Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Announcements from the WI DPI School Nutrition Team (SNT)
- Updates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- Updates from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) School Nutrition Team (SNT)
- Other Updates and Information
****ACTION REQUIRED: See Below Regarding P-EBT Over the Summer****
Please forward as needed.
Updates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Announcing the Institute of Child Nutrition’s iLearn
Team Nutrition is excited to announce the Institute of Child Nutrition's updated eLearning Portal, now with a fresh, new look and a new name: iLearn!
iLearn provides self-paced, free online learning and offers users the flexibility to complete courses in multiple sessions on desktop, laptop, or mobile devices. ICN has added new features that enhance the eLearning experience, including:
Personalized Profiles: Users can select English or Spanish and their Child Nutrition Program to complete their personalized profile. Courses are now organized to align with USDA's Professional Standard Codes and SNA Key Areas, allowing users to find what is needed to complete their goals!
Users will be required to update their profile, language, and area of emphasis in the new iLearn platform when first logging in.
Online Courses in Spanish: iLearn includes ICN’s first online course in Spanish, Nutrición 101 4ta Edicion. Users can also select Español in their profile for a translated online experience.
iLearn @ ICN Mobile App: Child Nutrition Professionals can download the app and iLearn @ ICN on the go! The iLearn mobile app is available in Google Play and in the Apple App Store.
Coming Soon - Live Webinars! Child Nutrition Professionals can register and attend ICN's scheduled live webinars on iLearn and keep all information and certificates in one location.
Celebrate Ten Years of MyPlate
On June 2, 2021, celebrate MyPlate’s birthday by sharing MyPlate resources with students, families, and peers. MyPlate reminds us that small changes matter, and every bite counts! Check out Team Nutrition’s MyPlate Webpage for materials developed specifically for kids and families. Share your favorite MyPlate resource with us on Twitter @TeamNutrition.
The State of Origin data reports for Fiscal Year 2018 and 2019 are now available and show which USDA Foods products were purchased from each state. Learn where your USDA Foods come from and what the top food is in your state!
Updates from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) School Nutrition Team (SNT)
Allowable Milk Types in NSLP, SBP, and SSO
| Now - September 30, 2021 | October 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022 |
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1% flavored milk is allowed without a meal pattern flexibility waiver request or approval through USDA Memo SP 11-2021.
Two or more of the following milk types must be offered:
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1% flavored milk is no longer allowed.
However, to serve 1% flavored milk, the SFA must submit a meal pattern flexibility request and the DPI School Nutrition Team must approve it. A link to the flexibility request will be shared in September.
With the flexibility approved, two or more of the following milk types must be offered:
Without the flexibility approved, two or more of the following milk types must be offered:
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Other Updates and Information
ACTION REQUIRED: P-EBT Over the Summer
Your district, schools, and families should have received several communications regarding the Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) program for the 2020-21 school year. Some of the activities related to this program will need continued support from districts and schools throughout the summer to ensure that critical food benefits can continue to be issued to the students and families who need them. Please share this communication with the appropriate colleagues at your school.
The Department of Health Services (DHS) and the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) ask schools to do the following:
- Respond to the third, and final, school learning model survey for the 2020-2021 school year that includes information about the months of April – June 2021. We sent this survey out to schools on May 10th, and it was due May 26.
- Continue to accept and process USDA free and reduced price meal applications from families throughout the summer months and submit the information about new students accepted into the program through regular mechanisms.
- Respond to the DPI or DHS staff inquiries relating to confirmation of various aspects of the program (e.g., confirming free or reduced price meal eligibility or student enrollment if there is a discrepancy between family-submitted information and the information currently on file).
- Submit the name and contact information of a school (or district-level) point of contact who would be able to complete the P-EBT-related tasks described in this email to SchoolPEBT@wisconsin.gov with the subject line “P-EBT Point of Contact.” Alternatively, you can enter this information via Survey.
- Provide verification of which students enrolled in free and reduced price meals took advantage of the option to learn all virtually while other students at their school chose to learn in-person. This is for schools that selected “In-Person with Virtual Option” for any grades, for any months, when filling out school learning model surveys. Any school that did NOT select the “In-Person with Virtual Option” at all in their surveys can skip this part.
PLEASE NOTE: DHS’s system does not automatically provide benefits to students in those grades for those months in which “In-Person with Virtual Option” was selected because the USDA requires us to verify with schools that students took advantage of the virtual option before providing them with P-EBT benefits.
There are three ways to provide verification:
- Individually: Families whose children took advantage of a virtual option may reach out to schools to obtain the required written verification that their child learned remotely. The written verification can then be submitted to the P-EBT Support Team. DHS has created a template for schools to use to ensure they have provided families with the required information. The template is available attached to this email and can be pasted onto school letterhead.
- Collectively (manual): Schools can submit a list of students who have opted to learn virtually. These lists must include, at a minimum, students’ full names and the dates they started/ended their virtual learning. (Grades and dates of birth would be appreciated.) These lists should be sent to the SchoolPEBT@wisconsin.gov inbox with the subject line: “<<SCHOOL NAME>> Virtual Roster.”
- Collectively (automated): DHS is creating an online portal to collect verification information. This portal is expected to be available by June 6th. Each school that selected “In-Person with Virtual Option” as a learning model in at least one month, for at least one grade, on at least one of their surveys will receive their own log-in credentials to access their school-specific information. Schools will be shown a list of their students from which they will be able to identify which of them opted into an all-virtual model.
Sending student information in one of the three ways mentioned above will constitute the verification that is Federally-required to issue P-EBT benefits. The authority for you to provide us with this student information can be found in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R.6201 Section 1101(e).
Thank you for your assistance with these requests and the information you have provided to date. Because of your actions and those of school officials across Wisconsin, benefits have been issued to over 200,000 students statewide. This can have a major impact on families who may be able to receive over $300 per issuance per student.
Questions from schools or districts about P-EBT should be directed to SchoolPEBT@wisconsin.gov.
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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