Welcome to SFSP Training Module 3.

No Additional Notes

No Additional notes

There are several waivers that the USDA approved for use during the COVID-19 emergency. We will discuss those waivers and how to use them in this training.

If or When the waivers are extended or expire, IDOE will communicate all changes via the food service contact email address. Please make sure that the food service contact email address is checked regularly.

The first available waiver is Non-Congregate Feeding

Waives requirement that meals must be eaten on-site to prevent the spread oft COVID-19. Additionally, the waiver allows up-to 5 days’ worth of breakfasts and lunches to be distributed for one child at one time.

Current Expiration Date for Non-Congregate Meal Service is August 31, 2020

Meal service options vary when using this waiver:

● Meal service frequency is left up to the sponsor such as daily, weekly or any other combination.

● Two meal types can be distributed at the same time using grab and go meal service. For instance breakfast and lunch can be distributed at the same time.

● A maximum of 5 meals of each meal type can be distributed at one time. For example 5 breakfast meals and 5 lunch meals can be distributed to each participant on the day of meal service. Sponsors cannot exceed the distribution of 7 meals per week. This flexibility allows UP TO 5 meals a day, but sponsors can decide how many to distribute, for instance 4 or 3 or 2 meals can be distributed.

● If wishing to provide meals for all 7 days of the week, the sponsor must distribute meals at least two days per week.

● Sponsors must ensure that meals are going to children 18 years and younger. There is no reimbursement for adult meals.

While meal service frequency is left up to each sponsor, sponsors are encouraged to consider their ability to serve multiple meals and the demand for meals in their community. IDOE recommends starting with daily distribution to determine attendance before passing out multiple days worth of meals. The meal pattern must be met for each meal served regardless of how many meals are served at one time.

Serving meals on certain days of the week presents some challenges within CNPweb. Please select only the days of distribution on the site information page. In the example at the top of this slide, the sponsor distributes 5 meals on Mondays only, so they selected Monday as their day of meal service at this site. This allows us to post the most accurate meal service information on public site listings.

In the general comments box, you can list how and where meals are distributed at the site. In the example picture at the bottom of this slide, the sponsor listed their meal service method. (read box)

Next waiver is the waiver for Monitoring responsibilities.

Allows sponsors to delay on-site monitoring of SFSP sites until the state of emergency has ended.

The current Expiration Date for this waiver is June 30

Required on-site monitoring visits (first week visit and site review) are waived until the state of emergency is lifted.

Sponsors are still required to conduct regular reviews of meal counting and menu documentation paperwork from all sites even when on-site monitoring visits are not completed.

Please ensure all documentation is completed fully and accurately.

Next is the waiver for meal pattern flexibilities:

At the discretion of the state agency, allows for meal pattern flexibilities in instances where certain items or components may not be available.

Current Expiration date for this waiver is June 30, 2020. The USDA regularly reviews the need for this waiver and will likely extend the use only if there is a need to continue it.

The meal pattern must be met for all meals served.

Use of the waiver involves prior approval from IDOE. We will grant meal pattern exceptions on a case by case basis in the event that a food supply line is disrupted.

Should a menu component become unavailable, immediately contact your field specialist for approval prior to meal service.

Sponsors should keep the available food supply in mind as they plan menus and select stores or vendors to provide food for summer meal service. Substitutions for items on the menu where the meal pattern can be met will not be granted a meal pattern exception.

IDOE has not yet seen a major disruption in the food supply line in any area of the state.

Next, the waiver for area eligible sites:

At the discretion of the state agency, allows closed enrolled sites to be located in areas that do not meet the area-eligibility definition.

Sponsors must show how they are targeting free and reduced price eligible households within the area.

The expiration Date for this waiver is September 30

• Sites that do not meet the are eligibility requirements are approved as closed enrolled based on the outreach to free and reduced qualifying households.

• Currently, it may be difficult for non-school sponsors to show they are specifically targeting free and reduced approved households. Non-school sponsors may work with schools to determine the eligibility status of certain children.

• Keep in mind that once the wavier expires, sites would need to be re-established as closed enrolled using usual SFSP methods. If using the closed enrolled status, at least 50% of the children served must be eligible for free or reduced price meals or the site must be located in an eligible area via nearest elementary or census data.

Next Waiver is Parent Pick-up:

Allows sponsors to serve meals to parents and guardians without a child present.

Sponsors must guarantee meals are given to adults with children in the household and have a system in place to prevent duplicate meal service.

Expiration Date for this waiver is August 31, 2020

Sponsors may serve meals to a parent or guardian without children present.

Each sponsor must ensure program integrity and accountability.

• This requires established processes to ensure meals are distributed only to parents or guardians of eligible children, and that duplicate meals are not distributed.

• Field Specialists and SFSP program staff can help sponsors create a plan to ensure program integrity.

The final waiver we will discuss is the use of Offer versus Serve

Allows sponsors to utilize Offer versus Serve (OVS) when offering grab and go meal service.

Current Expiration date for this waiver is September 30

The USDA was very clear that Offer versus Serve cannot be utilized to limit the distribution of a specific meal component. In order to utilize OVS, sponsors must provide the ability for any component to be declined.

This means that milk cannot be the only component that a household can decline.

IDOE must approve the use of the waiver before implementation and will only grant OVS as a meal service option on a case-by-case basis.

A written plan for how the meal service will occur will be required as part of the approval process.

Please work with other sponsors to help establish the eligibility of a child in the least restrictive way possible.

Child nutrition programs are allowed to share the Free or reduced status of children with other child nutrition program without a disclosure agreement.

Sponsors may be seeking the status of many children at one time, so processing applications could be a burden.

If a child attends a CEP school, sponsors must use current year eligibility data, so this may involve the use of DC look-up. Simply stating that a child attends a CEP school and is therefore free eligible is not correct.

IDOE cannot approve any information after the fact! Your sponsor application must be submitted in a timely manner to ensure we have enough time to review it for approval before you begin serving meals. Changes to your site operations must also be approved prior to implementation.

Please ensure the correct Site Supervisor is listed on each site information page. This person is responsible for the oversight of meal service each day. This is not necessarily the site supervisor for the entire organization. Please make sure the site supervisor designated on each site information page is present in the meal service area during meal distribution.

Federal regulations require a trained Site Supervisor be present at each meal service where meals are claimed for reimbursement. Enter the name of the person or people who will be actually present during the meal service and can answer questions about the meal service operations.

Current section (#28) for Site Supervisor entry has been expanded in order to enter multiple trained staff, if applicable. Please list only those staff who have oversight responsibilities at the site.

No Additional Notes

No Additional Notes

Thank you! The code word for this training module is “Rocks” you should now have a complete phrase revealed to show to attended all three training modules.