National School Lunch Week! This year it's pirate themed, arrgh!

It happens every year, you forget to mark your calendar. But it’s not too late to plan for National School Lunch Week, especially with all these free resources from SNA!

National School Lunch Week is coming up on October 14-18. The SNA theme is “School Lunch Pirates, Find Your Treasure!”

Need ideas? Here is some helpful information and resources for other CNP friends:

• School Nutrition Association NSLW How to Celebrate: https://schoolnutrition.org/about-school-meals/national-school-lunch-week/how-to-celebrate-nslw/

• School Nutrition Association Information/Toolkit: https://schoolnutrition.org/about-school-meals/national-school-lunch-week/

• Texas Dept. of Agriculture, sample materials: https://squaremeals.org/Programs/National-School-Lunch-Program/National-School-Lunch-Week

• Coloring Pages: https://schoolnutrition.org/resource/nslw-activity-guide-and-coloring-pages/

While we’re are it, don’t forget, May 2, 2025, School Lunch Hero Day. Mark your calendars now!

The USDA requires all SFAs to complete a Triennial Assessment on a 3-year cycle

Hi Food Service Directors,

This is a friendly reminder that your school may be due for a Wellness Policy Triennial Assessment (TEA). The USDA requires all SFAs to complete a Triennial Assessment on a 3-year cycle.

Did your school already complete this TEA Meeting within the past 3 years?

If you have not completed a Triennial Wellness Assessment in the past 3 years, your SFA should schedule and complete this school year.

School Food Solutions can help! Let's schedule a check-in call and we can help you talk through the process.

Unsure where to start, here is a step by step list:

ACTION:

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Step #1: Prep for the Triennial Assessment meeting.

Print or ensure you have access to the following:

• Your school’s Wellness Policy

• Sign-in sheet indicating that this is your Wellness Policy Triennial Assessment meeting

• Meeting agenda for notes during the meeting

• Model Wellness Policy (see Component 1 for links)

• Wellness Assessment Tool (see Component 2 for links)

• Wellness Policy Review Document (see Component 3 for links)

Invite community members to your meeting:

• The meeting must be public. We recommend posting the meeting time/date on your school website prior to holding the meeting.

• You must have at least 1 parent and 1 student in attendance.

Step #2: Hold the Meeting!

We recommend you follow the guidance provided by the California Local School Wellness Policy Collaborative. They breakdown the Triennial Assessment meeting into four components:

Component 1: 10 minutes

Compare your wellness policy to a model policy.

There are a variety of Model Wellness Policies available for schools to use when completing their comparison. Here are a few:

• The Alliance for a Healthier Generation Model Policy

• The WellSAT 3.0 School Assessment Tool

• California School Board Association (CSBA) BP 5030

Component 2: 10 minutes

Complete an evaluation of your wellness policy

No need to reinvent the wheel and make your own test. Here are free assessment tools to assess your policy's compliance.

• Alliance for a Healthier Generation Healthy Schools Program Assessment Guide

• The School Health Index

• Action for Healthy Kids School Health Index

Component 3: 10 minutes

Review the progress you made in reaching your wellness goals

Pull out your past meeting agendas and notes, did you meet the goals you set in the past? Honestly assess the SFA's progress and how your school wants to move forward. These documents are here to keep you organized and focused.

• Progress in Reaching LSWP Goals Template

• Example

Component 4: 20 minutes (can be done after your meeting concludes)

Tell the public what you are doing.

Remember this is a public process. We recommend posting your results on your school’s website. You can use the table below to indicate how and when you shared your results with the public. Make sure to save this for your records:

• Triennial Assessment Report to the Public Template

• Example

Be sure to save your Triennial Assessment documents somewhere safe for future audits….and you're done!

Have you received your USDA Funds?

Have you read the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021? Don’t worry, SFS did! 

Section 722 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 provides additional funds to State agencies that administer the following: 

• National School Lunch Program (NSLP)

• School Breakfast Program (SBP)

• Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) 

The USDA will provide these funds through two temporary reimbursement programs: 

1. School Programs Emergency Operational Cost Reimbursement Program and 

2. Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Emergency Operational Costs Reimbursement Program.

Using a statutory formula, the emergency operational costs are designed to provide additional reimbursements for eligible school food authorities (SFAs) and CACFP operators whose revenues declined or were interrupted during the early months of the COVID-19 public health emergency. During this time, many program operators experienced significant loss in revenue and in many cases were forced to expend their savings, draw funds from other sources, and cut or suspend operations. 

This federal relief is intended to help address such shortfalls. Program operators must maintain documentation to ensure funds are used solely for allowable Food Service program costs, as they would under any other circumstances. 

In California, SFA’s will see these payments posted in the CNIPS payment portal. 

If you have questions re: Child and Nutrition Emergency Operational Cost reimbursement please reach out to us here.

Is your kitchen in need of equipment?

The 2021–22 budget package launches the Universal School Meals Program, with an increase in state meal reimbursements by $54 million in the 2021–22 fiscal year and an estimated $650 million ongoing Prop 98 funding beginning in 2022–23, to cover the costs of offering breakfast and lunch for all students, regardless of income eligibility. 

This is big money for schools! 

To prepare, the budget also provides $150 million one-time Prop 98 funds for kitchen upgrades and training for food service employees to promote nutritious foods and healthy food preparation. The amount of $120 million ($25,000 per district) will be used for kitchen upgrades and equipment. The remaining $30 million ($2,000 per district) will be used for training and promoting nutritious foods and healthy food preparation.

More info here regarding the CA Budget Act for 2021–22

SFA’s can also apply for the 2021 NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant (EAG). For California schools, you can find more information HERE. Are you located in a different state? Reach out to School Food Solutions and we can help you locate available equipment funding. 

Attention CA Schools: There are only two weeks left to apply! The application deadline is 4 p.m. PST on Tuesday, December 14, 2021.

Highlighting our Heroes!

Hello School Food Solutions friends! The time is here! That’s right! School Lunch Hero day 2021 is this Friday, May 02, 2021! This year, School Food Solutions would like to give a shoutout to few lunch heroes who were nominated to participate in our Food Service Employee Day contest last October! Five special food service employees were selected as recipients of our cash card giveaway! Read more about these awesome school lunch heroes below!

Iysha Brooks - Palm Lane Charter School (CA)

Iysha Brooks was nominated for going over and beyond during her school’s closure periods by ensuring that all students received healthy meals each day. Because of her hard work and dedication, Palm Lane Charter School passed all of their audits that were scheduled during the midst of the pandemic. Because of Palm Lane Charter School ‘s closure, Iysha's hours were reduced, but her service to Palm Lane did not. She continued to serve their students each week with a smile. Palm Lane Charter School seemed very happy to have Iysha and they were very thankful for her service and dedication…..

Brandon Hughes - Purpose Prep (TN)

Mr. Hughes is someone who’s ALWAYS dependable and gets things done at Purpose Prep. In addition to his service on the operations team and being someone who’s very amazing behind-the-scenes, Mr. Hughes went above and beyond to ensure that Purpose Prep’s students’ breakfast, lunch, and snack nutritional programs were properly executed. At the early start of his day, Mr. Hughes would make sure that all food orders were delivered while working to ensure accurate quantity and food temperature. He also worked to ensure that food options were available for all students and their dietary restrictions (food allergies included) were considered….

Jackie Richard - Hosanna Christian Academy (LA)

Ms. Richard went above and beyond feeding the students at Hosanna Christian Academy. She did a great job reaching out and personally getting to know all students. She managed a crew that cooked and served delicious and nutritious meals to their students. She also fed the homeless and found several recourses to meet their needs.

Arlease Ward - FirstLine - Langston Hughes Academy (LA)

Arlease was always a pleasant person to work with at Langston Hughes Academy. She was sure to put forth great efforts to make things right for their students to receive their many meals. She always volunteered to help out with any events , even after her normal work hours. She was always known for communicate with all students and getting to know them personally. She took time out of her daily schedule to collaborate with other staff members to that everyone was on the same page for meals and schedules. She is a great leader for her staff and always has a calm demeanor. She's great at being versatile and accommodating with changes and never complains…

Linda McCall - Somerset Academy of Las Vegas (NV)

Despite the many challenges with their school closure and multiple ever-changing plans for reopening, Linda was one of the most flexible and understanding members of the Somerset Academy of Las Vegas school staff. With a smile on her face, she arrived earlier than anyone and diligently attended to her many responsibilities. Because of her continued efforts, their students, who were not attending school on campus, were still able to receive nutritious meals every week. When meals weren't picked up, Linda continued to call parents until she was able to connect with them and set up alternative times for them to pick up their child's meals. Linda is passionate when it comes to feeding the children of Somerset Academy of Las Vegas, and she made every effort to ensure that they had food in their bellies….

For full stories, be sure to check out our original blog post from last year at: http://www.schoolfoodsolutions.org/blog/2020/10/15/happy-national-school-lunch-week-congrats-to-the-winners

Also, check out a few cool snapshots that were sent in with nominations! Our school heroes are looking good in their superhero uniforms! Thank you so much to all of our wonderful schools and staff who recognize their lunch heroes! These individuals are always saving the day for our students and families!

Be sure to send us any 2021 School Lunch Hero recommendations and shout-outs to info@schoolfoodsolutions.org!