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School Nutrition Bulletin 2223-38

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Wisconsin School Nutrition School Meals News logo

Announcements from the WI DPI School Nutrition Team (SNT)

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

New! Discover MyPlate: Nutrition Education for Kindergarten Videos

Happy Birthday, MyPlate! To celebrate, USDA’s Team Nutrition initiative is pleased to announce the addition of three videos to our Discover MyPlate: Nutrition Education for Kindergarten resource for teachers and families.

Click the video titles below to watch (and dance if you’d like)!

Check out more Discover MyPlate materials, including audio-described versions of these videos, at Discover MyPlate: Nutrition Education for Kindergarten webpage.

Find more ways to celebrate with MyPlate at the MyPlate website.
 

USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Research: Child Nutrition Program Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic, March Through September 2020

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act gave FNS authority to issue nationwide waivers of CN program requirements. This data collection fulfills states’ reporting requirements and describes trends in program participation during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, March through September 2020. It is part of an ongoing study series examining CN program operations, repurposed to collect waiver reports from all states.
 

Now Available! Child Nutrition Label Quiz!

Let’s see how much you know about Child Nutrition (CN) labels with Team Nutrition’s latest web quiz! The Child Nutrition Label Quiz helps operators identify products that may need a CN label and understand the requirements for accepting CN labeled products. The quiz consists of 10 self-paced questions that provide feedback for correct and incorrect answers. The user has the opportunity to retake the quiz and retry the questions as many times as desired. This quiz was created to support the information found in the CN Labeling Program and Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs.

This quiz is the newest addition to Team Nutrition Web Quizzes that cover a variety of nutrition and CNP related topics. These short quizzes can be used for self-paced knowledge assessments, at trainings, or at other nutrition events as a fun and engaging learning activity. Upon completion of each quiz, users receive a score along with a link to resources that can help expand their knowledge on the topic and build their menu planning skills. The quizzes are also available as widgets, so they can be easily embedded and displayed on other web pages to support training.
 

Now Available! Crediting Grains in the Child Nutrition Programs Tip Sheets

Crediting Grains in the Child Nutrition Programs Tip Sheets are the last three in the series of seven tip sheets. They provide guidance on crediting grains in a quick reference format for Program operators across all Child Nutrition Programs and are broken down into three topics:

  • Part 1: Creditable Grains in Child Nutrition Programs
  • Part 2: Identifying Grain Products that are Whole Grain-Rich
  • Part 3: Program Requirements

Each tip sheet has its own question-and-answer section. Program operators, State agencies, and FNS Regional Offices are encouraged to use these resources to provide guidance and training.

Check out the first four tip sheets in the series (Crediting Fruits, Crediting Vegetables, Crediting Meats/Meat Alternates, and Crediting Fluid Milk) at the Crediting Tip Sheets in Child Nutrition Programs webpage. The entire tip sheet series will be available for print at a later date. Stay tuned!
 

New features of the Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool (PSTTT)!

Users now have an option to add an associated certification to training logs for recurring trainings or courses that result in a certification. By using the new “Log Certifications” feature, the PSTTT will send an email reminder 90 and 30 days before the certification expiration date.

An additional option is now available to log certifications separate from training hours. This feature could be used for new hires that may have completed a certification course prior to their hire date.

Check out the latest features of the PSTTT today! Contact cnpntab@usda.gov with any questions or feedback.

Updates from the DPI School Nutrition Team
 

The School Nutrition Team is Hiring: Three Farm to School Project Positions

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service allocated Farm to School formula funding to all state agencies to improve food and agricultural supply chain resiliency. The funds will support state agency efforts to coordinate and provide technical assistance to build and increase the capacity of participating institutions to procure and use local foods in program meals as well as provide agricultural education opportunities for children participating in the National School Lunch Program.

Here are links to three project positions to support these efforts.

These positions have the option to work 100% remote with a requirement that the employee is expected to have access to secure high speed internet. These positions are headquartered at 125 S. Webster Street in Madison, WI, and employees are required to report there on their first day of employment.
 

Reminder: School Nutrition Contract Renewal Due Friday, June 9!

As a reminder, the school nutrition contract renewal for the upcoming 2023-24 school year is due Friday, June 9, 2023. Please reference the Contract Renewal Memo for SY 2023-24 that was emailed to Authorized Representatives and Food Service Directors on April 12, 2023 with details about this process.

If you have any questions, please contact the School Nutrition Team at dpifns@dpi.wi.gov or 608-267-9228.
 

Determining Adult Meal Prices for SY 2023-24

School food authorities (SFAs) are encouraged to utilize the Wisconsin Adult Meal Pricing Worksheet when determining the school year (SY) 2023-24 adult meal prices. Adult meal prices must be sufficient to cover the full cost of providing the lunch and/or breakfast meal, including food, labor and supplies.

When determining adult meal prices, please keep in mind the following:

  • During SY 2022-23, an additional temporary reimbursement of $0.40 per lunch and $0.15 per breakfast was available as part of the Keep Kids Fed Act. Although reimbursement rates for SY 2023-24 are not yet available, these additional reimbursement funds are not anticipated to continue in SY 2023-24.
    • When calculating the adult meal price, subtract the additional $0.40 for lunch and $0.15 for breakfast from the Federal Reimbursement Rates for 2022-23.
  • The State Lunch and Breakfast Aid for SY 2021-22 is $0.0568632969 per breakfast and $0.047635234 for lunch.
    • When completing the Wisconsin Adult Meal Pricing Worksheet for 2023-24, use $0.05686 for State Breakfast Aid and $0.0476 for State Lunch Aid.
       

Important: Seamless Summer Option (SSO) Updates

To serve free meals to all students under the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) in summer 2023, all serving sites must qualify. This is a change from pandemic operation. Most eligible schools are located within areas that are considered low income or ‘area eligible’ as detailed on the SSO Webpage.

The deadline to apply for the SSO in summer 2023 has passed. If there is a last-minute change to your school or district’s summer schedule and you would like to offer meals under the SSO, you must contact SSO@dpi.wi.gov for approval, prior to starting service of meals. If a school operates the SSO without approval, any meals served will not be eligible for reimbursement. No retroactive approvals will be allowed this year.
 

Reminder: Team Nutrition Culinary Training

Join us this summer for an exciting hands-on culinary training led by Chef Irene Pawlisch. School nutrition staff will learn about common culinary techniques, explore foods used in global cuisines, and practice preparation techniques for fruits and vegetables. Participants will prepare and taste globally-inspired recipes that can be served in the school meal programs.

There will be two training sessions offered and each training session is limited to 30 participants. Attendance is limited to two school nutrition staff members per School Food Authority (SFA). Each SFA may be reimbursed up to $300 for costs related to attending the training (e.g., mileage, hotel stay).

This one-day training counts towards four hours of Culinary Skills training for GOALS certification, and four hours of Professional Standards training.

Location: Madison College - 1701 Wright Street, Madison, WI 53704
Date: Tuesday, July 25 or Wednesday, August 2
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Registration Form - Registration Deadline: June 30th

Instructor Bio: Chef Irene Pawlisch is a School Nutrition Specialist and Certified Sous Chef with the American Culinary Federation (ACF). Irene has worked in dozens of Wisconsin school kitchens from the second largest urban district to a rural district with under 1,000 students. She has worked as a nursing home activity director, K-12 substitute teacher, K-12 Chef/Director of Nutrition, and currently as a culinary instructor at Madison College. Irene has been featured in Food Management Magazine and the State Capital Times for her work in school nutrition and is a past president of SNA Wisconsin. Irene's approach to training is hands-on with a sprinkling of laughter to engage different learning styles and physical abilities.

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Jill K. Underly, PhD, State Superintendent
125 S Webster Street
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 266-3390 • (800) 441-4563