School Nutrition Program Updates |
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March is... & April is... |
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March is...
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Happy National School Breakfast Week, March 8-12th. Please share your celebrations on the North Dakota School Nutritional Staff Facebook page or email us: dpicnfd@nd.gov (NDDPI CNFD). We would love to see you and your students enjoying the morning meal at school. Have Fun!
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National Ag Day - March 23rd. Food brings everyone to the table. Remember to thank your farm families!
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Whole Grain Sampling Day - March 31st Find more information and ideas at: https://wholegrainscouncil.org/get-involved/whole-grain-sampling-day
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April is…
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International Carrot Day – April 4 – The Easter Bunny certainly will approve of a celebration of carrots. Forty one recipes with carrots as an ingredient are featured on the Child Nutrition Recipe Box at Recipes for Schools – Child Nutrition Recipe Box (theicn.org)
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National Picnic Day – April 23 The number of school days is in count down mode. How about packing a lunch and having the kids eat outside to change up the cafeteria for a day? Ask students to bring a small blanket or pool towel and their sunglasses for a different setting. If it’s a rainy or cold day, move the tables out of the way in the cafeteria and sit on the floor.
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Every Kid Healthy Week – April 19-23rd - Put a gold star on the School District’s Local Wellness policy by engaging students in healthy activities this week. Every Kid Healthy Week - Action for Healthy Kids has ideas for every day of the week.
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Traditional Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) Updates |
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At this time, we do not know if the current SFSP waivers will extend past June 30, 2021. Please keep this in mind when determining your SFSP sites for this summer once school is done. To see some of the eligible school and other sites in your area, click on the link below:
Summer feeding sites can be schools, parks, churches, community centers, etc. If there is a potential summer feeding site in your area, please contact our office to determine its eligibility.
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If you are thinking about switching food vendors, you need to abide by “free and open competition” rules by submitting proposals from all available vendors. We hear over and over, “they are the only one that comes to our town”. We know that is not the case. Vendors are not allowed to bid on a contract if the vendor supplied the contract specifications. We have templates available to use for Prime Vendor, Produce Vendor, Milk Vendor and Fresh Bread Vendor. Our forms are not mandatory, you can develop your own bid forms; however, you cannot use one from a vendor who will be bidding on that contract.
We are finding that schools are being taken advantage when they forget to specify the “serving size” requirements. For example: a slice, not a serving, of bread must provide one-ounce of grain equivalent. This is important because you might end up with cheaper small bread slices that do not count for a full ounce and you will need to give 2 slices to meet the one-ounce grain equivalent requirement. Deli meat is another example: some brands require a 4-ounce serving to provide 2 ounces of meat/meat alternate for Child Nutrition Programs. At first glance, the small bread slices and meat needing a double portion might seem cheaper; however, if you compare the required creditable component size, the cheaper product will end up costing more per creditable serving.
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A NOTE ABOUT EXCESS FUNDS |
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Notices were sent to schools that had an excess funds balance from 2019-20 in the Food service (05) account. Thank you to all the school districts that have sent in their plans already!
We do not have access to the financial information for this year yet – our numbers come from the financial report that gets filed after June 30th each school year to NDDPI. We are strongly encouraging food service directors to get together with the business manager to look at the end of the year 05 account balance and compare it with what 3 months of operating expense is. The federal government doesn’t allow non-profits to have more than 3 months of operating expense in reserve.
We are concerned that there will be excess funds in more food service accounts because of the increased meal reimbursement rates for Emergency meals. As an example, we checked on one school district’s reimbursement for December 2020 for the ESFP program and found they received a total of $7,495.26 for the month of December. For December 2019, total reimbursement was $2,648.14; December 2018 was $2,843.09; and December 2017 was $2,613.36. The ESFP reimbursement for December 2020 was more than 2 ½ times the average received in the last 3 years. However, school districts are not receiving any revenue from paid students this year and expenses may be increased with packaging, possibly delivery and maybe labor. All these factors will affect the end balance in the food service account.
As you are finishing up the school year and setting budgets for next year, please take time to do the excess funds calculation in the Food service account. Thank you!
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MyPlate 'Bite-by-Bite' Mini Series - FRUITS |
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MyPlate puts to action the consumer use of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). Released on December 29, 2020 – these guidelines are updated and released at least every five years by the USDA & HHS. The DGA is our nation’s leading nutrition advice to help guide Nutrition Professionals to provide nutrition guidance and National Agencies in program development.
“A healthy eating routine is important at every stage of life and can have positive effects that add up over time.” To learn more about MyPlate, visit www.MyPlate.gov.
We will continue our mini-series in the coming months to go “bite-by-bite” on the simple steps of getting started with MyPlate and available resources!
March is an exciting time of year, spring is here (or coming soon) which means that more variety of fresh produce will be coming more readily available in our area! MyPlate uses the term “Focus on whole fruits” to encourage Americans to consume fruits in their more natural form, as opposed to a sweetened dessert item. Eating fruits in their fresh, frozen, dried (without added sugar), canned (in fruit juice or light syrup) or as 100% fruit juice.
For this month of the series; lets Focus on Fruits.
What is included in the FRUIT group? Fresh, canned, frozen, or dried whole fruits or 100% fruit juice
What does this mean? All listed foods above, are considered creditable fruit items in the Child Nutrition Programs. (Check your program materials for specific guidance on credible items to count towards reimbursable meals)
Health Benefits of FRUIT
Most fruits are naturally low in fat, sodium, and calories. Fruit contains sources of potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C and folic acid as well as many other nutrients.
As part of an overall healthy diet, eating foods such as fruits that are lower in calories per cup instead of some other higher-calorie food may be useful in helping to lower calorie intake.
Eating a diet rich in fruits (and vegetables) as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce risk for heart disease, including heart attack and stroke. Fruits that contain potassium may help maintain healthy blood pressure.
Eating a diet rich in fruits (and some vegetables) as part of an overall healthy diet may protect against certain types of cancers.
Whole or cut up fruits are sources of dietary fiber. Diets that include dietary fibers have positive impacts on proper bowel function, by reducing constipation and diverticulosis as well as reducing blood cholesterol levels and risk levels for heart disease. (Fruits | MyPlate)
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In the coming months, we will continue our ‘Bite-by-Bite’ mini series to explore each component of MyPlate! Look forward to these upcoming topics:
· April – Grains
· May – Vegetables
· June – Dairy
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March is NATIONAL NUTRITION MONTH! |
It is not too late to celebrate National Nutrition Month! Maybe you want to offer a new food or recipe in this Month or survey your students on foods/recipes that they would like to see incorporated. This year’s theme is “Personalize your Plate”, as many of the students in your schools come from various food backgrounds and taste cultures – it could be an opportunity to start conversations to get feedback from your students!
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers a National Nutrition Month Toolkit which includes games, tip sheets, social media posts and other handouts – Needing a suggestion for enrichment or nutrition education? – Find some here: National Nutrition Month Toolkit (eatright.org)
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Food Safety Reminder: Where to Store Raw Eggs |
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Just a reminder for those schools that are bringing in raw eggs. Eggs must be stored below any ready to eat food and produce. Rule of Thumb: The higher the MINIMUM required internal cooking temperature, the lower that food goes in the refrigerator.
Print out one of the pictorial resources showing the placement of some of the most common items in a refrigerator/cooler then laminate the page and hang it on the door so all staff can check it before making room on the right shelf.
A quick, quarter-hour staff development training for professional development hours may be to go through the food items on each shelf. Then finish up any time remaining with a “True/False” game. A Hershey Kiss (dark chocolate for health) would be a nice incentive to getting the question(s) right.
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Professional Development Opportunities |
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Kitchen Counter Conversations – Let's Talk about Grains
March 16th, 2-3 PM (CST)
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Do you have questions about whole grains – how to tell if your bread is whole grain, why whole grains are good for the body or what else counts as a whole grain besides bread? We will talk about these and cover other issues in the most popular food component for kids.
Join us on March 16, 2021 – 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. CST over the Microsoft TEAMS link.
A recording will be made of the session in case you can’t make it that day. Join the meeting at the link below.
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Microsoft Teams meeting
Join on your computer or mobile app
Join with a video conferencing device
teams@join.nd.gov
Video Conference ID: 115 372 266 8
Or call in (audio only)
Phone Conference ID: 282 939 126#
Enjoy your meeting
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Food & Equipment Show opportunity: School Nutrition Association is continuing the Innovative Solutions Showcase – Monday and Tuesday afternoons in March, 2 p.m. Heavy hitters for school nutrition programs like Tyson, PepsiCo, Cargill and Land O’Lakes are on deck while New Kids on the Block Cool Tropics, Mavericks and Ripple Foods will highlight the features of their products for your school meals. While you can’t taste the food through the virtual format, you can glean the creative ways these companies have found to serve their products and then order samples to try on your students. Find further description and the schedule here: https://schoolnutrition.org/innovative-solutions-showcase-upcoming-company-descriptions/
Professional Development Standards
These events, webinars and learning challenges are listed here so you and your staff can complete the annual professional development (PD) requirement for the National School Lunch Program. We hope that even though PD is not required in the Emergency Summer Food Service Program, you still are interested in expanding your knowledge of school nutrition programs.
Remember that food service directors must complete 12 hours each year; kitchen managers need 10 hours; all full time staff in the school nutrition department (20 hours or more per week) must find 6 hours of training and all school staff who help with food service duties for 20 hours or less a week should document 4 hours or more of PD, including Civil Rights in Food and Nutrition Services training. Also note that every school district must designate someone as the ‘Food Service Director’. This person must also have the Sanitation certification. A Professional Development log is included in the front of the NSLP Production book, but a piece of paper works just as well.
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Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: March |
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March Fresh Vegetables and Fruits: Easter Egg Radish
Radish comes to mind for the March season of Lent leading up to Easter as the “Easter Egg Radishes” are being offered by food distribution companies in bulk. The difference between Easter Egg Radishes and the normal radish is the skin color. Standard radishes are red however radish color can range from white and ivory, pink, through all the shades of red to pastel purple. The Easter Egg radishes feature all the colors of the radish palette and will make a beautiful display served fresh. They will also have the same peppery bite as any traditional red radish although the taste may be milder in certain colors. A taste test would fit right in to find the mildest radish!
Radishes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow in a school garden or a sunny window box container made from a milk carton. Radish seed is on the larger side of vegetable seeds so students can see the seed as it is planted. The seeds germinate quickly for eager students and harvest is on average about 28 days after.
A package of Easter Egg radishes though may not be the best seed for a school garden, in-ground or in-classroom. The Easter Egg radish package is actually a mix of heirloom varieties of radish that also have a mix of maturity dates. Planting this mix will mean harvesting bulbs one at a time as they mature rather than a whole row at once for hungry students. It would be most efficient to stick with one variety for the school garden such as ‘Cherry Belle’ or even the cool ‘Watermelon’. Let’s talk about the ‘Watermelon’ Radish next month.
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Click on the link to the right for other unique varieties of fruits & vegetables! There are many more available beyond this list, however check with your vendors to see what they have available! |
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NDDPI Child Nutrition and Food Distribution
Main Office:
600 E. Boulevard Ave, Dept 201
Bismarck, ND 58505
PHONE: 701-328-2294 or 888-338-3663
FAX: 701-328-9566
Mayville Office:
14 Main St E, Mayville, ND 58257
PHONE: 701-877-8901 or 888-788-8901
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Non Discrimination Statement
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:
(1) Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
(2) Fax: (202) 690-7442; or
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