the Policy Pulse with Truth Time
You can expect to get paid before January 2022. To learn more about the Emergency Operational Costs Reimbursement Program, check out this summary from FRAC or read this from USDA. And yes, efforts are already underway to help secure similar funding beyond June 2020. Fingers crossed! COVID Waivers: Our friends at No Kid Hungry have the very best summary of current waivers and Q&A documents. At the time of writing, many of the most important waivers are scheduled to expire on June 30, 2021. You can urge Congress to offer meals at no cost permanently available by signing on to this action alert from FoodCorps. What’s next? Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) is the process by which Congress updates laws that govern all Child Nutrition Programs. Keep an eye out for opportunities to advocate for changes to our rule book during the upcoming CNR, which is expected to begin soon. Don’t Miss a Beat: Each month, The Center for Ecoliteracy and LunchAssist host the Community of Practice call where hundreds of our colleagues from across the field come together to share inspiring stories, best practices from the field, and catch up on the latest policy changes. Register for the next call - they’re on the first Thursday of each month.
LunchAssist Jennifer McNeil, RDN, SNS
For thoseof uswhohavebeenworking inschool nutrition for awhile, we’ve grown accustomed to program regulations more complex than the federal tax code. What began as less than five pages of text passed into law on a sunny day in June of 1946, has ballooned into thousands of pages of rules that are so overwhelming even the most seasoned school nutrition professionals get confused. How did feeding children get so… complicated? To make matters worse, there are as many different interpretations of how to apply our federal regulations as there are states in the union. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the problem has been amplified by the introduction of more than 70 waivers and nearly 20 Q&A memos (and counting!). So, what’s a girl gotta do to make sense of all this? If the thought of reading another USDA memo sounds worse than getting a nasopharyngeal COVID test, then rest assured. We’ve organized a quick recap to help you make sense of it all - and you don’t even have to stick a swab up your nose.
Let Us Take You to the NxtLevel!
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A fresh perspective on culinary design.
February Community of Practice Call Recording COVID-19 Emergency Meal Service (1) Hour of PD
Here’s what you need to know right now:
Money, Money, Money: Funds are on the way! School nutrition programs and CACFP sponsors will be able to recover 55% of the federal reimbursement dollars lost during March-June 2020. Here is an example: April 2020 Payment = (April 2019 Reimbursement-April 2020 Reimbursement) x 0.55
Community Practice
Reitano
Jennifer McNeil, RDN, SNS is a former award-winning Child Nutrition Director and the Founder of LunchAssist. She was raised in America’s Farm-to-Fork capital where she developed a passion and appreciation for local produce. She enjoys helping child nutrition directors cut through the administrative red tape so they can focus energy on serving the healthiest, freshest meals possible. LunchAssist PRO is the newest community in school nutrition where members have exclusive access to hundreds of school nutrition resources and over 12 hours of fun and empowering professional development specifically designed for this school year. See what all the buzz is all about by visiting www.lunchassist.org.
www.ReitanoDesignGroup.com “It’s not about serving healthier food, it is about enticing children to eat healthier.” Scott Reitano, Principal
RDG Focus on Primary Ed
Jennifer McNeil, RDN, SNS LunchAssist
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