Rob's Latest and Greatest: Area Eligibility Waived
It is hard to believe that this week has brought almost as much change as the last! USDA has issued four additional nationwide waivers and approved an important flexibility for MA. We appreciate everyone's patience as our office is working to keep communication lines open and issuing guidance on how a change in regulations impact your daily operation. I know that you have a lot of information coming at you so I will keep this brief:
Nationwide waivers:
Allow Meal Pattern Flexibility in the Child Nutrition Programs
Allow Parents and Guardians to Pick Up Meals for Children
Extend Community Eligibility Provision Deadlines
Waive Monitoring Requirements for Sponsors & State Agencies
DESE's waiver received support through a letter from all 11 of Massachusetts members of congress to Brandon Lipps, the Deputy Under Secretary of FNS. We are grateful for the support and to be able to support any community that would like to offer meals during this time. Please see our guidance below on the process for the waiver and how to apply.
Please stay healthy,
Robert M Leshin
If you face a problem ordering a specific meal component needed to serve a reimbursable there is a flexibility that would allow you to be able to serve what you have on hand. The waiver for meal pattern flexibility is justified based upon disruptions to the availability of food products resulting from unprecedented impacts of COVID-19.
Steps sponsors should take when the availability of a food product is disrupted:
Troubleshoot: If your vendor is out of an item, substitute with another item in that component. For example, the vendor is out of bread, but you have tortilla or crackers you can serve instead.
Bend the Rules: Source a non-creditable food item, such as Non-CN labeled chicken nugget, through your current or alternative supplier.
Use a Different Vendor: If your vendor is out of bread and you have no other grain component on hand, procure a grain item from a different vendor or store.
If you plan to serve a non-creditable food item or your vendor is out and you don’t have an alternative you can submit a meal pattern waiver:
Request documentation from your current vendor that the food item requested is not available.
Complete “Request for a meal pattern flexibility in the Child Nutrition Programs for meals served during school closures due to COVID-19.”
Submit documentation from your vendor and the Request Form to Kelly.burke3@mass.gov
Grant funds available to School Districts Serving During COVID-19.
Project Bread is pleased to announce a new grant opportunity for school districts and organizations that are providing meals for children during the COVID-19 crisis. Over the past few weeks, school districts and summer meals sponsors across the state have stepped up to help communities face this unexpected challenge by providing meals to children and teens, and Project Bread is committed to supporting these efforts.Grants of $500-$5,000 are available to any existing Summer Food Service Program or Seamless Summer Option National School Lunch Program sponsor operating in Massachusetts. Funding can be used for personnel, transportation, promotion, and other costs to help meal providers serve children and teens in their community. More information and a link to apply can be found here.
Serving meals during this time requires an unconventional approach. Meal distribution is looking different for everyone and we want to encourage you to use a counting procedure that allows you to accurately count the number of breakfasts and lunches that you have served.
Use this form to document the number of breakfasts and lunches served at each location, on each day of service.
Mark off a number every time you serve a reimbursable meal to a child or to a parent/guardian for a child. (You can also use a clicker if this is a standard part of your meal counting process.)
Be sure to count the number of breakfasts separately from the number of lunches you serve. This will be important for claiming.
Total the number of breakfast and number of lunches served by meal type, location, and service date.
Your paperwork should be able to communicate: I served 100 breakfasts and 125 lunches at the high school on 4/1/20.
Some sites are approved to serve meals for multiple days on one service day. Refer to this quick guide to help document your meal distribution process.
Directors Ask, DESE Answers
Q: Is there a specific time frame that my school should be serving meals?
A: USDA has waived the meal service time requirements for schools nationwide. Identify a time frame to serve meals and provide these details in your applications for SSO and SFSP. Under these flexibilities listed above, there are also no restrictions on how long meal services can occur.
Q: My school is serving meals to students during the unanticipated school closure due to COVID-19. Are we able to give students multiple meals for multiple days?
A: School Food Authorities (SFAs) can distribute up to 2 meals per child per day; however, DESE is approving states to identify a model that would allow them to distribute meals for multiple days. For example, a school could elect to follow a model that allowed students to pick up 6 meals to cover the whole weekend—2 for Friday, 2 for Saturday, and 2 for Sunday. SFAs should describe their meal service model in the Remarks box on the top of their site application.
Q: Can we deliver meals to students with transportation issues?
A: Neighborhood delivery is an approved meal distribution model. Schools should prioritize service to economically disadvantaged areas of their community to serve children most in need. Contact your DESE consultant for guidance on documenting these sites and to learn more about meal deliveries.
Q: We are delivering meals to neighborhood sites using school buses. We are struggling to keep milk cold enough. Should we apply for a meal pattern waiver to avoid this problem?
A: No, meal pattern requirements are only waived when food items are not available from suppliers. The challenge of keeping milk cold can be solved! The New England Dairy Council has resources available to support the service of milk in unconventional service models.
Food Safety Reminders for Distributing Temperature Controlled Foods (such as deli sandwiches):
Meals need to be kept at 41F or lower
Keep meals in cooler right until the point of service
Remind students and parents to put meals directly into refrigeration when they get home.
You are on the frontline keeping students nourished during this pandemic, we want to make sure your health and safety is protected! You can never be reminded enough to:
With schools closed for weeks due to COVID-19, School Nutrition Professionals certainly haven’t let this pandemic close their cafeterias. School Lunch Heroes are working hard and serving meals to thousands of students in the Commonwealth. When you are in a position that focuses solely on taking care of others, how do you care for yourself?
Self-Care is defined as the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s health. During all the chaos and uncertainty, it is important to incorporate “me time” and do things that make you feel happy and relaxed. This will also help to combat stress and clear your mind. At the end of the day, don’t forget to take a deep breath and pat yourself on the back for your hard work! To add more self-care practices into your daily routine, check out these tips from the CDC:
Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.
Take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate.
Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep
Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy.
Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling.
Notable Dates:
April
1st: Run Direct Certification
17th Submit USDA Foods Order
30th Third quarter Profit and Loss Statement due
Extended Deadlines - Guidance is forthcoming
Traditional new Food Service Management Company Contracts (FSMC) are due by April 3, 2020 and all renewals are due by June 5, 2020
15th LEA’s must provide school-based ISP data as of April 1st, 2020 to the Office for Food and Nutrition Programs.
