School Nutrition Bulletin 2021-10

The DPI SNT has created two Q&A documents; one for those school food authorities (SFAs) participating in the National School Lunch Program (found on our School Meals Programs COVID Information webpage) and one for those SFAs participating in the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) or Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) (found on our Emergency Summer Meals COVID-19 Information webpage).

 

It is highly recommended that you check these documents frequently as they will be updated as we get additional information from USDA.

 

IMPORTANT: All SFAs have the option of choosing the National School Lunch Program or Seamless Summer Option and it is not dependent on prior participation last spring. Any SFA that has participated in the Summer Food Service Program in the past may elect this program.

 

We have created the Serving School Meals During SY 2020-21 Program flowchart to help walk you through the options available. This and more information can be found on the Child Nutrition Program COVID-19 Information webpage.

 

The DPI SNT requested and was granted a waiver from USDA to waive the SMP requirement that milk be served and consumed onsite. This waiver allows milk to be picked-up by participants and taken off-site. If your SFA is participating in this program and you wish to offer milk in a non-congregate way, you must complete the waiver. As a reminder, the SMP program is intended to serve students who do not have access to a breakfast or lunch meal service. If this has changed due to virtual meal pick up options, a student who does not have access while attending school in the building may not qualify for SMP while they have access to meals while school is virtual.

 

Guidance: For SY 2020-21, SFAs are allowed to serve milk to students under the Wisconsin School Day Milk Program (WSDMP) in a non-congregate manner, at a time that works for the SFA and households (depending on the learning model); parent/guardian pick-up is also allowed. All other requirements of this program remain in effect. For more information, check out our Wisconsin School Day Milk Program webpage.

 

WSDMP Flexibility for Daily Milk Service Requirement: There is flexibility offered to SFAs who cannot provide milk each day school is in session, such as to virtual students. How SFAs apply for this flexibility is dependent on whether your SFA is public or private.

 

Reminder: The WSDMP is for Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) through Grade 5 students who are eligible for free or reduced price meals. Only one half-pint of milk may be claimed per eligible student per school day. By state law, no charge can be made to those students who qualify for free and reduced price meals and are receiving free milk under the WSDMP. Milk served to paid students at the milk break in Grades Pre-K through 5, and students in Grades 6-12, is not eligible for reimbursement. Similarly, milk served to paid students is not free if the SFA is operating SSO. If milk served to students is claimed under the federal Special Milk Program (SMP), it may not be claimed under the WSDMP.

 

Proposed Plan (private schools only): Private SFAs must provide the DPI SNT with a proposed plan of how they will be serving the Wisconsin School Day Milk Program this year. If students are not in school buildings, this plan lets the DPI SNT know which students you will be serving milk to. You can claim only for the milk that was served depending on the specified plan and whether or not school was considered “in session” if students were not in the building.

 

Waiver (public schools only): Public SFAs may now request a waiver of Wisconsin School Day Milk Program state statutes that require milk to be served every day. If students are not in school buildings, this waiver allows you to not have to serve milk. However, if you do serve milk during the school year (either in the building or when students are in virtual learning), you can claim for that milk even if you did not serve every day school was in session.

 

Parent pick-up flyers are available in English and Spanish for schools operating under the non-congregate and parent/guardian pick-up nationwide waivers. Flyers include information for parents on who is eligible for a meal and how to pick them up. They are available on the Emergency Summer Meals COVID-19 Information webpage under the Guidance and Memos drop down.

 

Thursday, September 17, 2020

2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. CST

 

Learning Objective(s) — Attendees should be able to: identify foodborne pathogens commonly associated with retail foodservice operations; describe three critical food safety practices used throughout the flow of food to mitigate foodborne disease; identify safe transporting methods and documentation procedures; apply recommended traceability systems necessary to conduct a product recall; and explain answers to frequently asked questions from previous USDA Office of Food Safety webinars.

 

The ICN’s September STAR webinar will be done in conjunction with the USDA Office of Food Safety in celebration of National Food Safety month. The webinar will highlight a bird’s eye view of your food safety plan from beginning to end, as we aim to mitigate risks throughout the flow of food from purchasing to serving to transporting and traceability. Speakers will include Cyndie Story (Culinary Solution Centers) and Lauren McClean (Food Safety Specialist with the USDA/FNS Office of Food Safety).

 

Webinar registration link: https://theicn.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_q6Zwk8eDSN6vuKJRPM8bGQ

 

A continuing education certificate will be available after completion of the webinar.

 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. If you are unable to attend the live webinar, there will be a recording of the webinar available on our website 24-48 hours after the live webinar. The recording will be located on the ICN website at: www.theicn.org/STAR

 

Webinar Professional Standards Learning Objectives

SNA Key Area(s): 2-Operations

USDA Professional Standards Code: 2000

 

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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