School Nutrition Bulletin 2021-14

Team Nutrition has released three new training modules on the Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs. They are designed to take you step-by-step through using the Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (FBG). Each module will provide an in-depth look at the FBG with interactive knowledge checks to assist the learner.

Topics covered include:

These modules and other trainings such as webinar recordings can be accessed on the Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs: Training Resources site.

Check out the modules on the Institute of Child Nutrition’s eLearning Portal.

 

ERS conducts research on USDA's Child Nutrition Programs and their role in children's food security, diets, and well-being. ERS studies the following programs: the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program, and After-School Snacks and Suppers. Updated charts and data are based on 2018 data from the Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

 

SFAs are encouraged to be prepared for a possible COVID outbreak that would affect the ability of your school food service staff to provide meals to students. The SNT has already been made aware of several incidents where the entire school food service staff was quarantined due to COVID. During these times, we encourage SFAs to do everything possible to continue to make meals available for students. An option to consider is to have meals provided by another area school food authority (SFA), restaurant, vendor/caterer, or hospital. Having a plan and/or agreement in place will allow a quick response, if needed. As a reminder, meals still need to meet the meal pattern requirements to be reimbursable and the meal pattern waiver is available if necessary during these emergency measures. This is essentially a way of having a continuation of operations plan (COOP). Having back-up meal options available is critical in these pandemic times.

 

For Seamless Summer Option: To enter into an agreement with an emergency meals vendor, complete the Wisconsin Template Vended Meals Agreement and obtain a copy of the vendor’s state restaurant or processing plant license and have it ready until you need to execute it. Contact the DPI Procurement Contract Specialists if you have any questions.

 

For Summer Food Service Program: Sample Vendor Agreements are located on the SFSP Materials & Resources page.

 

The Small Victories Fall Workshop 2020 will be available virtually starting October 14, 2020. Training will be on review of basic elements of the USDA Child Nutrition Programs. Please click on the Small Victories webpage link for more information on this training.

 

Check out Wisconsin’s AmeriCorps Farm to School Program service members celebrating National Farm to School Month with the Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch!

For more information on how to become a host site for this rewarding program, contact Kara Ignasiak at kara.ignasiak@dpi.wi.gov.

 

National School Lunch Week is right around the corner: October 12-16. Understandably, it is hard to think about celebrating National School Lunch Week during a pandemic BUT, what greater time to celebrate all that you are doing to keep Wisconsin students eating healthy, nutritious meals! Check out the School Nutrition Association’s webpage for suggestions and ideas on how to celebrate!

 

October has been proclaimed Farm to School Month in Wisconsin by Governor Tony Evers. Check out the proclamation on the DPI Farm to School (F2S) webpage.

 

The term “Farm to School” encompasses efforts to bring local or regionally produced foods into school cafeterias and classrooms; hands-on learning activities such as school gardens, farm visits, and culinary classes; and the integration of food-related education into classroom curriculum. For more information on Wisconsin’s Farm to School program, visit: https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Growing_WI/FarmToSchool.aspx.

 

Wednesday, October 7 from 10:00-10:45 a.m. CST

 

DATCP’s Farm to School program and 73rd Alice in Dairyland Julia Nunes will host a live-streamed virtual tour of Sutter’s Ridge Farm, a family farm near Mount Horeb. The live-streamed event will feature a question and answer session between Nunes and Sutter’s Ridge owners Julie and Matt Sutter, along with a tour of the orchard. The event also will include a recorded apple cooking demonstration with Francesca Hong, co-founder of Cook It Forward and member of the Culinary Ladies Collective.

 

Viewers can attend the tour virtually on the Alice in Dairyland Facebook page. For more information about Sutter’s Ridge Farm, visit their website. (Note: The farm will be closed to the public and media October 7.)

 

Thursday, October 8 at 12:00 PM local time

Where: DATCP Facebook page and Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch Facebook page

 

On Thursday, October 8, Wisconsin Farm to School program supporters will join schools, hospitals, colleges, and other organizations virtually as they “crunch” into locally grown apples for the annual Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch at 12:00 p.m. local time. The regional event, now in its seventh year, supports Farm to School efforts across a six-state region. The Crunch supports Farm to School efforts by providing a platform for schools, institutions, and other organizations supporting healthy and regional foods to promote and celebrate their work. Last October, more than 1.8 million people across the region participated in the event. Organizations and individuals can register for the Crunch here. Participants can find their local Wisconsin apples by visiting the Wisconsin Apple Growers Association’s website.

 

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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