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School Nutrition Bulletin 1920-02

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Announcements from the WI DPI School Nutrition Team  

Updates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

 
The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (Section 12(n), 42 USC 1760(n)), requires School Food Authorities (SFAs) to purchase, to the maximum extent practicable, domestic commodities or products. This provision supports the mission of the Child Nutrition Programs, which is to serve children nutritious meals and support American agriculture.
 
The Agriculture Act of 2018 provides clarification on the treatment of harvested fish under the Buy American requirement. This clarification includes:
  • Farmed fish must be harvested within the United States or any territory or possession of the United States.
  • Wild caught fish must be harvested within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States or by a United States flagged vessel.
The Food and Nutrition Service will provide additional technical assistance and resources. More to come…
 
This memorandum rescinds and replaces SP 22-2019 Crediting Coconut, Hominy, Corn Masa, and Corn Flour in the Child Nutrition Programs.
 
Prior to April 17, 2019, when the previous memorandum was published, coconut and hominy did not meet the requirement for any component in the meal patterns. However, based on feedback and to meet the growing and diverse cultural needs of our program participants, these two foods now credit. This memorandum updates and clarifies crediting guidance and contains questions and answers about crediting these foods in the USDA Child Nutrition Programs.
 
Wednesday, September 4, 2019, 1:00-2:00 pm CST
This webinar, Crediting Popcorn, Hominy, Corn Masa and Masa Harina, will provide an overview of the crediting updates resulting from the Request for Information for these foods and provide crediting technical assistance with hands-on practice specifically for Popcorn, Hominy, Corn Masa, and Masa Harina. All are welcome to attend, including program operators, State agencies, and the food industry.
 
Team Nutrition's Healthy Meals Resource System Has Moved!
Team Nutrition's Healthy Meals Resource System (HMRS) has moved to the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) and is now part of the new ICN's Child Nutrition Sharing Site!
 
The ICN's Child Nutrition Sharing Site (CNSS) is an online resource center providing Child Nutrition Programs with a means for sharing valuable resources related to program operations. The CNSS will give child nutrition professionals a one-stop shop to access high-quality resources and training materials in the child nutrition community that support current Federal regulations, policies, and guidance.
 
Kick-Off a Healthy School Year 2019-20 with Team Nutrition!
Team Nutrition has many resources to get the school year off to a healthy start!
 
School Meals to Preschoolers
Download the updated version of Team Nutrition’s Serving School Meals to Preschoolers for School Year 2019-20 in English and in Spanish. This four-page worksheet helps school nutrition professionals plan menus that meet the preschool meal pattern. Print versions coming soon!
 
Smart Snack Standards Updates
Restocking Smart Snacks? Check out Team Nutrition’s A Guide to Smart Snacks in School for School Year 2019–20. This updated guide provides tips on how to select foods for school vending machines, fundraisers, and snack bars that meet Smart Snacks standards. This guide is also available to order in print.
 
School Meals Memos and Guidance Materials
Visit the pages below for recent updates to school meal program guidance and flexibilities:
Tools for School Nutrition Professionals
Track training hours, find approved software, explore new crediting tools, and more at the links below:

 

Updates from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) School Nutrition Team

 
Teaming Up to Increase Participation Workshop
The Wisconsin School Nutrition Team was excited to host the first ever Teaming Up to Increase Participation workshop on June 19, 2019. This workshop was attended by nearly 250 school nutrition professionals from across the state. For a recap of the workshop, please see the Workshop summary and visit the Wisconsin School Meals Rock – School Nutrition Professionals webpage to access the workshop materials.
 
We want to keep the energy from the workshop alive so we will try to share information in each SchoolMealsNews Bulletin.
Take away from the workshop: “If you don’t market your meals, someone else will ...and it may not be correct information.” -Caitlin Harrison, Foodservice Director, Pulaski School District
 

Other Updates and Information

 
Institute of Child Nutrition S.T.A.R. Webinar: Strategies That Promote a Culture of Food Safety
 
Thursday, August 29, 2019, 2:00-3:00 pm CST
 
A food safety culture exists when food-safe behaviors are second nature to the members of your school community — your school nutrition team, school administrators, teachers, parents, and students – and these behaviors are consistently practiced to help keep students healthy and safe. Liz Dixon, ICN’s Food Safety Education and Training Specialist, will describe strategies that promote a food safety culture; and Kristin Parvin, a Site Supervisor with Independence School District in Missouri, will discuss ways to put those strategies into action. Register for the webinar on the ICN webpage.
 
Did you know that the Institute of Child Nutrition has a podcast? What’s a podcast you ask? According to the Oxford definition, a podcast is “a digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device, typically available as a series, new installments of which can be received by subscribers automatically.”
 
The Institute of Child Nutrition hosts the podcast iBites. Check it out and subscribe.
 
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This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

This is a communication from the WI Department of Public Instruction, School Nutrition Team.
You can contact the School Nutrition Team at
dpifns@dpi.wi.gov. To subscribe to schoolmealsnews, please send an email to dpifns@dpi.wi.gov.
dpi.wi.gov/school-nutrition #WISchoolMealsRock