDA SFSP Rural Designation Map to determine if a site is located in a rural area and may be eligible for the non-congregate option under SFSP.
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.
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Wow, February got here in a flash! Nothing makes us zip through the day like milk! February’s Harvest of the Month is celebrating all things dairy: milk, cheese, yogurt, maybe some ice cream 😊
More than one-half of all milk in North Dakota is processed into cheese. Dairy is loaded with calcium to keep our bones strong. Milk is still the most nutritious drink. One serving contains many of the vitamins and minerals your body needs. Plus, what else goes best with cookies?
Milk can even help boost your immune system.
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Midwest Dairy also has excellent resources for school food service, including recipes to mix things up. Check out the info:
The winners of baskets for completing the 2023 USDA Farm to School Census are…. drum roll, please... 😊
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Jamestown Public School
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Mandaree Public School
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North Dakota School for the Deaf/Resource Center
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Richardton-Taylor Public School
Amanda Olson has sent the person who completed the survey an email regarding the delivery of your basket of goodies! Thank you for participating in the USDA Farm to School Census (survey). The data will be released later this summer or early fall from USDA. We are excited about the results!
Local Beef Survey
We want your thoughts, concerns, and questions about North Dakota beef. We have a survey that is currently collecting that information. We have extended the deadline to February 16 at 5 pm. Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey.
We will be giving away 1 basket of goodies to 1 lucky recipient. The basket includes items from various organizations (snacks, mugs, and lots more) and can be shared amongst food service workers. One person from your school must submit the survey to be eligible for the drawing.
Please click the link below for the survey:
NEW! North Dakota Farm to School Webinar Series
This series will begin on Thursday, February 15, at 2:00 PM CST. The sessions will be live on Microsoft Teams (links will be emailed soon) and recorded. The recordings will be posted on our website at a later date. Anyone from your school is allowed to attend; feel free to share the link when you receive it. We designed the series so that you can attend the one you feel is most interesting to you.
*Each session is a 30-minute presentation, with 15 minutes for discussion and questions.
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Session 1: Farm to School Basics
- February 15 at 2 pm
- General overview of Farm to School, history, and resource sharing.
Session 2: North Dakota Local Foods
- February 22 at 2 pm
- Tips for connecting with producers. Learning about organizations and agencies in the Farm to School space as well. Learn and navigate the ND Local Foods Directory Map from the ND Department of Agriculture.
Session 3: Farm to School Procurement
- February 29 at 2 pm
- Public Health, procurement guidelines, and more.
Session 4: Farm to School Brainstorm
- March 7 at 2 pm
- Idea sharing and tips to incorporate more Farm to School activities in your school and community, like in your Local Wellness Policy.
- Past and present grant opportunities.
Session 5: The Future of North Dakota Farm to School
- March 14 at 2 pm
- Goals and idea sharing, and another conversation about grants. Talk about Harvest of the Month, North Dakota Farm to School Lunch Day, and more.
Session 6: Office Hours with Amanda Olson
- March 21 from 2-3 pm.
- Ask your questions or maybe you need a soundboard for your ideas in Farm to School.
Record Retention
This session will walk through record retention requirements including: an in-depth production record review, what is required on an annual basis, and what's needed to be on display in your cafeteria. Come prepared to double check your annual checklist is up to snuff with the requirements!
This is a Microsoft Teams meeting, please use the link below to join the meeting.
Join on your computer or mobile app
Click here to join the meeting
As always, this webinar will be recorded and posted to our website (UPDATES | North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (nd.gov)) if you are unable to attend live.
Food safety is critical in our school meal programs. All food service directors and kitchen managers must have a valid certification in food safety and sanitation on record at NDDPI-CNFD. If you have not sent in your certificate as a new director/manager, please do so as soon as possible. This should be done within 30 days of hire per federal professional standards for hire.
The initial certification is good for 5 years at which time an update is due. Our website has several ways to get the update completed. SNP Food Safety and Sanitation Training | North Dakota Department of Public Instruction
There are several food safety topics on the ICN list mentioned above. You may combine any 1- or 2-hour training with a focus on food safety to equal three or more hours to earn the Sanitation Update. Send copies of the completion certificates to our office for recording of the update in ND Foods.
For those interested in obtaining or renewing a ServSafe food safety certification, our office was notified that a class will be held in Minot on March 26, 2024. Preregistration is required by February 26th. The ServSafe course has been updated to include all the new additions to the Food Code. The class will start at 8 a.m. CST and feature 7 hours of instruction, supporting material, and quizzes to get you ready to take the certification exam at the end of the day. Click HERE for more information on this ServSafe class.
Vending machines with non-Smart Snack-compliant items for sale to students during the school day.
Smart Snacks have been a requirement since 2012’s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was passed by Congress. We have had 12 years to become accustomed to the smaller serving sized, lower sodium, whole grain-rich items, but it seems the message has not been passed along.
If there is a vending machine with beverages or snacks for sale to students during the school day, please check that all of the items meet the Smart Snack nutrition requirements, either by comparing each to the check sheet located HERE or by entering the nutrition information from the label into the Healthier Generation’s Smart Snack calculator located online here: Smart Snacks Product Calculator (healthiergeneration.org)
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Some ideas to help with this requirement:
- Checking the items against the nutritional requirements is the responsibility of the School District as the sponsor of the National School Lunch Program. This is an easy responsibility to delegate to the organization that is running the vending machine, such as FBLA or the Student Council. The high school health teacher or Family and Consumer Science class may also be willing to take on this as a class project.
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- The beverage distributors are aware of the Smart Snack requirement, so require them to fill the machine with the appropriate items. Why should the school take the heat for the vendor’s decision?
- Both major beverage distributors have machines now that have built-in timers to allow the machine to be filled with concession favorites that won’t be available until ½ hour after the school bell. Further innovation has been added to vending technology to allow just a single row of items containing Smart Snack items to be purchased during the day while the rest of the machine will be available ½ hour after the last school bell has rung.
Corrective Action Required:
If the school is found to have items for sale to the student population during the school day that do not meet Smart Snack requirements, corrective action will be required. The corrective action will include eliminating the noncompliant snacks or beverages and implementing a plan to move forward with only Smart Snack items that include who will be responsible for tracking compliance. The plan might also limit the time of operation to ½ hour after the last school bell to midnight, or it may eliminate sales to students altogether.
All schools/organizations operating the National School Lunch Program and other school meal programs have a STATE (North Dakota Century Code t15.1c09 (ndlegis.gov)) and FEDERAL (eCFR :: 7 CFR 210.21 -- Procurement) responsibility to follow proper procurement procedures for the food and other items purchased for use in the school food service. Now is the time to begin the process.
- The state food bid managed by the Cooperative Purchasing Connection (CPC) through the ND Educational Services Coop has the renewal information available. Please reach out to them to opt back into the coop bid. Contact Lori Mittelstadt: info@purchasingconnection.org
- CPC is also taking on new schools at this time. If you have not conducted your own procurement for major food items and a food distributor, this is an efficient way to get this process done. Contact Lori Mittelstadt: info@purchasingconnection.org
- More information about Procurement in North Dakota schools can be found on our website: SNP Procurement | North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (nd.gov)
- Take advantage of the ICN virtual instructor-led class coming up on February 8th to gain confidence in your procurement process. No need to leave your office for this class and you will have live, question and answer opportunities with an experienced school food service leader along with discussion among participants in this 4-hour session (8 am. to 12 noon CST). Register here: 2024 VILT Events (smartsheet.com)
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USDA FNS released a Request for Applications (RFA) for the Supporting the Use of Traditional Indigenous Foods in the Child Nutrition Programs Cooperative Agreement which will be open through March 18, 2024. Through this cooperative agreement, FNS will engage organizations led and primarily staffed by members of Federally Recognized Tribes and/or Native Hawaiians to provide regionally focused training and technical assistance to school nutrition professionals on procurement, preparation, and crediting of traditional Indigenous foods as part of the Child Nutrition Programs. The cooperators, with FNS guidance and approval, will also develop culturally relevant nutrition education materials for students to accompany the traditional Indigenous foods that are served, and the cooperators will train school nutrition professionals and other school staff on providing nutrition education to students. Two informational webinars about the RFA are scheduled for February 8 (1:00 pm ET) and February 13, 2024 (3:00 pm ET).
The Institute of Child Nutrition is offering ‘Virtual Instructor-Led Trainings’ in February. These are online, LIVE sessions – not recordings. Each session hosts a smaller group, for the ability to have better conversations. The instructors for ICN are typically experienced food service directors who have developed their skill in the topic they are leading for many years. Take advantage of their knowledge in topics including: special dietary needs, procurement, cleaning and sanitizing, forecasting and MORE!
Register for these ICN trainings here: 2024 VILT Events (smartsheet.com)
 For more information on the upcoming NDSNA Conference, check out their website: Conference (northdakotasna.com)
You just changed your calendar over to 2024, now it's time to pencil in the NDDPI Child Nutrition & Food Distribution Back To School Workshop!
- Fargo - July 30 OR 31
- Bismarck - August 6 OR 7
- Minot - August 8
An agenda will be released with our registration to assist with who you plan to attend.
USDA's Healthy Meals Incentive Initiative is offering Recognition awards to celebrate School Food Authorities that have made significant improvements to the nutritional quality of their school meals.
All Recognition Award winners who meet award criteria will receive a travel stipend to attend an exclusive Healthy Meals Summit, receive national and local recognition as well as an awardee toolkit that includes digital promotional resources.
SFA's can apply for any/all of the categories that fit what their SFA is doing to meet the criteria. Reach out to our office at dpicnfd@nd.gov if you plan to apply, as you will need to have a State Agency Letter of Support.
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