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School Nutrition Bulletin 2425-10

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Announcements from the WI DPI School Nutrition Team (SNT)

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

 

USDA Hosts Largest Federal-Led Summit in Support of Healthy School Meals
 

New Grant Opens to Improve the K–12 School Meals Marketplace
Last week, USDA kicked off its Fall 2024 Healthy Meals Summit, the largest gathering of school nutrition partners ever convened by the Federal government. The summit celebrated the healthy school meals being served across the country and equipped schools with tools and best practices to elevate the nutritional quality of their meals.

“School nutrition professionals and partners are the experts on feeding children nutritious and delicious meals, and we’re thrilled to provide them with a learning laboratory to share proven strategies and take them back to their communities,” said Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Cindy Long. “This summit is one of the many ways the Department is delivering on its commitment to improve the quality of the meals served to children every school day and set kids up to thrive early in life and beyond.” Long added that K–12 schools serve nutritious breakfasts and lunches to about 30 million children every school day.

The Healthy Meals Summits are one of many components of USDA’s $100 million Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, also known as HMI, which also includes the HMI Recognition Awards for improvements in meal quality, grants to Improve Meal Quality in Small and/or Rural School Districts, and the School Food System Transformation Challenge Subgrants to spark innovation and collaboration in the school food marketplace.
 

New HMI Grant Opportunity Opens

USDA announced the opening of a new School Food System Transformation Grant that will provide up to $8.5 million to foster partnerships that improve school food systems and food options available to students. The first phase of the project awarded a total of $1.67 million in grants to 12 school districts to help them establish partnerships that make it easier for them to buy local foods.

"We are excited to be launching this second phase of the project, designed to support large team-based projects that promote innovation in school meals, said Lindsey Turner, director of Project SCALES and the Center for School and Community Partnerships at Boise State University.”

School districts participating in USDA’s National School Lunch Program and food industry partners are invited to apply through December 13, 2024. Learn more on the Project SCALES Website.

Learn more about Healthy Meals Incentives (HMI) take a look at their Webpage Here!

Updates from the DPI School Nutrition Team

 

Meal Eligibility & Verification Reminders
 

Carryover Reminder
Students with a meal benefit from the prior school year (2023-24) remain eligible for the first 30 operating days or until a new determination is made, whichever comes first. This is called carryover. For most school food authority's, the carryover period has ended or is ending soon. If no new determination is made at the end of the 30-day carryover period, the benefit status must be changed to “paid.” Please double check that your SFA’s benefit issuance list has correctly rolled over to reflect the end of the carryover period. For electronic benefit issuance lists, you may need to contact your software company directly for assistance. Please refer to the Benefit Issuance List In a Nutshell for more information.

Verification Reminder
To maintain the integrity of the USDA Child Nutrition Programs, each SFA must annually verify eligibility of children from a sample of household applications approved for free and reduced price meal benefits for that school year. Eligibility determination made through Direct Certification is not subject to verification. Verification uses a sample pool of all current, approved applications on file as of October 1. Use the verification sample size letter to determine which sample size to use for verification. The verification process must be completed by November 15. Schools participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) are exempt from this process.

All SFAs, including those participating in CEP, are required to submit the verification collection report (VCR) by February 1. SFAs should refer to the steps outlined in the VCR Instructions. The VCR portal opens on November 1. The SNT recommends submitting the verification collection report (VCR) as soon as your SFA completes verification.

There are several resources available to assist SFAs on the Verification Webpage, including a tracker, nutshell, e-learning modules, and more.

Please contact one of the free and reduced eligibility and verification specialists at DPIMealEligibility@dpi.wi.gov with any questions.
 

Reporting and Annual Claim Reminders for School Meal Programs

The following Reports are required when operating the USDA child nutrition programs. More information and links to the reporting portals can be found on the Reporting webpage.

As a reminder, please reference the Calendar of Program Requirements to track upcoming reporting deadlines and program requirements.

Report: Annual Financial Report (AFR) for SY 2023-24
Due Date: August 31, 2024
October Lunch Claim: October lunch claim and any future claims cannot be submitted until the report is completed.

Report: FNS-10
Portal Open: November 1, 2024
Due Date: November 30, 2024
October Lunch Claim: October lunch claim and any future claims cannot be submitted until the report is completed.

Report: Paid Lunch Price Report (PLP)
Portal Open: November 1, 2024
Due Date: November 15, 2024
October Lunch Claim: October lunch claim cannot be submitted until the report is completed.

Report: Verification Collection Report (VCR)
Portal Open: November 1, 2024
Due Date: February 1, 2025
October Lunch Claim: Refer to the verification memo emailed September 19, 2023, with specific information on the verification process for your SFA. This report is not tied to October lunch claim. See the Verification webpage for more information. SFAs that have not completed the VCR by the due date may be placed in withholding until it is completed and approved.

Report: Wisconsin School Day Milk Program (WSDMP) Annual Claim for SY 2023-24, if applicable
Due Date: August 31, 2024
October Lunch Claim: October lunch claim and any future claims cannot be submitted until the claim is submitted.
 

SNACS Virtual Office Hours

Tuesday, November 12, 2–3:00PM

If your SFA is scheduled to receive an Administrative Review (AR) this school year and have questions about using SNACS, join us for one of our monthly virtual office hours. These will occur on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 2PM through April 2025. There is no formal agenda, and you are welcome drop in at any point during the scheduled hour. The goal of these office hours is to assist SFAs by providing live demonstrations of tasks required throughout the AR process and answering any SNACS related questions.

Registration is not required. The link to access the Teams meeting will be posted on the SNACS Webpage. If you plan to attend and would like to ensure a specific topic or process is covered, there is an Optional Survey that can be submitted in advance. Any SFA staff who will use SNACS during the AR are welcome to attend. If the scheduled time does not work, you can also request a meeting with the SNACS Team using the Schedule a Demo button on the SNACS webpage.

If you have questions, please contact DPISNACSSupport@dpi.wi.gov.


Action Required: Farm to School Survey – Closing This Thursday (10/31)

The DPI Farm to School (F2S) Team is conducting a statewide survey of F2S activities. The goals of the survey are to gain a better understanding of F2S activities happening in schools and the barriers to sustainable F2S programming. Please complete the survey by this Thursday, October 31, 2024, even if you do not think your SFA engages in F2S. Completion of the survey will enter you into a drawing for one of the following prizes:

  • Free admission to Cultivating Connections: A Wellness and Farm to School Summit August 5-6, 2025 (3 winners)
  • F2S Swag Bag– tote bag with salad bar tongs, apron, oven mitt, potholder, and hat all with the Wisconsin F2S logo (20 winners)

Please email DPIFNS@dpi.wi.gov if you need the link to your SFA's survey.

Other Updates and Information

 

STAR Procurement Best Practices Webinar

Thursday, October 31, 2024, 2–3:00PM CT

Join us for an insightful webinar focused on identifying procurement best practices for sourcing high-quality foods, with an emphasis on locally grown and sustainable options. This session is designed for school nutrition professionals, food service managers, and procurement specialists interested in enhancing their food supply chains with healthier, environmentally friendly choices.

SNA Key Area(s): 1 – Nutrition, 2 – Operations
USDA Professional Standards Code(s): 1130 – Local Foods - Farm to School, 2400 – Purchasing/Procurement
Learning Objective(s):
By the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Identify procurement best practices for sourcing high-quality food, focusing on locally grown and sustainable options to support healthier and environmentally friendly food supply chains.

A continuing education certificate will be available 24-48 hours after completion of the webinar.

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