Superintendents
Co-op Directors
other: Child Nutrition Directors

Regulatory Authority:
7 CFR Parts 210, 215, 220, 227, 245, PL 108-265

Phone Number:
501-324-9502

E-mail:
bsmith@arkedu.k12.ar.us

MAY 10, 2006 DEADLINE:

To expedite submission of the Child Nutrition Program AGREEMENT and POLICY STATEMENT a CD-Rom with forms/attachments will be mailed to each district. A district must complete the forms and return with required original documents.

AGREEMENT:

School Districts will receive by mail, two sets of the Original AGREEMENT between the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) and the School Food Authority (SFA)/Local Education Agency (LEA). This agreement must be completed to participate in the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Afterschool Snack Program and/or the Special Milk Program for the regular school term and/or the summer sessions of the 2006-2007 school year.

A district must complete the Original AGREEMENT, indicating the programs the school district plans to continue operating, dates of operation, and any new programs the district plans to implement. The legal document, “Original AGREEMENT between School Food Authority and Arkansas Department of Education”, is NOT on the CD-Rom. The AGREEMENT included in the mailed packet must be completed for return to ADE.

Because of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-265) the following requirements have been added to the Agreement for School Year (SY) 2006-2007:

· Two Health Inspections each school year at each serving and preparation site (Attachment A-5)

· Food Safety Plan implementation for each serving and preparation site (Attachment A-4)

· Wellness Policy implementation for each district (Attachment A-3).

BREAKFAST MANDATE:

Reminder: Act 826 of 1991 requires all schools with 20% or more of the students eligible for free and reduced price meals during the preceding school year, to provide students access to a federal school breakfast program.

DIRECT CERTIFICATION:

Direct Certification is the process that identifies students as eligible for free meals because they live in a household receiving food stamps. Each school district in Arkansas will participate in the Direct Certification. For additional information, please see Commissioner’s Memo FIN-06-067.

VERIFICATION:

USDA requires each school district to verify income information for certain applications and report to the Department of Education the summary results of the district verification process for the 2006-2007 school year.

There is a NEW TIMELINE for Verification. Verification will be based on the number of approved applications on file October 1, 2006, and must be completed by November 15, 2006.

Districts will report to the Child Nutrition Unit the Verification Summary Report (FNS-742) that must be completed and emailed by December 15, 2006. There is a Verification button on the Child Nutrition website with steps for completing the Verification process.

ELIGIBILITY FOR SEVERE NEED BREAKFAST REIMBURSEMENT:

ADE Commissioner’s Memo FIN-06-057 outlined the application process to be completed by March 10, 2006, for SY 2006-2007 severe need reimbursement. School districts receive written notification designating the schools eligible for Severe Need breakfast reimbursement prior to July 1.

SAFETY NET REIMBURSEMENT:

School districts that served 60% or more of the total lunches to students eligible for free or reduced price meals in the second preceding school year (2004-2005) are designated “Safety Net” districts. These districts will receive two cents additional reimbursement for each lunch served. “Safety Net” districts have been designated for the 2006-2007 school year on the CN Program Schedule A enclosed in the mailed packet.

SPECIAL MILK PROGRAM:

The Special Milk Program is available for students who do not have access to lunch, breakfast, or afterschool snacks. If the district is interested in this program, please contact Barbara Smith at (501) 324-9502.

School Child Nutrition PROGRAM SCHEDULE A:

Two copies of the individual district’s Child Nutrition (CN) Program Schedule A are enclosed in the packet mailed to the district. Please make CORRECTIONS and ADDITIONS to the CN Program Schedule A to reflect the correct information for the 2006-2007 school year. A blank CN Program Schedule A form (in Excel format) is included on the CD-Rom for additions (new schools, consolidations, annexations, etc.) or corrections, if necessary.

To receive CNU, ADE approval, this district CN Program Schedule A with UPDATES for 2006-2007 must be returned to CNU, as part of the Agreement packet. The CN Program Schedule A must have the District’s Child Nutrition Director’s Signature for EACH school to verify the Meal Planning Option (Meal Pattern) being used by the district.

The Three Steps to Healthy School Meals is a meal planning system that was developed to assist districts in meeting the USDA nutritional goals. Please check the appropriate box by each school on CN Program Schedule A if this resource is being used to plan menus. This will assist the Child Nutrition Unit in monitoring and soliciting grant funds to update these materials.

Three new items have been added to the CN Program Schedule A. If the school is a year round school, please check the Year Round School box. If the school is a Provision 2 school, please check the Provision 2 box. If the District Child Nutrition Director is a Certified Director through ADE, please check the ADE Certified Director box next to the Child Nutrition Director (CND) contact information.

DO NOT SUBMIT THIS AGREEMENT WITHOUT BOTH ORIGINAL UPDATED COPIES OF THE CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM SCHEDULE A that was mailed to the district as part of the mailed packet.

AFTERSCHOOL SNACK SCHEDULE B:

Reimbursement is available for afterschool snacks served to students 18 years old or under and participate in a program to provide an afterschool education program. If one or more of the schools in the district plan to have afterschool programs and would like to provide afterschool snacks, read the AFTERSCHOOL SNACK Program federal requirements beginning on Page 5 of the Original AGREEMENT. Complete the attached Schedule B SY 2006-2007 for Afterschool Snack Programs. When signing the Schedule B the district agrees to meet all the program requirements. REMEMBER, NO REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE AFTERSCHOOL SNACK PROGRAM CAN BE PAID UNLESS THE AFTERSCHOOL SNACK PROGRAM SCHEDULE B IS COMPLETED AND APPROVED PRIOR TO THE START OF THE PROGRAM.

SEAMLESS SUMMER OPTION SCHEDULE C-07:

The Seamless Summer Option is for the summer of 2007. This program makes it possible to serve up to two (2) meals per day (breakfast, lunch, morning snack, afternoon snack and/or supper) free to students participating in summer programs, other than regular summer school. To participate in the program option during the summer of 2007, complete the Schedule C-07-SEAMLESS SUMMER OPTION (SSO) FUNDED THROUGH THE ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION at least two (2) weeks prior to the start of the program. Remember, all sites requesting a Seamless Summer Option will be checked with the Special Nutrition Program, Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services to eliminate duplication of effort. Schedule C-07 can be found on the CD-Rom.

Original POLICY STATEMENT for Free and Reduced Price Meals:

The mailed packet has enclosed TWO COPIES of the Original POLICY STATEMENT for Free and Reduced Price Meals for the 2006-2007 school year and one set of the Free and Reduced Price Meal Application Packet (Attachment P-2). Complete, sign and return BOTH copies of the Original POLICY STATEMENT for Free and Reduced Price Meals 2006-2007 School Year. Please read the Policy Statement and Free and Reduced Price Meals Application Packet carefully.

The Free and Reduced Price Meals Packet Forms (Attachment P-2) should not be returned with the POLICY STATEMENT unless changes have been made to the forms. Send two copies of any changed forms for approval by CNU, ADE with the two signed copies of the Original Policy Statement.

MEAL ELIGIBILITY FORMS:

The Free and Reduced Price School Meals Application and Verification forms can be printed from the CD-Rom sent to the districts and modified to include school district information.

The Free and Reduced Price School Meals Application has been translated into Spanish and can be found at http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/FRP/frp.process.htm Other translations that will be made available on this website in April 2006 are: Russian, Vietnamese, Chinese (Mandarin), Japanese, Serbo-Croatian, Arabic, Korean, Somali, Cambodian/Khmer, French, Hmong, Haitian Creole, Laotian, Polish, Portuguese, Sudanese, Thai, Urdu, Hindi, Kurdish, Farsi, Greek, Samoan and Tagalog.

May 10, 2006 DEADLINE:

Complete and return both copies of:

1. Original AGREEMENT with the following attachments:

A. A-1 Procurement*
B. A-2 Civil Rights*
C. A-3 Wellness Policy Checklist*
D. A-4 Food Safety Plan*
E. A-5 Health Inspection Statement*

2. Child Nutrition Schedules for Agreement:

A. CN Program Schedule A – All programs updated (must update originals)
B. Schedule B – Afterschool Snacks* (if applicable)
C. Schedule C-07 – Seamless Summer 2007* (if applicable)

3. Original POLICY STATEMENT for Free and Reduced Price Meals* with all attachments:

A. P-1 Collection Procedure*
B. P-2 Packet with Application and Letters* (if changes made)
C. P-3 Media Release* (if changes made)
D. P-4 Child Nutrition Contact Information*

4. Checklist* (only one copy)

*Items are on the CD-Rom.
Also included on the CD-Rom that do not need to be returned are:

A. P-5 Application and Letter to Household only (make any changes to Attachment P-2 Packet)
B. P-6 Spanish Application and Letters

Please DO NOT HOLD any paperwork for a new superintendent’s signature and/or meal prices. The Agreement and Policy Statement can be updated at anytime during the school year with a letter from the superintendent. If the district has a change in Superintendent or Child Nutrition Director, a letter from the district with the new Superintendent and/or Child Nutrition Director’s original signature must be sent to Wanda Shockey, Director, Child Nutrition Unit, ADE. Please complete and return the checklist enclosed with the mailed packet to be sure that all requested materials are returned.

Mail to:

Child Nutrition Unit, ADE
2020 West Third Street, Suite 404
Little Rock, AR 72205-4465


An Original Agreement, CN Program Schedule A, Policy Statement and all attachments will be returned to the School Food Authority after it has been approved and signed by Wanda Shockey, ADE Child Nutrition Unit Director.