Tuesday, May 13, 2025
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
- Other Updates and Information
Updates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
USDA Policy Memorandum SP 11-2025: Using Federal Funds to Purchase Local Foods
The purpose of this memorandum is to remind schools, sponsors, and institutions participating in any U.S. Department of Agriculture Child Nutrition Program (CNP), including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), Special Milk Program for Children (SMP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), and the Seamless Summer Option (SSO), of the many ways they can purchase local foods to serve in program meals. Sourcing and serving locally grown foods, and other farm to school activities, such as taste testing, gardening, and agriculture education, can infuse new energy and vision into CNP operations, support community health, create new opportunities for American farmers, invest federal dollars in local economies, and strengthen strategies to encourage healthy choices.
Updates from the DPI School Nutrition Team
Paid Lunch Equity (PLE): Guidance for School Year 2025-26
For school year (SY) 2025-26, the Paid Lunch Equity guidance falls under the March 2025 continuing resolution. This continuing resolution maintains the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 and provides an exemption to the Paid Lunch Equity requirements for SY 2025-26 for qualifying School Food Authorities (SFAs).
PLE Tool
We are still awaiting the PLE tool from USDA. We understand this is very late in the school year and decisions need to be made for the upcoming school year. Once we have received the PLE tool from USDA, a direct email with guidance will be sent to all SFAs that are required to meet the PLE requirements. Equity for the 2025-26 SY is $4.01. Any SFA that is required to meet PLE requirements should expect to increase paid lunch prices by 10 cents if charging less than equity at $4.01.
SFAs Qualifying for the SY 2025-26 PLE Exemption
Any SFA with a positive or zero balance in its nonprofit school food service account as of June 30, 2024, is exempt from PLE pricing requirements found at 7 CFR 210.14(e) for SY 2025-26. The PLE exemption means your SFA does not have to complete the PLE tool, nor increase paid meal prices unless you elect to do so. Paid lunch prices cannot be decreased below the current school year prices, even with the exemption.
The DPI SNT utilized the ending fund balance reported in the SY 2023-24 Annual Financial Report (AFR) to determine which SFAs are exempt from the PLE requirements. Any SFA that had a zero-fund balance in the nonprofit school food service account and was required to make a fund transfer into the National School Lunch Program to bring the account to zero is determined to have a negative fund balance and is NOT exempt from the PLE requirements. To review your SY 2023-24 Child Nutrition Program Report (populated by data submitted in the AFR), go to Online Services.
SFAs NOT Qualifying for the SY 2025-26 PLE Exemption
SFAs that had a negative balance in the nonprofit school food service account as of June 30, 2024, must follow PLE requirements when establishing their prices for paid lunches in SY 2025-26. These SFAs must use the PLE Tool to establish paid lunch prices and may use the last charged paid lunch meal prices to students as the basis for the SY 2025-26 paid lunch price calculation. SFAs are not required to raise their paid lunch price by more than 10 cents for SY 2025-26 from the last year they charged paid lunches. However, SFAs can choose to raise the paid lunch price by more than 10 cents.
Non-pricing SFAs
All SFAs that are “non-pricing” including SFAs that operate the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) district-wide or Residential Childcare Institutions (RCCIs), are always exempt from the PLE requirements.
Annual State Aid Payments
SFAs participating in Elderly Nutrition Program (EN) and Wisconsin School Day Milk Program (WSDMP) receive an annual state aid payment. These state aid payments have been processed for SY 2023-24. The Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) is recorded on the STAR Aids Register, and the deposit date for EN and WSDMP payments is May 19, 2025.
Elderly Nutrition Program
This state aid payment must be deposited as follows: Fund: 50 Source: 617 and Project Code: 545
This deposit should be reported as “School Food Revenue” in the EN row of your food service annual financial report at the end of SY 2024-25. This state aid payment is made on the basis of your June 1, 2024 EN claim submitted for SY 2023-24. The EN state aid payment will be listed under “NUTRITION IMPROVEMENT ELDERLY” and described as EN in the STAR Aids Register. Statutory authority for this state aid payment can be found under s.115.345 and provides for a payment rate of 15 percent of your reported per meal cost, or $0.50 per meal, whichever is lower. There was no need to prorate this year’s payment. Any cost for the EN, not covered by Fund 50 meal charges or aid payments, is to be funded with an operating transfer from the community service fund.
Wisconsin School Day Milk Program
This state aid payment must be deposited as follows: Fund: 50 Source: 617 and Project Code: 544
The deposit should be reported as “School Food Revenue” in the WSDMP row of your food service annual financial report at the end of SY 2024-25. This state aid payment is made on the basis of your June 1, 2024 WSDMP claim submitted for SY 2023-24. It was necessary to prorate this payment. Your SFA will receive 89.025498% of the amount submitted on your WSDMP claim. The WSDMP state aid payment will be listed under “WISCONSIN SCHOOL DAY MILK PROGRAM” and described as WMMP in the STAR Aids Register. Statutory authority for this state aid payment can be found under s.115.343.
If you have questions about Annual State Aid Payments, please contact Jacqueline Darrow at 608-267-9134 or jacqueline.darrow@dpi.wi.gov.
Other Updates and Information
Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT)-Grow Where You Serve: Container & Hydroponic Gardens in School Cafeterias
Session 1: Tuesday, May 20, 2025, 4-5:00 PM CST
Session 2: Thursday, May 22, 2025, 1-2:00 PM CST
The Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) is offering virtual training sessions on container and hydroponic gardening for schools. Space is limited, so be sure to sign up early!