Subject: Food Services
Renewal for 2000-2001 School Year Agreement
Renewal of Policy Statement for Free and Reduced Price Meals
Eligibility for Severe Need Breakfast Reimbursement
Afterschool Snack Program
Special Milk Program
ARKids 1st - School Districts Can Help
Smart Start - Smart Step - Nifty Nutrition Connection
Renewal of Agreement
In a separate mailing each district will receive two copies of the Renewal of the Agreement between the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) and the School Food Authority (SFA). This agreement must be completed to participate in the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program, and/or the Afterschool Snack Program for the regular school term and/or the summer sessions of the 2000-2001 school year. Please complete the Agreement, indicating the programs you plan to continue operating and any new programs you plan to implement.
Schedule A is attached to the Agreement. It provides the current information for each school in your district. Please make corrections and additions to Schedule A to reflect the correct information for the 2000-2001 school year.
Renewal of Policy Statement for Free and Reduced Price Meals
In a separate mailing each district will receive two copies of the Policy Statement for Free and Reduced Price Meals for the 2000-2001 school year. Please read the Policy Statement and attachments carefully. Complete, sign, and return both copies. Attachments (pages C1-C22) should not be returned with the Policy Statement unless changes have been made.
Return two copies of the Renewal of Agreement and Schedule A along with two copies of the Renewal of Policy Statement for Free and Reduced Price Meals by June 1 to:
Child Nutrition Unit, ADE
2020 West Third St., Suite 404
Little Rock, AR 72205-4465
One copy of the Renewal of Agreement, Schedule A, and Policy Statement will be returned to the Food Service Authority after it has been approved.
Eligibility for Severe Need Breakfast Reimbursement
USDA provides additional reimbursement for the School Breakfast Program for individual schools that meet the following criteria:
(1) The reimbursement rates under the regular breakfast program are insufficient to cover the cost of the program.
(2) The school is currently participating in or desiring to initiate the breakfast program.
(3) Forty percent (40%) or more of the lunches served to students at the school in the second preceding school year (1998-99) were served free or at a reduced price. (Records of meals served by category must be maintained by school. Eligibility cannot be determined based on combined records of two schools served in the same site.)
Applications for Severe Need Reimbursement for the School Breakfast Program for the 2000-2001 school year will be mailed to those schools approved last year. If you have one or more schools you believe to be eligible and wish to apply, you may contact Jimmy Burks at (501) 324-9502. Please remember that reports verifying breakfast meal costs are required. If reports verify that the full severe need reimbursement rate was not needed to cover costs, the unused funds must be returned.
Afterschool Snack Program
Reimbursement is available for snacks served to students who are 18 years old or under and participate in a program to provide after school care. ADE Director's Memo #IA-99-012 dated 03/03/99 contains the requirements to receive this reimbursement. If you have questions about this new program call Barbara Smith at (501) 324-9502.
Special Milk Program
The Special Milk Program is available for students who do not have access to lunch, breakfast, or afterschool snacks. If your district is interested in this program, please contact Barbara Smith at (501) 324-9502.
ARKids 1st - Information and Waiver
ARKids 1st is a state-sponsored insurance program for children that went into effect September 1997. ARKids 1st offers health insurance to working families who cannot afford the high cost of insurance. For minimal co-payments, families are able to secure health care for their children. The Medicaid insurance program is another option open to children who qualify.
Public schools are requested to assist in the distribution of the ARKids 1st Health Insurance Program information and the referral of interested parents to the Arkansas Department of Human Service (DHS). This is a voluntary decision for each school.
The enclosed waiver (attachment C23) and program handout (attachment C24) can be used as the mechanism for parent referrals to DHS. Schools are encouraged to send these two items home with the free and reduced price meal applications. This waiver does not release any information on the free and reduced price meal application. It simply provides the name and address of parents interested in receiving more information.
For information regarding ARKids 1st program, contact the Arkansas Department of Human Services resource personnel at 1-888-474-8275.
Smart Start--- Smart Step---Nifty Nutrition Connection
The "Nifty Nutrition" Program provides teachers the opportunity to use food and nutrition information to teach basic skills, applications of knowledge, higher order and critical thinking, as encouraged by Smart Start and Smart Step. A teacher guide for each grade level includes lesson plans, audiovisuals, posters, food experiences and optional skill integration activities. The skill integration section includes a matrix identifying the Stanford Objectives and skills covered in each lesson and activity.
A Team Nutrition Grant funded by USDA will make it possible for approximately 250 additional classrooms (kindergarten through sixth grade) to participate in Nifty Nutrition with Skill Integration Activities during the 2001-2002 school year. Schools interested in applying for a Nifty Nutrition Grant should contact Jerry Swope at (501) 324-9502.