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School Nutrition Bulletin 2021-44

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Announcements from the WI DPI School Nutrition Team (SNT)

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

 

USDA Policy Memorandum SP 10-2021: Questions and Answers Regarding Child Nutrition Program Oversight, Administration, and Reporting During COVID-19

Under Program statute and regulations, State agencies and local operators are required to conduct monitoring of the Child Nutrition Programs and implement various administrative provisions. Given that during the COVID-19 health pandemic, Program operators may be operating different Programs at different times of the year than traditional operations, this memorandum includes questions and answers that are intended to provide clarifications to State agencies and Program operators regarding the oversight and administration of the Child Nutrition Programs. These questions and answers are a compilation of technical assistance that FNS has provided this year concerning this fiscal year and school year 2020-2021.
 

Save the Date - May 26 USDA Food Loss and Waste Innovation Fair

On May 26, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is hosting a free, virtual, Food Loss and Waste Innovation Fair, from 11-3 p.m. CST, to showcase USDA investments and business leadership in reducing food loss and waste throughout the food system. Featured organizations include U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions; USDA agencies working on food loss and waste-reducing activities; and USDA-funded organizations that are developing or marketing food loss and waste reducing technologies. This event is perfect for businesses, nonprofits, researchers, and food sector leaders who want to learn about the latest developments in food loss and waste innovation. Attendees can text chat with representatives and other guests, watch videos, and download reports and other materials. Register today!
 

Team Nutrition Updates

Team Nutrition Schools are part of an important network committed to providing healthy meals and environments for program participants. Joining the network is free and easy, and members can request free nutrition resources. During the month of May, enrolled members will receive an email on how to request these resources.
 
Team Nutrition Schools will also be able to request free printed copies of these materials:

Child Nutrition Database Release (CNDB) 24 (CN24)

The CN24 is now available on the USDA Team Nutrition Website. The CN Database is a required part of the USDA Approved Nutrient Analysis Software and is used for menu planning, recipe analysis, menu certification for Administrative Reviews (ARs), and contains over 10,000 food items. Software companies with nutrient analysis software approved by USDA are required to annually update their software with the current release of the CNDB.
 

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

 

Educational and Enrichment Activities for the Afterschool Snack Program

One of the foundations of the Afterschool Snack Program is providing an education or enrichment activity open to all students. Here are some educational and enrichment activities you can share directly with students to go along with their afterschool snack. While your school’s learning model may still be changing each week, you can share these links with families or print out the activity sheets and slide into a snack sack, or play the videos during snack time, as you wish.
 

Other Updates and Information

 

Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) Updates

Thank you to all the school staff who are working hard to provide information to DPI and the Department of Health Services for the purposes of P-EBT.
 
The third learning model survey of SY 2020-21 will be sent out on May 10 with a due date of May 26. Please share this information with whomever completes this data collection at each of the schools in your school food authority (SFA).
 

Does Your School Have an Employee Wellness Program?

Employee wellness is a key component of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model and is one of the nine recommendations in CDC’s School Health Guidelines. Employee wellness programs can benefit schools, teachers, and students through positive role modeling. What a return on investment! Having an employee wellness program—or even just a few wellness offerings—in schools is more important than ever because of the great amount of stress everyone has been under during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
We’ve added a new tip sheet to our website to motivate and empower school administrators and school staff to promote employee wellness. The tip sheet gives schools ideas that can work within the CDC Guidelines for Operating Schools During COVID-19, even for schools with limited resources. Be sure to also check out on our website the video on school employee wellness, which will inspire teachers and other school staff to apply the ideas in the tip sheet. More information to support teacher and staff mental health and well-being is available on CDC’s COVID-19 website to help school administrators.
 

Sesame is Officially Listed as a Major Food Allergen

President Biden signed the FASTER Act into Law and sesame is now officially listed as a major food allergen.
 
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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