Tuesday Morning - August 4, 2020 An Update on Federal and State Policy Issuesfrom SNA Table of Contents COVID-19 Policy Updates Pandemic Child Hunger Prevention Act U.S. Senators Send Letter to USDA Regarding the Extension of School Meal Waivers The Small Farm to School Act of 2020 Federal Policy USDA Releases New Cost of Food Report Registration Now Open for Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Online Meeting State Snapshots Massachusetts Creates Amendment Requiring Community Eligibility Option Massachusetts Proposes Bill to Implement Breakfast After the Bell Program Missouri Introduces Legislation to Ensure Access to School Meals During Closures Mark Your Calendars Upcoming SNA Webinar Upcoming Team Nutrition Webinar Mystery Chat Corner COVID-19 Policy Updates Pandemic Child Hunger Prevention Act On July 30, 2020, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) introduced H.R.7887, the Pandemic Child Hunger Prevention Act. This bill would guarantee every child has safe access to healthy school meals during SY 2020-21. With a multitude of families newly eligible for free and reduced-price meals, offering meals to all students at no charge spares overburdened schools the massive task of distributing and processing meal applications and reduces the stigma for children who depend on free meals. The change would also help maximize efforts to maintain social distancing during meal distribution, reducing the risk of COVID-19 exposure for staff and students. Read the full press release. Back to the top Senators Send Letter to USDA Regarding the Extension of School Meal Waivers On July 29, 2020, U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Susan Collins (R-ME), and 34 other senators signed onto a letter sent to the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) expressing support for the extension of critical COVID-19 school feeding waivers. This letter prominently highlights SNA’s letter sent to USDA on July 10th and calls for continued flexibilities that have allowed students to access much-needed meals throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the full press release. Back to the top Small Farm to School Act of 2020 On July 27, 2020, U.S. Representatives Antonio Delgado (NY-19) and Jim Sensenbrenner (WI-5) introduced H.R. 7831, the Small Farm to School Act of 2020. This bipartisan legislation would create an eight-state pilot program to reimburse public schools at a higher rate for providing school lunches sourced from small farmers. In addition, this legislation is backed by multiple agricultural groups, including the New York Farm Bureau and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Back to the top In Houma, Louisiana, Terrebonne Parish School System has served over 115,000 meals to children in their community since schools closed in March. Child Nutrition Program Director Monica Walther states, “We have awesome workers who volunteered to feed the children. I cannot say enough about the people who, when asked, volunteered to work.” Federal Policy USDA Releases New Cost of Food Report On July 29, 2020, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) released its June Cost of Foods Report. This report announced a more than 5% increase in the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan from last year. This increase is more than double the 20-year annual average growth of around 2%. This new update will begin October 1, 2020. Read more on the USDA FNS website. Back to the top Registration Now Open for Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Online Meeting The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has announced its online meeting for Tuesday, August 11, 2020, at 8:30 am Eastern time. USDA and Health and Human Services (HHS) will hold an online-only meeting to hear comments from the public on the Scientific Report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Registration to attend the online meeting and to present oral comments is now open. Back to the top State Snapshots Massachusetts Creates Amendment Requiring Community Eligibility Option House Amendment 184 of HB 4879 requires any public school with 50% or more identified student percentages to elect and implement the federal community eligibility option or Provision 2 to provide universal free breakfast and lunch to all students. A school nutrition director or designee shall be required to attend at least one training by the department to learn about community eligibility provision available to the district before the school committee's vote. Back to the top Massachusetts Proposes Bill to Implement Breakfast After the Bell Program HB 4896 requires all public schools to serve breakfast. In addition, schools where 60% of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) must offer all students a school breakfast after the beginning of the instructional day. Back to the top Missouri Introduces Legislation to Ensure Access to School Meals During Closures SB 12 requires that any student eligible for a free or reduced-price meal through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) shall continue to receive meals during any period in which the student's school is closed, or the student is required or chooses to receive instruction remotely due to the spread of COVID-19. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall ensure that school districts receive the necessary state funding to comply. Back to the top Mark Your Calendars Upcoming SNA Webinar Register for next week’s Back to School Webinar and learn more about innovative approaches to meal delivery during a pandemic. Plus, register for additional webinar opportunities in the fall! If you missed a particular webinar, catch up with SNA’s on-demand webinars. Celebrate and Learn From School Nutrition Heroes Thursday, August 13, 2020, 3:00 PM ET School nutrition professionals across the country have been incredibly innovative and shown a commitment to go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that children across the country continued to be fed, even when schools closed suddenly in the spring due to the pandemic. In this session, the speakers will highlight the efforts of districts across the country. In particular, they will present examples of innovation, out-of-the-box solutions, and accomplishments with the goal of celebrating what was done and sharing critical learnings that can be carried forward. They will include best practices and practical tips that attendees may incorporate into their own plans for the unusual circumstances school nutrition staff now face. Back to the top Upcoming Team Nutrition Webinar Join Team Nutrition on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, 2:00 pm ET, for the webinar, “Track Training Like a Star with the Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool.” Learn more about the new and existing features of the Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool (PSTTT). The PSTTT is a tool designed to assist school nutrition professionals in keeping track of their annually required training hour. This webinar will help listeners gain knowledge and a firsthand view of the benefits of using the PSTTT via live demonstrations. Back to the top Mystery Chat Corner On August 4, 2012, which U.S. swimmer won the 18th gold medal of his Olympic swimming career after winning the 4x100m medley relay with the U.S. men's swim team? A: Michael Phelps Back to the top