ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION School Nutrition Programs Newsletter Wednesday, April 17, 2019

What's on your Calendar?

Upcoming Trainings! 4/17 Webinar: Making Sense of the Whole Grain Flexibilities in School Year 2019-2020  5/2 Phoenix: Be the “Pro” in Professional Standards  5/7 Webinar: Staying on Track– Webinar Series  5/8 Phoenix: USDA Foods 2019 myFOODS System Training 5/15 Tucson: USDA Foods 2019 myFOODS System Training  5/16 Webinar: The What, Why and How of Smart Snacks

Click here to view all scheduled School Nutrition and School Food Program Training Opportunities

Messages from USDA

Hiring Flexibility Under Professional Standards Final Rule On March 21, USDA held a webinar to review provisions of the final rule, Hiring Flexibility Under Professional Standards, which USDA published on March 1, 2019. This final rule adds four flexibilities to the hiring standards for new school nutrition program directors in small local educational agencies (LEAs) and new school nutrition program State directors, as established under the professional standards regulations for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. These changes are expected to expand the pool of candidates qualified to serve as leaders in the school nutrition programs while continuing to ensure that school nutrition professionals are able to perform their duties effectively and efficiently. The Final Rule is available at: https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/fr-022519 . Click here to view the recording of this webinar .

A Note from School Nutrition Programs

Reminder: Even if you do not operate Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), LEAs are required to notify all households of the availability and location of free summer meals. Find more information on the School Breakfast Program & Summer Food Service Program Outreach webpage. Memo CN 04-12: Child Nutrition Reauthorization 2010: Outreach to Households on the Availability of the School Breakfast Program Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) season is approaching! Questions? Call (602) 542-8700 Ext 1. Things to remember: Sponsors wanting to participate on the SFSP program this summer must submit an application through our online Application and Management Plan system. If you only complete an application on the CNPWeb, you will not be approved to operate the program this summer. In order to operate, your application that you submit through the online Management Plan system must be approved by your program specialist. Once your application is approved, your specialist will notify that your application has been approved, inform you to complete your online application on the CNPWeb and you will be allowed to begin participating. Any meals served before your application is approved will not be eligible for reimbursement.  Any organization wanting to participate on the SFSP program as a sponsor, must have your application submitted through the online Application and Management Plan by close of business May 31st. Any applications submitted after this date will not be eligible to participate as a sponsor but will be allowed to operate as an SFSP site under an approved, existing sponsor.  Any sponsor who is looking for assistance with their program operation, you can request an AmeriCorps team to assist. For more information on this program, please review this AmeriCorps information sheet. In October, 2018, Memo SFSP 01-2019 was released, rescinding several past memos that allowed flexibilities in operating your SFSP program. These flexibilities included waiving the first week site visit, Offer Versus Serve for Simplified sponsors, meal time restrictions and determining eligibility for Closed Enrolled sites. ADE requested waivers to get those flexibilities restored and USDA has informed us that all of our waivers have been approved for Summer, 2019. This means that first week site visits are waived for sites that operated in good standing the previous summer, sites that operated on NSLP and the At-Risk Afterschool Meal program, Closed Enrolled sites are allowed to determine eligibility using school data, the three hour meal time restriction is waived and allows non-profit organizations operate Offer Versus Serve at their SFSP sites. We are please that these waivers have been approved for obvious reasons but more importantly, it will allow you the flexibility to operate your sites in a manner that will hopefully increase participation.

USDA Foods/DoD Fresh This applies to all LEAs participating in USDA Foods and/or Department of Defense Fresh Produce Program

None at this time.

Partner Announcements

My Plate: Quiz Time! What is the most common food from the Grain Group eaten in the United States? Tortillas Bread White Rice Popcorn Pancakes Answer: 2. Bread is the most common food from the Grains Group eaten in the United States.  Quiz yourself on Dairy, Fruit, Grains, Protein, and Vegetables. MyPlate has 5 mini quizzes (10 questions each) to test your knowledge. Answers are provided.

Featured Resource!

Is your district interested in school gardens? Team Nutrition Garden Resources are a great placed to start for integrating school gardens into classroom curriculum!

As always, if you have any questions or need additional information or assistance, please feel free to contact your School Nutrition Programs Specialist. We can also be reached at our group email: ADESchoolNutrition@azed.gov.   Click here to subscribe to these weekly School Nutrition Program Updates!