You are here

School Nutrition Announcement - Emergency Meals-To-You Program

Friday, April 24, 2020

Announcement from the Department of Public Instruction School Nutrition Team

 

SchoolMealsNews Bulletin - Emergency Meals-to-You Program

Under the authority of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program (USDA SFSP), along with already-applied, necessary waivers allowing non-congregate feeding models, local education authorities (LEAs) can deliver meals by mail to their students. Emergency Meals-to-You is a federal demonstration project and works to provide shelf-stable, easily prepared, kid-friendly meals to students in rural school districts during unexpected school closures lasting four weeks or longer. If you are interested in learning more about this feeding model, please visit the Emergency Meals-to-You website. We recommend you read the entire Meal to You FAQ webpage.
 
To be eligible, LEAs must:
  • Participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP),
  • Have at least 50 percent of enrollment eligible for free or reduced-priced meals (FRP). This requirement is covered if the LEA participates in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), Note: USDA waivers changing SFSP eligibility do not change this requirement,
  • Have an announced closure of at least four weeks (not counting spring break), and
  • Fall under the designation of rural, which can be checked on the USDA Rural Designation webpage or the National Center for Educational Statistics webpage.
Occasionally, a LEA and State Agency (SA) may agree that an area is rural, despite the USDA designation. If that is the case, the LEA can submit a statement which explains in their own words how the designation is inaccurate and how their community experiences the specific, unique challenges that define rural communities.
 
Emergency Meals-to-You provides weekday breakfasts and lunches to students who were receiving those meals through NSLP at a free or reduced-price, but temporarily cannot receive school meals due to the emergency school closure. Emergency Meals-to-You mails 10 breakfasts and 10 lunches every two weeks directly to the student’s home while school is closed due to COVID-19.
 
Check out the Emergency Meals-to-You website for more information, including Frequently Asked Questions.
 
Here are some Q&As that may not be clear on their webpage.
 
Q1: The Meals-to-You webpage states this is for school districts. Are private schools able to participate if they participate in the NSLP?
A1: Yes, if they participate in NSLP, are rural, and meet the FRP % requirements, then they can participate in Emergency Meals-to-You. Public, private, charter, tribal, etc. does not matter so long as the above requirements are met.
Q2: The Meals-to-You webpage refers to the SFSP but not the Seamless Summer Option (SSO). Are LEAs that participate in SSO able to participate in Emergency Meals-to-You?
A2: Yes, any rural LEA that participates in NSLP (and meets FRP % requirements) can participate, whether they are SSO or SFSP.
Q3: What happens at the end of the school year? Will there be information delivered regarding last delivery?
A3: Yes, the end of delivery will be communicated through the program’s communication channels. In addition, a notice is included in the last meal box letting the recipient know it is their final delivery. As of now, the program is designed to run through the last operating day of the LEA’s planned instructional school year.
Q4: Our school is not designated as “area-eligible (AE)”. Can schools with less than 50 percent FRP meal eligibility participate in Emergency Meals-to-You?
A4: Yes. However, only the FRP eligible students may participate. Paid households are not eligible for Emergency Meals-to-You. Note: If the school participates in the CEP, all enrolled students at that school are eligible to participate.
Q5: How long does it take to approve an application?
A5: Application approval has taken Emergency Meals-to-You less than a week, but delivery of the first box of meals might be an additional two weeks.
Example application process:
  1. LEA completes application and excel file, as outlined on the Emergency Meals-to-You webpage.
  2. LEA forwards the Emergency Meals-to-You application confirmation email along with the PDF application and excel spreadsheet to the SA contact: Jessica Oele at jessica.oele@dpi.wi.gov.
  3. SA receives application and reviews for accuracy.
  4. SA confirms that the LEA participates in NSLP and is in good standing. It does not matter if the SFA is currently participating in the SFSP or SSO during COVID-19.
  5. SA sends the application to Emergency Meals-to-You.
-WI DPI School Nutrition Team
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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