December greetings! It certainly feels like winter.
At the time of this writing, one thing that thawed was reauthorization of child nutrition programs. The House passed the Senate version and has been passed to President for signature. You can read a summary or the entire bill at Thomas.gov. From past experience, we expect USDA will implement some pieces through policy and others through the traditional regulatory route. The CANS office will pass along information as soon as we receive it.
We expect the proposed changes to School Lunch & Breakfast meal patterns to come out in December. There will be time for comment. As noted in previous bulletins, we urge schools to try implementing them as soon as you can so you have sound basis for comments on what does and does not work.
Best wishes to you and yours through the holiday season.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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Are You a Team Nutrition School? It’s Free to Join!
Becoming a Team Nutrition (TN) school helps focus attention on helping students learn to enjoy healthy eating and physical activity. New TN schools receive a resource kit of materials to help plan and carry out nutrition education activities for students and families. New materials are mailed to the TN school leaders as they are developed.
To receive a TN mini-grant or to work on the HealthierUS School Challenge, it is required to be a TN school. Signing up is simple, and free. Print and complete the one page school enrollment form and fax or mail to USDA as indicated on the TN website page at
www.teamnutrition.usda.gov/team.html. In addition, please fax a copy of your application to
Mary Kirk, Child Nutrition Specialist, at (605) 773-6846 so you can start getting the electronic Team Nutrition newsletter.
It is free to join the team. Check the
TN schools database and use the search page to see if your school is listed. If your school is already registured, the names of those listed as TN school leader, school principal, or school foodservice manager may need to be updated.
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The HealthierUS School Challenge is a national certification initiative available to schools participating in the National School Lunch Program. USDA instituted it to acknowledge schools that create healthier school environments through promotion of good nutrition and physical activity. The four levels of monetary awards are: Bronze ($500); Silver ($1,000); Gold ($1,500); and Gold of Distinction ($2,000).
Check out the HUSSC criteria and application information on the USDA Team Nutrition website at
www.teamnutrition.usda.gov/healthierUS/index.html.
A six hour workshop was offered as a pre-conference at the State SDSNA conference in Huron to inform participants about the HealthierUS School Challenge promotion. The six hour workshop was presented by Clare Miller, a consultant with the National Food Service Management Institute. The training was video graphed and developed into a set of six DVDs. The DVDs have been delivered to CANS and are available for checkout. If you were not able to attend the conference workshop but would like more training and information on what the HealthierUS School Challenge is all about and how to begin the process of applying for the distinctive awards you are encouraged to call CANS and make arrangements to check out one of the sets of DVDs.
Let us know how we can assist you and if we can list you as a school ready to take the challenge! Contact
Mary Kirk at (605) 773-4718 or
Jean Schuurmans at (605) 773-6026 for more information.
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Summer Offerings
HNS 492/592 Special Topics in Nutrition for teachers and Food Service Staff. This class is a basic Human Nutrition class that covers topics of food groups, how to eat healthy, food safety and labeling, and nutrition throughout different stages of life. The course will be offered for college credit from SDSU, 3 graduate credits or 3 undergraduate credits, and renewal credit. It will be offered on line and is designed to be completed in four weeks. Students will have from May 31 to August 5, 2011 to complete the course. The cost will be $45.95 per credit hour, and $5 for renewal credit. If you are interested contact
Mary Kirk at (605) 773-4718.
July 19-20 Team Nutrition will sponsor WE CAN! training.
WE CAN! discusses the prevalence of childhood overweight in our nation and the negative health outcomes associated with the rise in childhood overweight. The training will give practical ways schools and communities can prevent overweight by teaching students healthy eating habits and fun life time physical activities. It also encourages parental involvement. This training is free to all Team Nutrition Schools. Team Nutrition Schools include public schools, out of school time programs, child care programs that are on the food program. Watch for more information in upcoming bulletins.
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Child Nutrition Institute will be held June 19-24, 2011 at Augustana College, Sioux Falls.
Information will be arriving in your school mailbox right after Christmas!
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Building for the Future with the CACFP
The National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center (NCCIC) Library
The NCCIC Library collection contains over 20,000 summaries and availability information for published documents of interest to policymakers, administrators, practitioners, researchers and other members of the child care community. Links to full-text publications about child care and school-age issues are provided when available. If you go to their library search page you can search their library resources whenever you would like. The NCCIC Library can be found at:
http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/library/index.cfm?do=oll.search
Mealtime Memo for Child Care
The 2010-11 issue of Mealtime Memo for Child Care, the monthly newsletter that includes menus, recipes, and activities related to child care, is now online. In this issue of Mealtime Memo you can learn about how to role model green habits and involve children in earth-friendly lessons and activities. Recipe for Baked Whole Wheat Doughnuts (A-07) is featured along with a week's worth of breakfast, lunch, and snack menus.
Get Going Green!
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South Dakota Food Distribution Newsletter December 2010
There will not be deliveries on Mon., January 17, Martin Luther King Day.
If you do not receive the processed items as shown on your invoice, please mark that on the invoice and fax it to (605) 773-6846. A corrected invoice back.
Net Off Invoicing
A Net Off Invoice (NOI) meeting will be held January 10, 2011 at Cedar Shores Resort in Chamberlain, SD.
At this meeting, we will be providing information on bidding, the lead times, when we should be planning for each level and items that may be offered by distributors. There will be a round robin session to allow face-to-face time with distributors, schools that are currently on NOI and state officials.
Anyone interested in attending should contact
Gay Anderson, CNS Director Brandon Valley, SD, at (605) 582-3926 or
Sandi Kramer, CNS Director Yankton, SD, at (605) 665-8379. Blocks of rooms are being held at the Cedar Shores Resort for the night of the January 9.
Entitlement Information
The entitlement has been updated with the latest figures from USDA. Average Daily Participation (ADP) has been updated according to last years meals served. Please check your ADP. If it is not correct according to last years meals claimed, contact
Mark Moen. If you have reached 100% of your entitlement, you will not receive an order blank.
Trucking Contract
• Dizco Inc. of Sioux Falls has been awarded the contract for the State of South Dakota USDA Trucking.
• The new delivery charges will be $7.78 per hundredweight effective January 1, 2011. This will only affect private and tribal agencies. All others are paid by our office.
Warehouse Contract
• Storage fees are paid by our office for public schools. Private and tribal agencies are responsible for storage payments.
Department of Defense FFAVORS
Due to the upcoming Holidays, the dates in FFAVORS Web will be extended so you may place your produce orders for the week of January 3-7, 2011. Effective Monday December 13, you may begin placing your produce orders for delivery through January 7. Contact
Karen Kenton, DOD Customer Specialist, at (303) 961-1235 with any questions.
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Collecting Lunch Money
By Sandi Kramer CNS / Yankton School District
This is a problem almost all schools have and it seems to get harder every year.
At Yankton High School I have sent notes home with students and they never seem to get home to the parents. It is easy to say “just don’t let them eat”, but most of the times if the parent knows the student needs lunch money they will send it or try to make arrangements with the school. But the trick is to let the parents know without too much time being used for calling or mailing costs.
At Yankton High School we have a program called Phone Master. We use it to let parents know students are tardy or upcoming events like parent teacher conferences. I thought I would try it for letting parents know their student owes lunch money. I taped a generic message that their student at the high school has a negative lunch account and could they please make a deposit as soon as possible. I give the secretary a list and she puts the names in and calls are made by Phone Master at night when parents are usually home.
It is amazing how many parents called and did not even know their students had negative accounts.
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When you’re in a public restroom, do your go for the paper towels or the air dryer after you wash your hands? To get your paws the cleanest, choose the towels.
A recent study put each drying method to the test and revealed that rubbing hands thoroughly dry with paper towels may give people the best chance of walking out of the restroom germ free.
Wet and Dirty
No matter which method you choose. You won’t be rid of germs unless you dry your hands thoroughly. Germs love water. It’s their ideal medium for multiplying and getting around. And the recent study found that putting time and effort to really dry hands completely will mean less germs. And get this: Drying hands vigorously with a paper towel beats rubbing them dry under a blower when it came to germ levels. Seems skin on skin friction created when we rub our hands under the blower somehow releases more germs that live deep in our pores.
Source: RealAge.com
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The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is a Federal program that helps supplement the diets of low-income Americans, including elderly people, by providing them with emergency food and nutrition assistance at no cost.
Under TEFAP, the U.S. Department of Agriculture makes foods available to State Distributing Agencies. The amount of food each State receives is based on the number of unemployed persons, and the number of people with incomes below the poverty level, in the State. States provide the food to local agencies that they have selected and distribute the food to local organizations.
Under TEFAP, the States also receive administrative funds to support the storage and distribution of USDA foods. These funds must be passed down to local agencies. TEFAP is administered at the Federal level by the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. State agencies receive the food and supervise overall distribution
For information on the go to
South Dakota Emergency Food Assistance Program website or contact
Julie McCord at (605) 773-3110.
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Click here to read the policies in full. Contact the state agency as questions arise.
SP 10-2010 is a memo for state agencies regarding grant applications.
SP 09-2011 - Clarification of Competitive Foods and Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value. This memo provides answers to questions from various sources.
SP 08-2011 - Teacher Modeling in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) – This memo changes a rule in the FFVP guidance manual so that classroom teachers can eat fruits and vegetables served in their classroom as part of the FFVP.
SP 07-2011 - Additional Administrative Reviews and State Retention of Improperly-Paid Funds in SY 2010-2011. This memo is guidance for state agency regarding selection of schools for additional administrative reviews and use of funds as the result of an overclaim.
SP 06-2011 - Use of State Administrative Expense Funds in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. This memo is state agency guidance.
SP 05-2011/FD-110 - Further Clarification in Crediting for, and Use of, Donated Foods in Contracts with Food Service Management Companies. This memo reiterates previous statements and provides specific instruction for first and last year of contracts.
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Back Row: Mary Kirk, Melissa Halling, Sandra Kangas, Laurie Schumacher, Lynette Thum, Julie McCord, Marlyce Micklos, Jean Schuurmans
Front Row: Cody Stoeser, Janelle Peterson, Shar Venjohn, Mark Moen
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CHILD NUTRITION INSTITUTE Dates Announced