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WOW! We had record attendance at our Back to School Workshops this summer!
We had 626 people register, with 575 people actually attending. We held this training in Fargo, Bismarck and Minot over the course of 5 days. We hope that you found our Back to School Workshops insightful for your year ahead.
We had a few things we wanted to follow-up on from BTSW, please see the attached handout for more information on: Vegetable subgroups, special diet requests and our contact information.
Thanks to the eagle eyes of one of our efficient food service directors, it has been pointed out that the dates for the National School Lunch Program are still recorded as last year’s on our “Important Dates” sheet.
As you begin to plan your October menus, please plan for National School Lunch Week from October 14th through the 18th. This year’s SNA theme is “School Lunch Pirates: Find Your Treasure”. We hope to see a lot of foodservice staff sporting eyepatches and captain’s hats serving ‘Captain’s Gold Nuggets’ in pictures of your celebrations. More resources to go with this theme are available here: NSLW24 Marketing and PR Resources – School Nutrition Association Membership in SNA opens up an even broader assortment of resources for this event and the School Breakfast week coming up in March. Contact our office if you need more information about membership in SNA/NDSNA.
Have fun, Mates! Arrr!
National School Lunch Week - School Nutrition Association
Our office has fielded many questions related to 'how long do I need to keep all of my paperwork and documentation related to my School Meal Programs?'
The answer is: 3 YEARS + CURRENT YEAR, per USDA regulations.
This means: 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, + current year (2024-25) is the requirement needed to keep child nutrition program related documentation (such as production records, CN labels, professional development, etc) however, check with your Administration, as your district may have longer record retention for some things, based on audit or tax purposes.
We have seen some ‘less than accurate’ help being offered to try to increase the number of qualifying applications received at school this year. Let’s review what the Eligibility Manual says about the income that parents report on applications.
- The household letter must accompany the free/reduced lunch application. The letter should note that “the household may apply for benefits at any time of the school year.” Pg 11. Therefore, indicating that only ‘July income should be noted on the application’ is inappropriate to encourage parents to do so. Income should be what is received during the month the application is filled out or the month just prior.
- Income is any money (before deductions) received regularly. See the back of the free/reduced application to identify all the types of income that should be reported and those that are expressly excluded by law. Pg 24.
- Current income means the gross income a household receives, before deductions, for the current month…Suppose this income is higher or lower than usual and does not fairly or accurately represent the household’s actual circumstances. In that case, the household may, in conjunction with the determining officials, project its annual rate of income. Pg 24.
- The household must be able to sign the application, which says, “I certify (promise) that all information on this application is true and that all income is reported.”
- Finally, if local officials have knowledge or available information suggesting a household has intentionally misreported its income, including by leaving the income fields blank, the LEA must verify the household’s application for cause [7 CFR 245.6a(c)(7)]—Pg 25.
Update from June/July Newsletter: Determining Farming or Business Income
Q: What line does a household use from Income tax for annual income?
A: Individuals who are self-employed or engaged in farming may experience variations in cash flow and cannot easily report a monthly income. IRS Schedule 1 Line 22 has the total business income minus any losses. Use that number for farming or business income. Any negative number should be reported as “$0”. A business loss cannot offset wages.
On the 2023 IRS Schedule 1, Line 22 is “reserved for future use.” Line 26 is the final line on IRS Schedule 1 that adds farm or business income and all the other adjustments for the final total for farm or self-employed income. Check it out here: 2023 Schedule 1 (Form 1040) (irs.gov)
Each year, NDDPI publishes the value of USDA foods received by all entities who participate in USDA food programs in North Dakota. The USDA food that you order and receive from August through April for your school lunch program, holds a monetary value and that is reported to NDDPI each year, by our office. This value is usually something that auditors will request when conducting an audit at your school. The 2023-2024 values have now been published and can be found HERE. If you have trouble locating your value or have questions, please contact our office for assistance.
For the 2024-25 school year, students may now be considered Free or Reduced-Priced through a new Direct Certification-Medicaid process. There will be new indicators on the STARS Direct Certification Report. If you are a person who processes free/reduced applications in your district, and did not attend our Back to School Workshops, please attend our Medicaid Direct Certification webinar on Thursday, September 5th at 9:00 a.m. CST. DPI will provide an update on the new process, and answer any other free/reduced application questions.
Our popular, monthly webinar, Kitchen Counter Conversations (KCC) will be switching to a new official webinar format for the 24-25 SY (still apart of Microsoft Teams). This format will include a 'registration link', which will provide you, as the attendees the opportunity for it to automatically show up on your calendar and get reminders for the upcoming event. Each month you will need to register for the webinar. We will post these registration links in our monthly newsletters.
Join us as we kick off the 24-25 SY on September 17, at 2 PM CST.
Intended Audience: Food Service Staff
This month's topic will be covering the requirement for Annual Cashiers Training & Annual Civil Rights Training.
- Annual Cashier Training is for anyone who works the till or helps with point-of-service meal counting. These are the folks who need to know how to recognize and identify if a student has a reimbursable meal.
- Annual Civil Rights Training is for program staff who work with the National School Lunch Program and may be in the cafeteria during meal times.
As always, prior webinar recordings are posted on our website for viewing: UPDATES | North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (nd.gov).
DPI will host the quarterly “Across the Desk” training on Tuesday, October 8th, at 2:00 p.m. CST. Across the Desk provides an update on the administrative side of USDA meal programs. October’s training will include information on Verification, along with any other updates.
Intended Audience: Administration who work with USDA Meal Programs, such as Business Managers, Secretaries, Superintendents or Food Service Directors
Welcome Back to School!
It’s hard to believe it’s already fall. The summer flew by, but hopefully, you were able to capture some great moments with friends and family.
This year, Farm to School will be exciting, as the North Dakota Department of Agriculture received a $500,000 USDA Farm to School grant. We are excited about the projects and events we will collaborate on this year. So, stay tuned; we will have updates later this fall.
Harvest of the Month - September is Corn!
In the meantime, you should have received your Harvest of the Month posters. If you didn’t receive them, please let Amanda Olson know. We also have cute characters you can print off for decorating or coloring sheets. You can email Amanda Olson (amolson@nd.gov) to access those.
What is the Mountain Plains Crunch Off?
To celebrate Farm to School Month (October), States throughout the Mountain Plains Region (CO, MT, MO, KS, NE, ND, SD, WY) hold a friendly competition to see which State can get the most “crunches” into local produce and other foods, per capita. Even if you can’t purchase ND foods, you can still participate and register for your event. It’s also fun to celebrate eating healthy!
Crunch Off participants -- including students, teachers, farmers, parents, community members, and every North Dakota citizen - bite into local produce together (virtually or in person) to celebrate the wonderful fruits and vegetables grown in the Mountain Plains Region. Crunch Off events encourage healthy eating and support local agriculture while celebrating Farm to School Month and highlighting the strength a community gains from farmer-school food service partnerships.
When is the Crunch Off?
The Crunch Off takes place annually in October. North Dakota Crunch events can occur between October 1 and 31.
How can I participate?
Register your “Crunch” event at this link. Registration closes on October 31.
Registration link here --> North Dakota Crunch Off Event Registration 2024 (office.com)
Bringing people together to crunch into local produce is a great way to add fun (and nutrients!) to gatherings that may occur at farms and gardens or in schools, daycares, and classrooms. Consider including students, teachers, food service staff, administrators, the PTA, and community members to help you plan and promote your event.
Source local food for your event. Contact Katrina Hanenberg of the ND Department of Agriculture (kmhanenberg@nd.gov) for ideas on how to contact local producers. Other ideas include checking your State’s Department of Agriculture website, searching for farmer’s markets in your area, using DoD Fresh, talking with your Distributor about sourcing local foods, and working with a local food hub.
Consider planning field trips and/or educational activities. There are many ways to include educational pieces about farming, soil, the water cycle, photosynthesis, or other relevant topics during the week or day of the Crunch. Farm field trips are a great way to help students get excited about local produce, learn more about the food system, and have a successful Crunch! If a field trip isn’t feasible, consider having a local producer come to visit your school or daycare to speak or conduct educational activities in school gardens or classrooms. Take photos and be creative! The Crunch Off is a unique opportunity to partner with local producers, businesses, and others to make an event that the whole community will enjoy. Take pictures and spread the word about local food! Pictures can be submitted to Amanda Olson (amolson@nd.gov)
Fresh From North Dakota Lunch Week is September 30 – October 4!
There isn’t any special registration to participate in this week's celebration of the wonderful food produced in North Dakota. You can celebrate however you feel is best. The whole meal doesn’t have to feature North Dakota foods. If you are celebrating October 1-4, register that as your Crunch Off event, too!
If you decide to celebrate North Dakota foods, please take photos. We love to see the amazing food you serve!
Ideas on how you can participate:
- Serving locally grown food like apples, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, potatoes, or sweet corn. Root vegetables will be great this time of year. Get in contact with your area’s producers. If you need help reaching out to a producer, please contact Amanda.
- Serving beef or bison, or another North Dakota protein item.
- Serve Baker Boy, Cloverdale, or another North Dakota company.
- Serve a dessert featured with local berries or fruits (apples, chokecherries, plums).
On July 8, an email was sent by DPI to all sponsors participating in the SFSP regarding a new civil rights requirement for sponsors to provide written notice of beneficiary rights. USDA has now retracted this guidance and requirement for faith-based schools. More guidance is still to come but for now, please remove any posted written notices. USDA’s message to Religious Schools is below. If you did not post the written notice of beneficiary rights, when it was sent out previously, then you do not need to do anything at this time.
Message for Religious Schools: This message is to inform you that USDA’s Notice to Beneficiaries and Prospective Beneficiaries guidance/material is hereby retracted as to religious schools and institutions. As appropriate, we will send you USDA’s forthcoming clarification of this guidance/material.
On July 1, 2024, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) distributed initial guidance on implementation of the final rule Partnerships With Faith-Based and Neighborhood Organizations, 89 FR 15671. FNS included in that distribution guidance and a model written notice to beneficiaries, released by the USDA Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (OASCR).
If you have already sent USDA’s Notice to Beneficiaries and Prospective Beneficiaries guidance/material to preK-12 schools, including religious schools and institutions (such as faith-based schools that consider religion in their admissions practices or impose religious attendance or curricular requirements), please immediately inform religious schools and institutions that the guidance/material is being retracted pending a forthcoming clarification from USDA (see message for religious schools below). If you aren’t sure which schools are religious, please send the following message to all schools.
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Message for Religious Schools: This message is to inform you that USDA’s Notice to Beneficiaries and Prospective Beneficiaries guidance/material is hereby retracted as to religious schools and institutions. As appropriate, we will send you USDA’s forthcoming clarification of this guidance/material. If you have any questions, please contact [Insert State agency contact].
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If you haven’t yet sent such guidance/material to preK-12 religious schools and institutions, please refrain from doing so until you receive USDA’s forthcoming clarification regarding this guidance/material as appropriate.
If you have any questions for USDA, please contact your FNS Regional Office.
USDA has reminded all State Agencies to recap their 2015 memo regarding online payment fees. The memo can be found here: Online Fees in the School Meal Programs | Food and Nutrition Service (usda.gov).
Two points from the memo:
- Make sure that the school still offers a method for households to add money to a child’s meal account that does not add additional fees; i.e., the household can send cash with a child for their meal account.
- The school food service account can pick up those fees rather than charge the parents.
Reach out to our office if you have questions about online payment fees.
Many kitchens and cafeterias included wall cleaning over the summer, so all posters were taken down. Please remember to re-hang the following:
POST THESE publicly, usually in the cafeteria.
- “And Justice for All” addresses civil rights protected by school meal programs and the complaint process if a participant feels their protected civil rights have been violated.
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Reimbursable meal signage for breakfast and lunch. All school meals must have signage that explains what a reimbursable meal looks like at each meal service. If the Offer vs Serve option is used, the signage must include how many components/items must be on the tray along with ½ cup of fruit or vegetable to be counted as a reimbursable meal.
- The last health inspection must be hung where the public can read it.
POST THESE in the appropriate places in the kitchen
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How to Wash your Hands must be posted by each of the sinks designated as the dedicated handwashing sink as well as in each restroom used by kitchen staff
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Clean Up of a Bodily Fluid Spill. The Janitorial staff might take care of this, but it still must be a process everyone is aware of.
- How to use a three-compartment Sink: a wash-rinse-sanitize 3-step process.
The Afterschool Snack Program can be an excellent option for schools that operate a care program for elementary students after the last class bell of the day. These are some of the requirements that should be noted.
- “Afterschool Snack” means service of the snack after school.
- Production records of the snacks served are required to be kept daily. The records will show what two food groups were served, each component's portion size, and how the portion meets the food group requirement. An example might be a 1-ounce cheese stick that meets the 1-ounce meat/meat alternate portion, and a 6-ounce box of 100% juice meets the ¾ cup fruit/vegetable portion requirements. The student must take both. Check out the production record book for more snack ideas.
- The program requires an educational or enrichment component. This cannot include competitive athletics. Examples of allowable education or enrichment activities may include homework help, crafting, or games.
- Please make sure you know whether your site is eligible for ‘universal free’ or not.
- Site-eligible schools may claim all snacks for free reimbursement.
- Non-site-eligible schools will track snacks served by student eligibility and claim free, reduced, and paid eligibility reimbursement.
- Schools that are not site-eligible but serve snacks to all students at no charge are responsible for reimbursing the school food service account to cover the cost of those snacks with non-federal funds. This may mean a general fund transfer or another source of funding to reimburse the school food service account.
- Remember civil rights training for anyone working with the afterschool snack program who still needs to receive it through the school meals training. There is a training sheet in the front of the Production Record book for your convenience.
- Self-monitoring of the program is a requirement for all schools. It must be done twice a year, the first time within the first four weeks of program operation and the second time before the program ends. There are two copies of the site monitoring form in the Production Record book.
Adult Meal Pricing
For more information about Adult Meal Pricing and to make sure you have set yours high enough for this year, click the handout below:
Buy American Provision
We discussed this at our Back To School Workshops, but have more information for you in the handout below:
Get Real and Get Ready for a Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program Application
August 28, 2 - 3:15pm EST and September 11, 2 - 3:15pm ET
In the lead up to the release of the 2024 USDA-NIFA Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program Request For Applications, ISED and the Food Systems Leadership Network are co-facilitating a two-part webinar series to help potential applicants.
Register HERE! Part 1: To Apply or Not to Apply (Wednesday, August 28, 2-3:15pm ET) Learn about the program and some key considerations to help determine if this is the right fit for you. They will provide examples of the types of projects that can be funded and will be joined by current and past grantees who will talk about their experience applying for and receiving this fund. Guest speakers include Winona Bynum (Detroit Food Policy Council), Amanda Toerdal (Kawerak, Inc.) and Bianca Bockman (RiseBoro Community Partnership). Part 2: Tips, Tricks, and Hacks for Successful Application (Wednesday, September 11, 2-3:15pm ET) to get into the nitty gritty of the proposal development and application process, they will walk through the specific components of the application, from addressing community needs all the way to the budget narrative. Attendees will also hear from seasoned CFP advocates on what it takes to make your proposal stand out and best practices and proposal hacks to help you survive the grant writing process.
Get Schools Cooking Applications are Open! Deadline: September 31, 2024
We are excited to share that the Get Schools Cooking Applications are now open! Get Schools Cooking is an intensive three-year assessment and strategic planning program that provides public K-12 schools with comprehensive support to transition from a heat-and-serve to a scratch-cooking operational model. Get Schools Cooking is open to school districts across the U.S. To apply districts must:
- Be firmly committed to working toward scratch-cooked and fresh whole foods approach to their meal programs.
- Participate in the National School Lunch Program.
- Run a self-operated food service program.
- Demonstrate support for improving school meals from district leadership
If you have questions, please contact the Chef Ann Foundation at info@chefannfoundation.org.
Registration is open until September 15, 2024
The Adopt a Cow program is a free, year-long virtual educational experience that provides students an inside look at dairy farming. Each classroom that enrolls in the program is paired with a calf from a dairy farm. Teachers and students receive photos, video updates, and activity sheets throughout the school year that allow them to watch their calves grow. Through immersive, hands-on learning activities and suggested lessons that follow Common CORE and STEM Standards, students gain a deeper understanding of the dairy industry and where their food comes from.
Enrollment deadline is September 15th! Visit here to register.
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