Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2020 Supporting Operating Series (SOS). Due to the positive feedback and success of the program, we will continue this series on a bi-weekly basis from February – April. Interested participants must register for the series.
New to SOS? The Supporting Operating Series is a forum to bring school nutrition professionals together to share best practices and ask questions of their peers. The one-hour sessions provide a space to brainstorm ways to overcome current obstacles; from providing access to meals for various learning models to managing staff and social distancing.
The summer meal programs have provided children and teens free meals during the school year. Unfortunately, these programs did not bring the summer weather. Thank you to all school nutrition professionals continuing to provide grab and go meals even during the cold, New England winter. The need continues to be great as school districts and community organizations for the first three months of Fall 2020, on average, served more monthly meals than any month this past Spring and Summer 2020. As statewide meal counts continue an upward trend and the state moves through Phase 2 of vaccines there is much to be positive about as we look towards the Spring.
Speaking of positive, Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) has enabled eligible families to receive much needed funds for food this school year. Thank you for your continued efforts ensuring families receive this benefit in addition to free school meals. We have, however, received feedback regarding family questions about eligibility and status of cards. The February 1, 2021 Commissioner’s Weekly Update sent to school district leadership outlines the roles schools, the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) and DESE play in ensuring program success as well as providing resources to push out to families to help answer frequently asked questions.
Lastly, I am pleased to announce a new school meal promotional effort as a result of a new joint effort between DESE, Project Bread and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Starting February 1st, targeted promotional efforts began in certain communities through billboards and local transit systems (bus advertising) promoting universal free meals and Project Bread’s meal site finder. Targeted online and social media advertisements (web banner ads and social media posts) in 40 communities will also be launched. With the help of MassDOT, the below message will appear in 150 digital billboards on the highways and byways throughout the state.
Have a safe, healthy (and warm) month,
Robert Leshin
Resources for Answering P-EBT Eligibility Questions
In December, Massachusetts became the first state to receive federal approval to issue Pandemic EBT benefits (P-EBT) for the rest of the 2020-2021 school year. P-EBT promotes increased food security for families whose children are in hybrid or remote learning environments and who would normally receive free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program. On Monday, February 1, 2021, DESE sent an important message to school district leadership about P-EBT through the Commissioner’s Weekly Update. This message explains the key roles the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), DESE and schools play in ensuring eligible families receive these benefits and provides critical resources to have on hand and pass forward to families to help answer questions.
There are many questions around P-EBT, and to best help the families you serve, please review the P-EBT Social Media and Outreach Document. This document contains answers to many P-EBT questions, and includes sample social media posts and links to outreach materials. The outreach materials are available in ten different languages and can be printed and/or downloaded as you see fit!
Updates on USDA Foods
COVID-19 has heavily impacted USDA Foods and product availability. The DESE Food Distribution Team is working closely with contracted storage and distribution vendors Gordon Food Service (GFS) and Hartford Provisions Company (HPC) to answer questions and concerns. There is plenty of high-quality USDA Food product at both GFS and HPC and more coming into the warehouses every week! Please reach out to DESE, GFS or HPC so we can help leverage your food costs with the product that is available.
Brown Box:
Multiple USDA Foods orders were cancelled due to low usage by school districts and unusually high inventories at state warehouses across the country due to COVID-19.
Many products are not available because of a decrease in purchasing product from USDA.
This is due to various supply chain issues experienced throughout the food industry.
Understanding what products have been ordered will be crucial this year to see what is available. To view status of orders placed with USDA, please review the Order Status Report for SY 20-21 on the Document and Reference Library in the Security Portal.
The report can be found under USDA Foods-Brown Box-SY20-21 Orders.
Brown Box product continues to arrive weekly at GFS and HPC and is being allocated to districts and put in districts’ accounts for ordering.
Any extra cases on the delivery go into the state account for future First Come First Serve (FCFS) postings on the Security Portal.
DESE is planning to sweep product that has been in district accounts for 90 days or more on February 1st. Product will be made available through a FCFS posting.
The Brown Box Survey for SY21-22 is being constructed now that the Pre Survey is complete. More information on the survey will be made available this month.
Please contact Ahmed Bilimoria if you have product you are not using or questions on Brown Box.
Processing:
Nationwide usage of pounds at processors has been low this year. USDA has cancelled most but not all of Massachusetts’ (MA) remaining orders to processors.
USDA will work with Massachusetts to get more pounds if needed. These pounds may be bought by MA or may be transferred to MA from another state.
It is a great time to review your commercial purchases for the year. Some products may be eligible for USDA Foods credit.
Processors have been confirmed for next school year (SY21-22). The diversion survey is being constructed and will be made available this month.
Please contact Marisol Montes with questions or requests to move or transfer pounds. Many requests have come our way as we work diligently to approve them. We thank you for your patience!
DoD Fresh:
A sweep occurred last month for districts with low or zero usage of DoD funds.
Funds will be returned as well as additional dollars added if requested should usage being to occur.
At this time, no new school districts will be added to DoD Fresh.
DESE is having ongoing conversations with USDA and DoD about adding new school districts if demand occurs.
Please contact Rick Finnigan with questions or concerns on DoD Fresh.
The pandemic led to school closures in mid-March, and districts and community organizations served an average of 5.63 million meals per month from April - November.
In the first three months of SY 2020-21, districts and community organizations served 22.36 million meals.
The average monthly meals served September - November increased by 3.13 million (72%) versus the summer months.
Despite this progress, overall meals served are down 46 percent compared to September - November of last year. Boosting school meal participation and providing more food access points for households remains important throughout the pandemic. Districts are encouraged to think about co-distributing school meals and food/groceries provided by food pantries. Food pantries have been advised to contact local schools or community organizations and gauge interest in co-distributing groceries with school meals.
The Administrative Review and You
Administrative Reviews (ARs) will not be conducted in SY 20-21. In lieu of the AR, an offsite assessment will be available to districts operating under the Seamless Summer Option (SSO). The offsite assessment will focus on:
Meal Counting and Claiming
Meal Pattern Requirements
Food Safety
Site Application Review
Waiver Program Integrity
A memorandum released on January 15, 2021 included the list of schools selected for an SSO Technical Assistance Offsite Assessment during SY 20-21. Please await communication from a member of the Program Review Staff for additional guidance.
Still curious about the offsite assessment? A recorded presentation on the offsite assessment is now available in the Document and Reference Library!
Save the Date: Healthy Kids, Healthy Programs is Back!
Healthy Kids, Healthy Programs Virtual Summit 2021
May 6 & May 7, 2021 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm Registration coming soon
Join school nutrition professionals from across the Commonwealth on May 6th & 7th at the Healthy Kids, Healthy Programs Virtual Summit. Together, let's celebrate the ingenuity, resilience, and dedication of Massachusetts school nutrition professionals who work tirelessly to fuel children and communities. Improv and positivity leader, Jon Colby, will emcee this year's virtual event and there is no cost to attend. New for 2021! Invite your staff to join the summit on May 7th; sessions are designed to appeal to and inspire your entire school nutrition team and recognize their hard work with the School Lunch Hero Day celebration finale!
Agenda: May 6, 2021 - for directors and managers
• Cultivating Your Dream Team with Stephanie Giannini, MA, SNS, Assistant Director of Food and Nutrition Services, Marquardt School District 15 Glendale Heights, Illinois
• Marketing Tips Every School Nutrition Professional Can Use with Liz Roesel, SEA Level Social
• Looking Back to Look Forward, Rob’s Latest and Greatest LIVE!
Agenda: May 7, 2021 - for directors, managers, and staff
• Resiliency in Times of Change with Paul Krismer, Certified Executive Coach and Best-Selling Author of Whole Person Happiness
• Serving Fun, Easy, and Fresh Buddha Bowls with JSI Chef Tracy
• School Lunch Hero Celebration Finale
NEW! Verification Letters to Households
An updated household letter for families who have been selected for Verification is now available. Based on requests, these letters have been edited to better explain why verification is necessary, whether participating under NSLP, SSO or SFS for SY 20-21. These letters also explain how the Verification exercise of school meal applications relate to P-EBT benefits. The Verification Letters to Households is available in the Document and Reference Library under the folder Fall 2020 NSLP/SFSP/SSO Operations Due to COVID 19.
L.E.A.D to Succeed: Training for School Nutrition Professionals
Sign up to be one of the first participants in School Nutrition Foundation’s brand-new training program for school nutrition professionals! The L.E.A.D. to Succeed professional development series was funded by a $2 million USDA grant, and created in partnership with the Georgetown McDonough School of Business for both virtual and in-person use.
SNF is thrilled to launch the first of four modules in the first series: “Communication for Impact” in February 2021. Additional modules in this series will be released later in 2021—stay tuned!
These training tools are designed to help school nutrition professionals Learn, Educate, Advance, and Develop in the workplace. Participation is free to all school nutrition professionals, not just SNA members. Learn more about L.E.A.D. to Succeed, and register to begin earning CEUs.
FY21 Summer Food Service Program Grant Opportunity
All grant applications must be received electronically through EdGrants Front Office by Friday, March 5, 2021 by 5:00 PM. Please note that only SFA's participating in SFSP are eligible to apply for this grant.
Submission must be made through EdGrants. For more information on the EdGrants application process, please review the instructions.
Directors Ask, DESE Answers
Q: Do I need to provide meals if in person learning is cancelled due to a snowstorm? Sincerely, Stuck in the Snow
A: No. You don’t want to put your staff of families in danger. Think about planning ahead! If you anticipate a storm is coming, you could offer those meals in a prior days meal distribution. If school is altogether cancelled you can also provide a meal a day ahead. Q: Is there a new contact for individual meal pattern waivers? Warm Regards, Wondering aboutWaivers
A: Yes, there is a new contact! Please direct all inquiries and meal pattern waiver requests to Kevin Dawson and use the updated form.
Q: Are we supposed to be getting our kitchen inspections from the Board of Health? Thanks, Interested in Inspections
A: Food safety inspections are still important! Perhaps your local board of health has not been able to conduct inspections with the same regularity due to the pandemic. If you have not received any communication from your local board of health indicating that inspections may not be conducted as usual this school year, it is still a good idea to reach out and request one.
Q: Can we claim meals served to children that we provide to a local Food Pantry without creating a new open site? Cordially, Curious Claimer
A: Meals claimed should be reflected in where the meals were distributed. If a local food pantry is a feeding site, it should be reflected in the site application.
Q: We have volunteers handing out meals from bus distributions.Since each bus is not considered an open site, can we claim the meals served to children by volunteers who distribute those meals? Thanks, Busy with Buses
A: Bus routes, with multiple bus stops, can be all claimed under one site. If there is proper training for the volunteers handing out meals, then yes, meals served from these volunteers can be claimed.
This is a pre-recorded presentation and will not include a live Q&A session. Please bring all questions to the February 25th presentation, or submit to Ask DESE Anything.
