May 22, 2023

This is an official communication between ODE CNP and Sponsors of NSLP

Inside This Issue

• Important Dates (Updated)
• SNP News and Reminders (Updated)
• Student Success Act (SSA) Nutrition Initiative June Claims Important Update (New)
• Seamless Summer Option (New)
• Breakfast in The Classroom (New)
• Charge Policy Reminder (New)
• Eligibility Update: Direct Certification using Medicaid Data Demonstration Project (New)
• NSLP Sodium Target 1A Transitional Standard Effective July1, 2023 (New)
• Request for Applications: Healthy Meals Incentive Grants (Repeat)
• Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Reminder (Repeat)
• Breakfast After the Bell Equipment Grant (New)
• Upcoming Newsletter Dates
• SNP Contacts

• May 30, 2023 - March 2023 claims are due
• Jun 2, 2023 - School Year 2023-2024 Renewal due
• Jun 30, 2023 - Sponsors indicate whether they are continuing, electing or dropping   Community Eligibility Provision participation.

ODE Memos ODE Memo - Revised SY 2023-2024 Paid Lunch Equity (PLE) ODE Memo - Revised - SY 2021-22 Revenue from Nonprogram Food and Adult Meal Prices ODE Memo - SNP School Year 2023-2024 renewal now open in CNPweb - Action Required USDA Memos USDA Memo SP 13-2023 -  Best Practices for Contracting with Food Service Management Company Program Announcements State Match 2022-2023 According to 7 CFR 210.17, Federal programs often have a requirement of a state fund match in order to receive federal funds.   There is a total requirement for the state of Oregon. ODE CNP prorates the total state requirement to each sponsor receiving state school funds based on the lunches claimed for reimbursement.   The NSLP State Revenue Matching Statement 2022-2023 is now available from the Nutrition Program Resource Management webpage.  The NSLP State Match Requirement for National School Lunch Program memo has specific instructions for sponsors who are required to complete this state match. The State Match completed statement and expenditure audit report is due September 29, 2023.   For more information, please see our Nutrition Program Resource Management webpage. Renewal SY 2023-2024 ODE CNP has opened renewal for the 2023-2024 school year. The memo pertaining to renewal was sent out on May 1, 2023. All sponsors must complete the renewal process by June 2, 2023.  Please see SNP Renewal Page for more information

Student Success Act (SSA) Nutrition Initiative June Claims Important Update

As we near the end of Oregon’s 2021-2023 legislative biennium and the first year of the state funded Student Success Act (SSA) Nutrition Initiatives, ODE CNP is reaching out to provide very important updates about the state’s close out and recordkeeping requirements of these state grant programs.

Please read this message in its entirety to ensure your district does not miss out on any SSA meal reimbursements.

• All June 2023 claims for Community Eligibility Provision Incentive (CEPI) and/or Expanded Income Guidelines (EIG) reimbursement must be submitted by August 14, 2023. This is a state requirement and ensures that funds from the 2021-2023 Hunger Free School Account can be paid out prior to reconciliation and liquidation of the fund.
• ODE’s Student Success Act Grant Agreement terms and conditions require that:

“Grantee acknowledges and agrees Agency and the Oregon Secretary of State's Office and the federal government and their duly authorized representatives will have access to all Records to perform examinations and audits and make excerpts and transcripts. Grantee must retain and keep accessible all Records for a minimum of six (6) years, or such longer period as may be required by applicable law, following termination of this Grant, or until the conclusion of any audit, controversy or litigation arising out of or related to this Grant, whichever date is later.”

 ODE CNP is pointing out these requirements, as they are different that the federal requirements that many sponsors may be accustomed to. Please keep these requirements in mind as we move toward the end of our first full year of Student Success Act Nutrition Initiatives.

Seamless Summer Option Many School Food Authorities (SFA’s) are participating in the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) for the first time this summer.  The Seamless Summer Option combines features of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), the School Breakfast Program (SBP), and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). The SSO offers SFAs operating the NSLP or SBP a streamlined option for providing summer meals by continuing to follow several of the same operational requirements, such as the NSLP/SBP meal patterns and procedures for filing claims and determining student eligibility.  Due to the expansion of the Seamless Summer Option, the ODE School Nutrition Team have developed the Seamless Summer Option At a Glance which provides a quick summary of the SSO.  In addition, the Summer Meals Outreach At a Glance is a resource that has helpful information on meeting the outreach requirements of the SSO. SFA’s intending to operate the SSO this Summer must select that option in CNPweb for School Year 2023 and/or 2024.  Please review the Seamless Summer Option Memo for instructions.

Breakfast in the Classroom

With a full ‘post COVID’ school year almost in the rearview mirror, the Oregon Department of Education Child Nutrition Programs (ODE CNP) would like to share some tips and reminders to help make breakfast in the classroom successful both as a serving model and to align it with program regulations.

Serving breakfast in the classroom is a great way to help ensure that students have the nutrients they need in order to be successful in learning. If your school or school district is currently participating in breakfast in the classroom, or considering a service change in the upcoming school year, here a few things to consider in order to ensure program compliance:

• Each classroom is considered a point of service. Therefore all teachers, or staff that will be counting and recording reimbursable meals must be trained and the school will need to maintain records of the training.
• Attendance rosters, meal order forms or counting uneaten meals are not acceptable meal counting practices. The reimbursable meal may only be counted and recorded once the student has selected a reimbursable meal. It is also not an acceptable method for teachers to be taking the meal count without specifically viewing each meal to determine it meets the requirements of a reimbursable meal.
• While the school has the option of using Offer Versus Serve (for grades K-8) during breakfast in the classroom, teachers, or staff identifying a reimbursable meal would need to have specific training in Offer vs Serve.
• Milk variety is required at breakfast as well as lunch. If a school elects to provide breakfast in the classroom, a variety of at least two allowable milk types must be offered to all students.
• Breakfast meal pattern for all grades requires that a full cup of fruit is offered to students. Ensure that you are sending a sufficient supply of fruit to meet this requirement.
• Teachers, or staff conducting the breakfast in the classroom must be aware that second meals cannot be claimed.

A best practice is to have a very clear written procedure for classroom staff to follow. Another great way to ensure that the program regulatory requirements are being met is for nutrition services personnel to visit the classrooms and observe a meal service.

ODE CNP wishes you all a wonderful summer. Congratulations on a successful 22-23 school year. The team at ODE CNP looks forward to supporting you in your mission to feed Oregon’s students!

Charging Policy Reminder This article serves as a reminder that organizations should review their charge policy in preparation for the next school year. If you are a sponsor participating in National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs and counting your students in free, reduced-price and paid categories, it would be a good time to review your current charging policy for the upcoming school year. As a reminder, USDA requires all School Food Authorities (SFA) to develop a meal charge policy. SFA’s have the discretion in developing the specifics of their policies. USDA unpaid meal charges policy requirement When writing your charge policy keep in mind the Oregon law ORS 327.537 known as the “lunching shaming ban” also needs to included. More detailed information can be found at Oregon HB 3454 "Lunch Shaming Ban" Q&A Make plans to communicate your specific policy to your students, parents and community. This should include checking on what is written in student handbooks and posted on your website.

Eligibility Update: Direct Certification using Medicaid Data Demonstration Project

ODE Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) is participating in a demonstration project in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to directly certify students receiving Medicaid benefits for school meal benefits. Income information from Medicaid eligibility will be used to identify households that meet the income threshold for free or reduced price meal benefits.

Directly certifying students using Medicaid data (DCM) will improve school meal program access for students in Oregon.

Goals of the DC-M Demonstration project include:

• Increase program access for eligible students that are not getting meal benefits.
• Streamline federal benefits program application processes for households
• Decrease administrative burden and increase accuracy of student certification for School Food Authorities.
• Increase identified student percentage for purposes of Community Eligibility Provision eligibility and reimbursement

DC-M data will be available in the Direct Certification System and will use a similar process as direct certification for SNAP and Foster Child Certification.

The anticipated availability of the data is September 2023. Training and resources will also be available prior to the availability of DC-M.

SFA’s interested in system testing before the rollout, please email damasita.sanchez@ode.oregon.gov.

     Sodium Target 1A Transitional Standard Effective July 1, 2023

State agencies and school meal program operators are reminded that Sodium Target 1A, as promulgated by the Transitional Standards for Milk, Whole Grains and Sodium - Final Rule, goes into effect on July 1, 2023, in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) only. There will be no change to sodium limits for breakfasts served through the School Breakfast Program (SBP). Please refer to this chart for specific Sodium Target 1A limits by grade level. ​

Age/Grade Group           Interim Target 1A: Effective July 1, 2023

Grades K-5                       Less than or equal to 1,110 Mg

Grades 6-8                       Less than or equal to 1,225 Mg

Grades 9-12                     Less than or equal to 1,280 Mg

Schools can access lower sodium standardized recipes that meet school meal pattern requirements through the Institute of Child Nutrition's Child Nutrition Recipe Box and Team Nutrition's Recipes for Healthy Kids: Cookbook for Schools. The Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) also offers sodium reduction resources and online courses through the ICN's Shaking it Up initiative, which features strategies and best practices for reducing sodium in school menus. 

Request for Applications: Healthy Meals Incentives Grants for Small and/or Rural School Food Authorities

As part of a cooperative agreement to develop and implement USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s (FNS) Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, Action for Healthy Kids is offering competitive grants (up to $150,000 per SFA) for small and/or rural SFAs to support efforts to improve the nutritional quality of their school meals. The deadline for submitting a grant application is 5:00pm EST, on May 26, 2023. 

Eligibility Criteria:

• SFA must participate in the National School Lunch Program and/or School Breakfast Program
• SFA must meet the following definitions of small and/or rural:
• Small SFA: SFA with an enrollment of less than or equal to 5,000 students.
• Rural SFA: The majority of students within the SFA are enrolled in a rural school as defined by a locality code of 41, 42, or 43, according to the National Center for Education Statistics online tool.  

The Healthy Meals Incentives Grants for small and/or rural SFAs are a key part of USDA FNS’ Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, which was established to improve the nutritional quality of school meals through food systems transformation, school food authority recognition and technical assistance, the generation and sharing of innovative ideas and tested practices, and grants.

State agencies are encouraged to share this announcement with their Child Nutrition Program operators and others who may be interested.  

Questions about this announcement may be sent to support@healthymealsincentives.org

Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) All sponsors with existing CEP agreements must complete the annual CEP survey as soon as possible and no later than June 30, 2023. Sponsors in year 1, 2 or of 3 of a CEP agreement must indicate the intent to maintain the current agreement or plan to re-apply and renew the CEP agreement.  Sponsors who do not have an agreement and will opt out of the CEP election process for SY 2023-24 are encouraged to complete the survey and give reasons for non-participation. ACTIONS REQUESTED from all NSLP/SBP Sponsors Communicate to all relevant stakeholders and administration staff of intentions for CEP for SY 2023-24 and discuss implications of participation with the provision. Submit the CEP Annual Evaluation Survey Form. Begin communications with appropriate enrollment staff and liaisons to provide the student lists as of 4/1/2023 as required by the USDA CEP Guidance Manual. Sponsors who have already submitted the survey form and are intending to go through the CEP election process, please send your CEP data to ODE for evaluation as soon as possible and no later than June 30, 2023. Visit ODE’s  Special Provisions page for CEP data collection and submission instructions located under the Resources heading titled "Getting Started with CEP". To ensure a quick turnaround of results, all required data and documents must follow the templates and formats described in the instructions. Questions about the CEP election process can be directed to Jon Mabale at jon.mabale@ode.oregon.gov.

Breakfast After the Bell (BAtB)  2023-24 Required and Exempt Eligible list has been posted! The Oregon Student Success Act (SSA) includes a requirement that school districts, public charter schools, and education service districts must make breakfast accessible to all students at no cost, after the start of the school day, at certain school sites with 70% or more students eligible for federal free or reduced price meals.  The current, posted SY 2023-24 Breakfast After the Bell Required Site list shows which sites are required to provide Oregon Breakfast after the Bell and which sites are eligible for the exemption. School Districts must notify the state agency of their intent to request an exemption during the renewal process. Only the sites listed as BAtB exemption eligible from the SY 2023-24 Breakfast After the Bell Required Site list, may request an exemption. Breakfast After the Bell Resources: ORS 327.535 OAR 581-051-0600 Breakfast After the Bell At a Glance ODE SNP’s Meal Pattern and Nutritional Quality web page, Under the Meal Components and Quantities section 2023-2024 BAtB Equipment Grant:  The 2023-2024  BAtB equipment grant is a noncompetitive grant available (after July 1) to sponsors/sites who are required to implement and are operating BAtB in SY 2023-2024. The BAtB equipment grant in the amount of $3158.00 for each eligible site, is to assist sponsors with the cost of purchasing or upgrading equipment required to provide breakfast after the beginning of the school day. The BAtB equipment grant covers equipment purchased, renovated, or repaired as well as installation and improvement costs (OAR 581-051-0605). A BAtB equipment grant notification and grant agreement will be sent at a later date. 2022-2023 BAtB Equipment Grant Now for an important reminder for the current year BAtB equipment grant.  The following are the deadline dates for submitting your 2022-23 BAtB Equipment Grant through the Electronic Grant Management System (EGMS).   6/18/23 - This is for institutions using the Cash-Basis Accounting Method.  If you use this method, your claims must be submitted before 6/18/23. 7/23/23 – Deadline date for all other sponsors to submit their claim. You must submit your invoice and claim reimbursement form for each site to ode.schoolnutrition@ode.oregon.gov.

Coming Soon

ODE/CNP will be announcing optional 23-24 trainings

News and Information About Other Child Nutrition Programs

For any questions about how supplemental USDA foods support the NSLP, CACFP or SFSP meal program for current school year or next school year, please contact the ODE USDA Foods Distribution Team at ode.fooddistribution@ode.oregon.gov

Please visit the Farm to Child Nutrition webpage for the latest grant information and due dates.

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program

Extra! Extra! Read all about it.  Newsletters will be distributed during the following weeks. (During the summer, newsletters will be distributed once a month)  We encourage you to access previous newsletters on the School Nutrition Memos Page:

• First week of June 2023

School Nutrition Program Contacts