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AARGH! You found the treasure to celebrate “School Lunch Pirates” National School Lunch Week. We received awesome pictures of the creative café decorations, mighty menus, and costumed servers. Thank you for your effort to make this week special.
Pictured above: Front page news for Stanley High School's NSLW Treasure Hunt.
Filling out the ‘Collection of Racial/Ethnic Data’ form
The Department of Justice Regulations, 28 CFR 42, requires all entities that receive federal money to make sure that they are serving the public equitably. For schools and other organizations that operate school meal programs, this means that you must collect and report data on the actual number of children applying for free and reduced price meals.
We often see answers to the question on the Administrative Review regarding completion of the Racial/Ethnic Data form that relate to ‘information is available in Power School’ or ‘data is collected upon enrollment’. This form is not meant to collect information on the entire student body. It is only meant to collect information on those households who have submitted an application.
30 day carryover for student eligibility last year.
Please remember to double check every student that is receiving meals at no charge this year to make sure they have some type of documentation that makes them eligible for this benefit. Documentation types would be:
- the direct certification list from STARS and for any student extended eligibility noted on the list with how they are related
- a qualifying application
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a signed list from the migrant, homeless or foster liaison
This double check will help you fill out your verification report AND eliminate a 30 day carryover error. Students with eligibility from the previous year without any documentation must be switched back to ‘Paid’ on Day 31 of the school calendar.
Equipment Ideas and Grant Opportunities
We hope you will join us for our November KCC. This month, you will learn about new or innovative equipment ideas that were shown at the Annual National Conference and the most recent grant opportunity through the NDDPI Child Nutrition Office. This year’s USDA allocation for NSLP Equipment grant funding is the smallest on record since the program inception in 2009. Therefore, the grant process will be highly competitive this year. This session of KCC will highlight some of the areas that a sponsor should focus their effort when filling out the grant application.
As always, this webinar will be recorded and posted on our website after the event.
As always, prior webinar recordings are posted on our website for viewing: UPDATES | North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (nd.gov).
Farm to School Updates
October was such an amazing month! Thank you for celebrating Fresh from North Dakota Lunch Week, Farm to School Month, and participating in the USDA Mountain Plains Region Crunch Off. We put together pictures of all the fun things you did this month!
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November Harvest of the Month
We are celebrating LEAFY GREENS this November as our featured Harvest of the Month. So, pile on that broccoli, cabbage, collard greens, mixed greens (lettuces), spinach, and kale if you’re brave! These leafy greens are nutrient-dense vegetables packed with vitamins A, C, and K! Steaming broccoli and cabbage helps maintain their nutrient levels. Did you know you get the most nutrition from spinach if it’s raw as it contains more lutein (an antioxidant) if uncooked? So, toss it on the salad bar this month!
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If you would like the cute Leafy Green character, please email Amanda Olson for access amolson@nd.gov
Mountain Plains Regional Office – USDA- Crunch Off
In celebration of Farm to School Month, States throughout the Mountain Plains Region of USDA (CO, MT, MO, KS, NE, ND, SD, WY) are competing to see which State can get the most “crunches” into a local apple, or other locally grown produce, per capita. North Dakota Crunch Off dates were October 1-31, 2024.
As we close out the registration for the Crunch Off, we currently have over 47,000 participants in the Crunch Off this year. That is more than double the number of participants compared to 2023. We haven’t tallied the final numbers yet. But we should know results very soon! Every year, we have increased in participation numbers, wow!
Thank you for participating. We loved seeing all of the neat Crunch Off events you hosted. Check out the link to view the fun events captured this year. We hope you had a lot of fun celebrating National Farm to School Month!
Farm to School Census 2023 Data Results
The 2023 USDA Farm to School Census results from 11,803 school food authorities in all 50 states and territories are finalized. The results show 62.7% SFA’s in all 50 states and territories are serving local food in their child nutrition programs. This number of SFA’s represent about 74,000 schools nationwide.
In North Dakota, our results showed an increase in overall participation in Farm to School compared to the 2019 USDA Farm to School Census. Out of 197 SFA’s, ND has 156 SFA participate in Farm to School in school year 2022-2023. Overall, that is a total of 79.2% participation. The 2019 USDA Farm to School Census data showed total participation at about 65% participation rate for North Dakota.
The United States is one of the largest producers of pears in the world. They are grown primarily on the West Coast in Oregon and Washington. There is nothing like the taste of a fresh pear that has ripened perfectly. While most fruits reach their peak when left on the vine, pears need to be picked before ripening. If left on the tree, pears ripen from the inside out, and by the time they seem to be ripe, they are brown and mushy inside. Below are some varieties to seek out for the kids:
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Bartlett – This pear is unique as the skin changes color as it ripens. As the outside changes to a yellow color it sweetens and becomes juicy. This pear is only available for a few months out of the year. (September – February)
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Green Anjou – This pear will keep its green color as it ripens. Check the neck near the stem end of the pear for ripeness. When it gives slightly, it is ready to eat. A sweet and juicy pear that is available almost year-round.
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Red Anjou – Similar in taste to the green Anjou with a little more tang. A striking color that will surely interest children. This pear is available almost year-round.
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Bosc – Don’t let the cinnamon brown skin color fool you, but this variety has been referred to as the “Cadillac of pears.” With a honey sweetness that is unmatched by other varieties, it is a complex flavor that needs to be appreciated. This pear is available from September – April, so the perfect time to try it is now.
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Asian Pears – Also known as apple pears, these are crunchy like an apple. This pear has a grainy texture with a juicy sweet flesh. These pears are available in season from September – January.
I encourage everyone to seek out new varieties of pears to try for the kids this month. Have you checked with a local grocery store to see what varieties they carry or can special order? We are the in the middle of peak season for pears. That means the quality is the best, but also the price should be at its lowest, allowing you to maximize your FFVP dollars.
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Remember that next year, we have some new or updated guidance on the meal pattern used for school meals. USDA has released the guidance and a few short training videos.
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The fluid milk guidance clarifies the new product-based sugar limits (no more than 10 grams of added sugar) starting in July 2025. It also clarifies the allowable non-dairy substitutes.
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The fruit and vegetable flexibility memo offers a helpful Q&A section and flowchart to assist with substituting vegetables at breakfast. Schools that plan to substitute vegetables for fruits at breakfast two or more days per week must offer at least two vegetable subgroups starting in SY 2025-26.
Register for the USDA training series on successful menu planning with the new meal pattern guidance. This series includes quarterly, one-hour live and recorded webinars and short on-demand sessions, all will count toward professional development hours.
School Nutrition Association offers LEAD to Succeed training at no cost to members or non-members!
This award-winning training was being offered at $149+ to members only in the past couple of years. USDA-FNS has provided a grant now to offer it to anyone at any time through the SNA Training Zone. This is professional development for school nutrition professionals specifically with 12 hours devoted to Communication for Impact and 9 hours of Leadership Growth. Remember all of these hours would count toward your professional development annual requirement.
We are encouraging school meal programs to source local beef however, the National School Lunch program along with your state commercial food license requires that only inspected meat, including ground beef, sausage, and fish come from a federally inspected processing facility.
The meat must have an inspection seal on the package. If the package says “Not for Resale”, you are not using an inspected product. The following from “ND Beef to Schools” Pilot Project explains the inspection seals:
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What type of meat and poultry products can be donated or sold to schools in the state of North Dakota? The regulations allow:
a) State officially inspected product-product bears ND “inspected and passed” inspection legend.
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b) State officially inspected product produced under the Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) Program-product bears USDA “inspected and passed” SEND legend.
c) Federally inspected product-product bears USDA “inspected and passed”.
Your health inspector will be looking for an inspection seal on your meat. Make sure you are purchasing meat for your school nutrition program that has been inspected.
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North Dakota Team Nutrition is back to provide professional development to you and your kitchen! We received the FY24 USDA Team Nutrition Training Grant for Meal Pattern Modernization. Here is a summary of our plans and the other states that received this funding.
The program we are planning for you will involve an in-person culinary experience along with all of the background information and education for you to successfully implement the new USDA Meal Pattern Requirements. We will start our sessions in the summer or early fall of 2025 looking at reducing added sugars in our menus including the product specific limitations and scratch cooking recipes. Then, for the 2026 school year we will focus on reducing sodium through various recipes and other cooking tips. Each of these sessions will include some traditional indigenous foods or recipes.
We are so excited to get the ball rolling on this project and bring a well-designed program to you!
The Culinary arm of the Institute of Child Nutrition (CICN) is hosting their next webinar on Thursday, November 7th at 2 p.m. Central
This one is called “Creating Custom Recipes for your School Nutrition Program” and will feature two chefs from the IDEA schools in Texas. It sounds like they have a lot of experience and enthusiasm in designing recipes that meet student needs and wants and will provide resources to help you use your USDA Foods while meeting new meal pattern updates.
Register Here: https://theicn.docebosaas.com/learn/courses/461/cicn-creating-custom-recipes-for-your-school-nutrition-program-november-7-2024-3pm-est
Equipment Assistance Grant through CNFD
USDA distributed $10 million to State agencies to competitively award Equipment Assistance Grants to eligible School Food Authorities (SFAs). These grants are especially for supporting the quality of meals, including the supporting the implementation of updated nutrition requirements for school meals.
North Dakota was appropriated just over $31,000 to competitively award to SFAs.
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The application to apply is now available! The process is new this year - it is all to be submitted virtually, through a Microsoft Form.
Applications will be available from November 1 - December 11, 2024.
Find the application HERE.
If there are any questions as your District applies, please reach out to Amy Nelson (amylnelson@nd.gov).
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$500 Soy Foods Reimbursement
Do you serve soy foods in your school? Are you wanting to try a soy food in your school? Even if you are just looking to sample it?
The North Dakota Soybean Council is looking to partner with ND schools to support the purchase of soy foods for sampling or menuing during the 2024-25 School Year, or at least during soy foods month, in April 2025!
The North Dakota Soybean Council will reimburse the District up to $500!
Find the application HERE.
Ideas to try:
- Soy milk (as an option in addition to regular cow's milk)
- Tofu (try Crispy Tofu - Healthy School Recipes on the same day you have orange chicken and offer it as a sample for students to try. Maybe even have some extra teriyaki or orange sauce to drizzle over the tofu)
- Soy yogurt (make into parfaits or just sample a soy yogurt)
- Steamed edamame (in the shell or shelled)
- Bismarck Public Schools served shelled edamame on orange chicken day (as seen below). Edamame counts as a legume (bean, pea or lentil) vegetable subgroup or a meat/meat alternate. Bismarck uses this as a way to meet their Bean, Pea & Lentil vegetable subgroup.
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