CDE received $143 million from the Coronavirus Aid Relief, Economic Security (CARES) Act, which now covers reimbursement for all meals from March to September. Program operators can use Source Code 4000 and Grant Code 4555 for all meal reimbursements received during this time. Ensure that any reimbursement already received for March claims are coded correctly.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved a waiver allowing a parent or guardian to pick up Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Program (FFVP) produce for their children, as long as accountability and integrity of the program are protected. Parents and guardians will be able to pick up the produce, through Tuesday, June 30.
Sponsors planning to continue operating a SFSP site after June 30 must complete the online program training, including the sponsor-level required training sessions and must take a quiz to obtain a certificate of completion. Site staff training guides and the Civil Rights self-study guide are available on the SFSP Sponsor and Site training page. All site staff and volunteers must complete the training, including the Civil Rights training requirement. All training must be completed by June 30.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) resources for school nutrition professionals:
What School Nutrition Professionals Need to know about COVID-19. This resource describes how professionals can protect themselves and outlines steps employers should take to reduce transmission, maintain a healthy work environment and maintain healthy business operations.
Interim Guidance for Administrators of U.S. K-12 Schools and Child Care Programs. This resource provides guidance on strategies to prevent and reduce community transmission of COVID-19 within schools. Consider "grab-and-go" bagged lunches, meal delivery, eating meals in classrooms instead of common areas and avoiding mixing students in the cafeteria.
Procurement during a public emergency
Federal procurement regulations allow for non-competitive, sole source, procurement during public emergencies. Sponsors providing meals through emergency feeding operations may use this procurement flexibility through June 30, or until the expiration of the federally declared public health emergency, whichever is earlier. Sponsors should continue the normal procurement process for goods needed for the 2020-21 school year or the SFSP program for summer 2021, as they plan to operate to their greatest extent possible.
Check out the Colorado Nutrition Portal, which now houses all of Colorado's child and adult nutrition programs as a result of the shared technology project. Bookmark the new URL and note that the system looks and functions as it did prior to the merge. New system enhancements and additional functionality will be released in stages over the next few months. The School Nutrition Unit will communicate changes as they are released. Please note that this system replaces the CO Child Nutrition Hub and the School Nutrition team will no longer refer to the online system by that name.