Food and Nutrition

Texas Department of Agriculture

Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act

• Every five years Congress must review the laws that ensure millions of American children have access to healthy meals at school and in child care, and 2015 was the year the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act called for another review.

• The 2016 Budget provides $35 million in school equipment grants to ensure schools have the tools they need to serve healthy meals.

• Proposes an increase of $14.5 million in Child Nutrition Programs to reduce waste, fraud and abuse and ensure that program resources are targeted to those most in need.

• Includes $1 million for a new competitive

grant program related to farm-to-school efforts supporting placement of volunteers.

• Websites, documents, pamphlets, brochures, etc. using NDS language prior to 2013 should show the updated language.

• Documents, pamphlets, brochures, etc. using 2013 NDS language should be updated when supplies are exhausted or by September 30.

• All new printing must use the 2015 NDS.

• EXCEPTION: The “And Justice for All…” poster will be updated by USDA at a later date.

HB 1305 (Rep. Bonnen)

Starting with School Year 2015-2016, public and charter schools that are mandated to offer breakfast may operate a locally funded breakfast program in lieu of the federally funded School Breakfast Program.

School districts or charter schools may have schools that operate the School Breakfast Program and other schools that operate a locally funded breakfast program. In these cases, the school district or charter school must fully fund its locally funded breakfast program from resources other than the Child Nutrition Program.

Locally funded breakfast programs are eligible for state compensatory funding. Please note state compensatory funding is administered by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

HB 3562 (Rep. Thompson)

If a school district allows students to use prepaid meal cards or accounts to purchase school meals, the district must establish a grace period during which a student is able to charge meals after the prepaid funds are exhausted.

The school district must also notify the student’s parent or guardian that the student’s meal card or account balance is exhausted. The district is not allowed to charge a fee or interest in connection with meals purchased by the students during the grace period. When the school district notifies the student’s parent or guardian that the student has a negative balance, the district may set a repayment schedule for the meal charges.

View the Charge Policy brochure at: SquareMeals.org/ChargePolicy

Repeal

Deep fryer restrictions, sale of certain carbonated beverages, and time and

place restrictions

Exempted Fundraisers

6 per school campus per school year

State Nutrition Policy

State Nutrition Policy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYK2ZI9PFSk

Menu Enhancement and Nutrition (MENU) Module

Allows CEs to analyze their menus and generate electronic food production records, recipes, and menu worksheets.

Allows for Spanish translation Contains a mobile application feature that will allow parents and students to view their

school’s menus from any mobile device and provide feedback on “likes” and “dislikes”.

Software released

statewide

February 2017

Software pilot

launch finished

with select CEs

December 2016

Training provided

to ESC Specialist

staff

August 2016

Software creation finished

February 2016

Local Wellness Policy Advisory Council

• Purpose

Statewide coordination to provide resources and support to School Food Authorities for developing and implementing impactful and sustainable local wellness policies.

• Goals

• Get 85 percent of School Food Authorities to adopt Local Wellness Policies with high nutrition standards.

• Provide School Food Authorities with resources, training, best practices and implementation strategies.

• Provide School Food Authorities with marketing materials and strategies that support the Local Wellness Policies.

Local Wellness Policy Advisory Council

• Desired Results

• Collaborative Compliance

• Sustainable Healthy School Environments

• Increased Participation in School Nutrition Programs

• Increased Community Involvement in Student Health and Wellness

State Agencies

Health Professions

Educational Entities

Nutrition Interests

Bimonthly Meetings

Local Wellness Policy

• Suggested Resources

• Department of State Health Services

• WellSAT 2.0

• Smarter Lunchroom Toolkit

• Texas Association of School Boards

• Template for Local Wellness Policies Includes planned changes • policy.tasb.org

• Texas Action for Healthy Kids

• Wellness Policies 101

Look for new resources on SquareMeals.org!

• More than 600 Administrative Reviews planned for School Year 2015-2016

• 246 Administrative Reviews in 2014-2015

• Offsite reviews began in July

• Onsite reviews began in September

• Staff augmentation

New Approach to Ensuring Compliance with Regulations

• Existing rules streamlined into one source

• FSMC contracts

• Challenges • Co-Op purchases • Consultants

• Resources and training: • SquareMeals.org/Procurement • fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/procuring-local-foods

Improving health and wellness for entire communities

Outreach Promote healthy living

initiatives

Increase participation in TDA’s Food and Nutrition programs

Improve understanding of federal nutrition guidelines

Assist Coordinate the

development and delivery of resources

Build community capacity to create long-term initiative success

Partner Identify needs &

mobilize communities Connect with elected

officials, school administrators, parents, and like-minded community leaders

Leverage volunteers & partnerships with local organizations

Network Healthy Community

Network

Farm Fresh Network

Local organizations

Success Showcase healthy role

models

Inspire Texans to choose healthy lifestyles and build stronger communities

Project: TDA AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer Program Locations: 66 Counties Throughout the State Project Sponsor: Texas Department of Agriculture Project Issue Area: Wellness Policy Development VISTAs: 20 (+ 2 VISTA team leaders)

TDA AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers will:

Live and actively participate in rural Texas communities for 1 year

Ensure that low-income youth receive the benefits of good school wellness policies

Conduct community outreach & encourage engagement

Speak in public forums to inform, educate, & engage local citizens

Help community leaders revise school wellness policies

Develop strategies to expand meal services to children in need

Match local farmers to schools for direct sourcing of nutritious ingredients

Assist Local Education Agencies (LEAs) with building capacity to promote healthy futures for targeted youth

SquareMeals.org/StateFair

2016 Summer Food Service Program Conference

February 17-19 in Austin

SquareMeals.org/SummerConference

REMINDER: Be sure to encourage participation by

giving students the Summer Food Service

Program flyers before the end of school!

Texas Elementary Schools – Discover the Great Plate of Texas!

Texas High Schools – Power Up with

Breakfast

Farm Fresh Fridays Campaign

For Schools and Child Care Centers

For Farmers and Ranchers

For Parents and Families

www.FarmFreshFridays.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KYmGwJpq3M

2015’s RECORD PARTICIPATION included:

92 Public School Districts

5 Charter or Private Schools

2,049 school campuses representing more than 2 million students!

TDA outreach materials included:

Suggested menu with recipes

Menu calendar template

Educational activities

Seasonality Wheel providing extra excitement about seasonal produce!

Perfect Peach Award

Recognizing 67 participants that incorporated Texas grown items in three different meal components during October

• Sustainable Food Center in Austin

The Sustainable Food Center’s grant supports a Texas Farm to School Training for small- and mid-sized farmers and ranchers, farm advocates, and agencies.

• Elgin ISD

Elgin will be one of the few school districts in Texas implementing farm to school across all campuses!

• North East ISD in San Antonio

The materials from North East ISD will be valuable to all schools in Texas interested in starting their own gardens.

The National Farm to School Survey revealed

• 42,173 schools were engaged in farm to school activities as of school year 2014-2015

• $598 million was invested in local foods; representing a $212 million increase from the previous survey

The National Farm to School Survey revealed

• 75 percent of respondents engaged in farm to school activities indicated that they experienced at least one of the following benefits:

o Reduced food waste

o Lower school meal program costs

o Greater acceptance of the new meal pattern

o Increased participation

o Greater community support

Jump with Jill is the world’s only rock & roll nutrition show! Jump with Jill uses music and dance to celebrate healthy habits by transforming nutrition education into a live concert.

The show encourages audiences to...

Respect their bodies through healthy choices

Fuel their engines with the best energy!

Get goin’ with breakfast

Enjoy nature’s candy (aka FRUIT!)

Eat superpower vegetables

Drink water!

Get calcium for strong bones

Austin Dallas Houston San Antonio

Joslin Elementary Arthur Kramer Elementary

Calvert Elementary

Castle Hills Elementary

KIPP Austin Leadership Elementary

Kleberg Elementary

Cedar Brook Elementary

Olmos Elementary

Maplewood Elementary

Lee A. McShan Jr. Elementary

Dunn Elementary Redland Oaks Elementary

Reilly Elementary Margaret B. Henderson Elementary School

Goodman Elementary

Wilderness Oak Elementary

Sanchez Elementary

Martin Luther King, Jr. Learning Center

Spring Branch Elementary

Wilshire Elementary

TDA Boost Meal Appeal Online Resources

Now available for CACFP as well as NSLP!

Easy to use planning tools and more at: SquareMeals.org/BoostMealAppeal

Find out about what other schools are doing and get ideas to

Chefs in Texas Schools

Introducing tips and tricks from school nutrition experts all over Texas! Find useful information for serving all age groups.

Resources include Chef Spotlight biographies and Tips from the Pros for fresh ideas.

The USDA Professional Standards rule went into effect July 1, 2015

Continuing education can be provided by a variety of training sources

USDA, TDA and ESCs make training available at no cost to School Food Authorities

School Year 2015-2016

1,656 sites at 171 districts

114 districts participating in district-wide with CEP

Online Tool

SquareMeals.org/CEPGuide

Offers an easy step-by-step evaluation for schools

Direct Certification

$584.11 each awarded to 192

school districts in Spring 2015

SFA Equipment Grant

$3,094,630.78 awarded for 239 projects

USDA Farm to School Grant 2 Texas schools and 1 support organization will receive funding

Meal Appeal University

The two-day interactive workshop featured innovative ways to prepare and serve meals that kids want to eat:

Hands-on classes taught by chefs

A session on improving customer service

A computer skills class to develop posters to promote school meals

Farm to School Regional Academies

Training sessions will be held for school nutrition program staff and farmers and ranchers.

Each workshop will include training sessions tailored to regional needs and a dedicated networking opportunity for nutrition staff and producers attending the training.

Federal selection criteria favor CEP Schools

Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Program award amount Program Year 2016 - $9,015,708

291 Schools Participating in

School Year 2015-2016!

The award focuses on creating a healthy school environment by:

Providing nutrition education

Encouraging physical education and activity

Involving the students, staff, parents and community in all wellness efforts

Texas has 1,007 awards – MORE THAN ANY OTHER STATE!

USDA has provided additional resources to help districts attain HUSSC award status.

The current application process is less cumbersome than in the past.

Thanks to a simplified application process, school districts that have achieved Healthy Schools Program awards may achieve “dual” award status and receive both the HUSSC Award and the Healthy Schools Program award simultaneously.

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race,

color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

(1) mail:

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

1400 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;

(2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or

(3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.