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School Nutrition Bulletin 2122-03

Thursday, July 22, 2021

Announcements from the WI DPI School Nutrition Team (SNT)

Important information is included for School Year (SY) 2021-22. Please take time to read through all the information and forward as necessary.

 

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

 

USDA Policy Memorandum SP 16-2021: Previously Issued Questions and Answers Relating to Operation of the Child Nutrition Programs: Updated for SY 2021-22

This USDA policy memorandum provides clarification on questions and answers related to Child Nutrition Program operations for the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Seamless Summer Option, and Child and Adult Care Food Program for school year (SY) 2021-22. They were previously issued in calendar year 2020 but have been updated and consolidated for application to SY 2021-22.
 

Now Available: Webinar Captioned in Spanish!

USDA’s Team Nutrition initiative is pleased to announce the release of the “How to Maximize the Exhibit A Grains Tool” webinar with captions available in Spanish.
 
This webinar demonstrates enhancements to the Exhibit A Grains Tool, which is a feature included with the Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (FBG) Interactive Web-Based Tool and FBG Mobile App. The Exhibit A Grains Tool allows a user to search for a grain product (as listed on Exhibit A) and enter in the serving size from the product label. The tool then helps the user determine:
  1. ounce equivalent (oz eq) grains or grains/bread serving(s) for the grain product,
  2. amount to serve to provide a desired grains contribution, and
  3. amount to serve for a grain product in the order to meet the minimum grains requirement by age/grade groups for specific child nutrition programs.
The webinar can be viewed and downloaded at the USDA Food Buying Guide and Training Resources Webpage.
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¡Ya disponible! ¡Webinar con subtítulos en español!

La iniciativa de Team Nutrition del USDA se complace en anunciar el lanzamiento del seminario web "Cómo maximizar la herramienta de granos del Apéndice A" en inglés con subtítulos en español.
 
Este seminario web demuestra las actualizaciones de la herramienta de granos del Apéndice A, que es una función incluida en la herramienta interactiva de la Guía de compra de alimentos para los Programas de Nutrición infantil, titulada “Food Buying Guide” (FBG, por sus siglas en ingles) y en la aplicación móvil FBG. La herramienta de granos del Apéndice A permite al usuario buscar un producto de grano (como se indica en el Apéndice A) e ingresar el tamaño de la porción en la etiqueta del producto. Luego, la herramienta ayuda al usuario a determinar:
  1. onzas equivalentes (oz eq) de granos o porciones de granos/pan para el producto de granos,
  2. cantidad para servir para proporcionar una contribución de granos deseada, y
  3. cantidad a servir para un producto de granos a fin de cumplir con el requisito mínimo de granos por grupos de edad/grado para los programas específicos de nutrición infantil.
El seminario web se puede ver y descargar en USDA Food Buying Guide and Training Resources Webpage.
 

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

 

NEW! 2021-22 School Nutrition Programs Q&A: Serving School Meals Under the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The School Nutrition Team strongly encourages you to read through the entire document as it will answer most questions regarding operating the SSO in SY 2021-22. This Q&A document contains guidance, updates, and clarification for how to operate the SSO in school year (SY) 2021-22 and is the first place to check if you have a question. USDA guidance has been included and the SNT will continue to update the document as new guidance is received.
 
Highlights of the Q&A Include:
  • Meals can only be provided and claimed on instructional days; therefore, weekend, holiday, non-instructional cleaning, or snow days are not eligible for SY 2021-22.
  • Guidance on providing meals to childcare centers
  • Guidance for how to add a non-participating school outside of your district to your Program Operation Application.
  • Administrative Reviews will be conducted in SY 2021-22
  • Smart Snacks requirements apply for all sites operating SSO
  • Milk must be provided to all eligible students each instructional day under the Wisconsin School Day Milk Program, including virtual students. There is no flexibility for this requirement for SY 2021-22.
  • Higher Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) reimbursement rates for all meals provided under SSO
  • Onsite monitoring is required to be completed, but the waiver (if elected) provides the ability to do it offsite, if needed.

School Year 2020-21 Child Nutrition Program Annual Financial Report (AFR)

All SFAs must annually submit the Food Service Annual Financial Report (AFR) by August 31, even if the school food authority (SFA) did not operate or was operating as a site under another SFA or sponsor during SY 2020-21.
 
SFAs operating and claiming their own meals under the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) for SY 2020-21:
  • Enter the beginning 2020-21 fund balance (the ending 2019-2020 fund balance), or $0.00 if no beginning fund balance.
  • Enter all lunch and breakfast revenues combined into SFSP, if those were the two programs claimed under SFSP.
  • Enter all lunch and breakfast expenses combined into SFSP, if those were the two programs claimed under SFSP.
  • The entitlement value of USDA Foods (commodities) received, will be recorded in both National School Lunch (NSL) Revenue and National School Lunch (NSL) Food Expenditure.
  • USDA Foods processing, and handling charges are recorded as an expenditure in Purchased Services under NSL.
  • Enter all other revenues and expenses into the program to which they belong, i.e., nonprogram foods, Wisconsin School Day Milk Program, etc.
  • If the food service account is in the negative, overall, a transfer must be made into the food service account from non-Federal funds.
SFAs operating and claiming their own meals under the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) or National School Lunch (NSL) or School Breakfast Program (SBP) for SY 2020-21:
  • Enter the beginning 2020-21 fund balance (the ending 2019-2020 fund balance), or $0.00 if no beginning fund balance.
  • Enter all NSL or SSO lunch revenues into NSL revenues and all expenditures into NSL expenditures.
  • Enter all SBP or SSO breakfast revenues into SBP revenues and all expenditures into SBP expenditures.
  • The entitlement value of USDA Foods (commodities) received, will be recorded in both NSL Revenue and NSL Food Expenditure.
  • USDA Foods processing, and handling charges are recorded as an expenditure in Purchased Services under NSL.
  • Enter all other revenues and expenses into the program to which they belong, i.e., nonprogram foods, Wisconsin School Day Milk Program, etc.
  • If the food service account is in the negative, overall, a transfer must be made into the food service account from non-Federal funds.
SFAs not operating or operating as a site under another SFA or sponsor during SY 2021-21:
  • Enter the beginning 2020-21 fund balance (the ending 2019-2020 fund balance), or $0.00 if no beginning fund balance.
  • Enter zeroes into most revenue and expense categories and programs other than USDA Foods Entitlement Value and USDA Foods processing and handling charges.
  • The entitlement value of USDA Foods (commodities) received, will be recorded in both National School Lunch Revenue and National School Lunch Food Expenditure.
  • USDA Foods processing, and handling charges are recorded as an expenditure in Purchased Services under National School Lunch. If the agency, under which you were operating, received your commodities, the processing and handling charges should be credited to you from this agency, and this amount should be recorded in revenue under NSL. If the processing, handling, and delivery charges were not credited to your SFA, your SFA may wind up in the negative overall. If the food service account is in the negative, a transfer must be made into the food service account from non-Federal funds.

Now Available: the 2021-22 Calendar of Program Requirements!

The general Calendar of Program Requirements has been updated for SY 2021-22. This document is a useful tool for SFA staff to track program requirements, responsibilities, and deadlines throughout the school year. The document is updated to include guidance for operations under the SSO, if different than the traditional National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. The Residential Child Care Institution (RCCI) and Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) versions are still being updated and will be available soon on the Calendar of Program Requirements Webpage.
 

2021-22 School Nutrition Contract and July Claims Update

The DPI SNT is working diligently to update the Online Services claiming system to include the higher Summer Food Service Program reimbursement rates for SY 2021-22. As a result, the SY 2021-22 school nutrition contracts will not be approved until the system maintenance is completed to ensure all claims submitted receive the correct reimbursement rates. For any SFA that provided meals in July, this will delay your ability to submit the July claim(s). We anticipate that our claiming system update will be complete in August and will allow sufficient time to submit July claims within the 60 day period. Thank you for your patience!
 

SSO Family Letter Template

The SSO Family Letter Template is now available! SFAs may use this template to announce their participation in the SSO for SY 2021-22 to families. This letter is optional and does not replace the public notification requirement.
 

Other Updates and Information

 

Institute of Child Nutrition S.T.A.R. Webinar, “Back to School: Completing Food Production Records the Best Way”

This webinar will provide an overview of what a production record is and why it is used to document food you plan, prepare, and serve. Join this webinar to hear good practices for completing production records and common errors to avoid when documenting. Attendees will identify good practices to complete production records accurately. A continuing education certificate will be available after completion of the webinar.
 
To register for this webinar, please visit the Registration Page.
 
Date: Thursday, July 29, 2021
Time: 2:00-3:00 pm CST
 
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.
 
You can also find STAR Webinars on the fresh, new iLearn Platform.
 
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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