Newsletter Recap
Fall 2022
Important
2022 NSLP Equipment Grant
The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) has been awarded an Equipment Grant for 2022. Selection criteria factors may be considered, but are not limited to the following:
- Age of food service equipment or lack of appropriate items;
- The availability of existing State and local funding for equipment purchases;
- Strategies for adopting lunchroom changes that provide more convenience and appeal to the student; and/or
- Opportunities to realize meaningful impacts on nutrition and quality of meals.
Non-profit food service account balances will be reviewed prior to choosing recipients to ensure that districts applying do not have excess funds (defined as over three months average operating expenses). Excess funds can be used for equipment purchases.
General Guidelines
- In general, the requested equipment should promote the goals of encouraging the consumption of healthy meals, meeting the approved meal pattern requirements, safely storing and preparing food, and energy efficiency.
- Preference will be given to individual schools and corporations that have not previously received equipment grants.
- The maximum individual grant will be $30,000 and limited to three pieces of equipment.
- IDOE anticipates that applications will be accepted through Wednesday, November 30, with the announcement of awards by February 2023.
- Schools that have submitted grants in the past, but have not been awarded funds, should consider reapplying.
Access the grant application here.
Questions? Contact scnfinance@doe.in.gov. Please include the sponsor number and "Equipment Grant" in the subject line.
Verification
Reminders
- Sponsors with a 20% or higher non-response rate from the prior year must conduct the standard (error prone) verification method. Unsure if you must use the standard method? Review this spreadsheet.
- Please note: Direct Verification is not available for this school year. Please send notification to all households that they have been selected for verification.
- Verification resources have been updated on the Verification webpage.
- New: Identifying Error Prone and Questionable Applications resource.
- Review the Verification Preparation webinar slides here.
Verification Process Due Date
The verification process must be complete by Tuesday, November 15.
- All documentation must be reviewed and notification letters of continued eligibility or a change in eligibility must be mailed by Tuesday, November 15.
Verification Summary Report (VSR)
- The VSR will open once the October claim for reimbursement has been filed. The report is due by January 15, 2023.
- VSR webinars will be held on the following dates:
- Wednesday, December 7, at 10 a.m. Click here to register.
- Wednesday, January 11, at 2 p.m. Click here to register.
- Additionally, there will be several drop-in help sessions available.
- A link for these sessions will be announced in upcoming newsletters.
Claim Completion Reminders
- Please ensure all information on the claim for reimbursement is accurate. This information is used for participation reports on the Administrative Review and to determine eligibility for other child nutrition programs.
- Please be aware for the total number of eligible children, this should reflect the highest number of enrolled students on a given day within the month. This is not a monthly total based on the number of operating days times enrollment. Additionally, this number should be updated monthly to reflect enrollment trends.
- The total number of eligible should be based on enrollment and not participation in the meals program. Sponsors may need to contact their attendance office or the edit check report to find the total number of eligible participants by eligibility status.
Review step-by-step claims instructions here.
Food Distribution Program (FDP)
USDA Foods
Avian Flu
- Due to the recent confirmed outbreak of the Avian Flu in turkeys throughout the United States, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cancelled Direct Delivered (Brown Box) Turkey Roasts (100125) and Turkey Breast Deli (100121), as well as some Direct Diverted turkey pounds allocated to processing companies.
- These products will be unavailable for the remainder of school year 2022-2023.
- IDOE has received a limited shipment of Turkey Roasts and zero shipments of Turkey Breast Deli due to the tight supply of turkeys. The limited shipment has already been allocated to schools. No other shipments of either item are expected for this school year.
Administrative Fees
- The administrative fees for Direct Delivered (Brown Box) USDA Foods will increase this month to $3.75 per case. The increase is due to rising charges related to fuel and storage.
- The new fees will be effective immediately.
- Administrative fees are listed under the FDP Invoicing tab in CNPweb.
- IDOE is working to determine if invoice credits will be available to offset some of the additional cost.
School Nutrition Program Reminders and Tips
Bad Debt Donations
Many schools look to an Angel Fund and/or donations to help pay off negative lunch account balances. Please keep in mind that there are some guidelines for use of these funds.
- Angel Funds and/or donations must be held in a separate account from the nonprofit school food service account (800). Once funds are deposited into the nonprofit school food service account, they will be considered federal funds and cannot be used to cover bad lunch account balances.
- Distribution of the funds need to be tracked.
- Use of the funds should not be discriminatory. It is advised that the school have a written procedure for how the funds will be used.
For additional information on unpaid meal charges you can view the IDOE Nutrition Finance webpage and also see pages 44-46 in the USDA Overcoming the Unpaid Meal Challenge guidance.
Edit Checks
- Prior to the submission of the monthly claim for reimbursement, sponsors are required to conduct an edit check of meal counts for both breakfast and lunch.
- Edit checks ensure that the number of meals claimed does not exceed the number of eligible participants.
- Instructions and a copy of the manual (paper) form for regular National School Lunch Program (NSLP) can be found here.
- Schools offering universal free breakfast meals must still count and claim by eligibility status and the edit check should reflect meal counts based on eligibility status.
- Some point of sale (POS) software systems have an edit check report built in. Check with the software company to see if that is an option.
- Sponsors operating under Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) must also document a monthly edit check. The edit check should compare daily enrollment to the total number of meals claimed.
Save a copy of the edit check each month with supporting claim documentation.
Questions? Contact your assigned field specialist.
Food Safety Plan
- Each site must have a copy of the local food safety plan available for employees to view.
- The plan at each site should be tailored to the specific site as needed. For example, a site that receives meals as a satellite location will not have the same Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as a production kitchen.
- Plans should include SOPs for all areas where food safety could be a concern:
- Employee health and personal hygiene,
- Food receiving, storing, holding, heating, cooling, recall procedures,
- Sanitation,
- Equipment management, and
- Food Defense.
- All staff are responsible for maintaining food safety. New employees must be trained on the basics of the plan and where they can access a copy of the plan.
- If the plan is in digital copy only, staff must have access to the plan as needed.
Resources:
- Center for Food Safety in Child Nutrition Programs
- The Institute of Child Nutrition
- FDA Food Safety Plan Builder
Questions? Contact your assigned field specialist.
On-Site Reviews
- All sponsors that operate the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and/or School Breakfast Program (SBP) at more than one site must conduct an on-site review of program operations.
- Single site sponsors are not required, but are encouraged, to complete a site review.
- Each sponsor must review all lunch program operations and at least half of the breakfast program operations. Please ensure that each breakfast site has been reviewed at least once every two years.
- While these visits must be conducted by February 1 each year, sponsors can review sites at any time.
- Reviewing sites now can help identify problem areas across all sites, identify areas of need for training, and allow for enough time to correct issues before administrative reviews.
- Find the review forms here.
Professional Standards Reminders
Professional Development
- All staff are required to obtain a certain number of training hours per year based on the number of hours worked each week and job title.
- Training should pertain to the job duties performed by the staff member.
- Don't forget to have a way for staff to sign in to training and log training hours to ensure compliance for each staff member.
- View school nutrition's training webpage for in person and virtual opportunities.
Hiring Standards
- USDA has hiring standards in place for SFAs based on size. Don't forget to review these standards prior to hiring a new director.
- Have a new food service director? Don't forget to complete the IDOE School Nutrition Director Hiring Form.
Questions? Review the IDOE School Nutrition Professional Standards webpage.
Special Dietary Needs
- All sponsors that operate NSLP and/or SBP are required to provide reasonable accommodations for children with disabilities.
- Disabilities can include food allergies and intolerances.
- Check out the Special Dietary Needs webpage for helpful resources.
Wellness Policies
Don’t forget about the triennial wellness policy assessment before it’s too late!
All sponsors that participate in the NSLP are required by USDA to have a comprehensive wellness policy that meets specific standards.
Per USDA regulation, every three years sponsors must assess the wellness policy to ensure that it meets all standards and report the next best steps for the sponsor.
USDA has waived the assessment requirement for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, all sponsors are required to complete a triennial assessment by June 30, 2023.
A template for the triennial assessment along with template policies for sponsors to utilize and other resources can be found on IDOE’s Wellness Policy webpage.
Centers for Disease Control Wellness Policy in Action Tool (WPAT).
Questions about wellness policies? Contact Ashley Heller.
Updated Resources
USDA Whole Grain Resource
The Whole Grain Resource for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs has been revised with the 2022 final rule Child Nutrition Programs: Transitional Standards for Milk, Whole Grains, and Sodium.
- This resource provides examples of various grain products often served in schools and walks the user through the process of determining whether products are whole grain-rich, creditable as enriched, or not creditable.
- The resource is also linked in the IDOE crediting resource.
Training Opportunities
Repeat Session: Pop-up Direct Certification (DC) Features Webinar
- Join IDOE Thursday, November 17, at 2 p.m. for a pop-up webinar about the CNPweb DC application.
- This will not be a step-by-step instructional webinar on how to run DC, but rather a basic overview about the features and resources available in the system and how to best use them to identify students.
- Register here.
From Our Partners
Health Issues and Challenges Grant Opportunity
A second round of Health Issues and Challenges grant funds through the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) are now available and are due Friday, November 18.
- There are many priority areas that organizations can apply for, with food insecurity/obesity being one of them.
- Please see the full priority area guidance for food insecurity/obesity here.
- If an organization was awarded grant funding in spring 2022, they are not eligible to receive additional funding through this second round.
Questions? Contact Alaina Adams, IDOH Director of Disease Prevention and Community-based Programs at ALAdams@health.in.gov.
Culinary Skills at a Glance
School Meals Trays, Many Ways
School meals can look different from state to state, and there are many ways to offer delicious and nutritious meals that kids will love! Many school menus feature foods procured locally and/or through USDA's Food in Schools program, which supports domestic nutrition programs and American agricultural producers through purchases of 100% American-grown and -produced foods.
Visit the new Team Nutrition School Meals Trays, Many Ways webpage to see how school lunch is being served across the country!
Need Help?
Contact Us
Indiana Department of Education - School and Community Nutrition
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this newsletter, please contact Allie Caito-Sipe at acaito@doe.in.gov, call (317) 232-0849, or toll-free at 1-800-537-1142 ext. 20849, or contact Ashley Heller at aheller@doe.in.gov, call (317) 232-0544, or toll-free at 1-800-537-1142 ext. 20544.
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Website: https://www.in.gov/doe/nutrition/
Phone: (317) 232-0850
Twitter: @EducateIN