Tuesday Morning - November 17, 2020 An Update on Federal and State Policy Issuesfrom SNA Table of Contents COVID-19 Policy Updates Delivering Immediate Relief to America's Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act Federal Policy Last Chance to Share Your Thoughts on SNA's 2021 Policy Priorities USDA Announces $10 Million in Farm to School Grants State Snapshots Massachusetts Creates Amendment Requiring Community Eligibility Option Mark Your Calendars Upcoming Team Nutrition Webinar Upcoming Institute of Child Nutrition Webinar Mystery Chat Corner COVID-19 Policy Updates Delivering Immediate Relief to America's Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has introduced S. 4775, the Delivering Immediate Relief to American's Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act. This bill provides $105 billion to the Department of Education (DOE) to establish the Education Stabilization Fund. This funding will provide State and local educational agencies with financial assistance to prevent, prepare and respond to the coronavirus. This funding may be used for planning and coordinating long-term school closures, including how to provide school meals to eligible students and how to provide technology for online learning. This funding will remain available through September 30, 2021. Back to the top School nutrition staff at North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia, gearing up for parents to pick up their students' meal kits for the week. Federal Policy Last Chance to Share Your Thoughts on SNA's 2021 Policy Priorities SNA is preparing to craft its 2021 Position Paper, and it's time to make your voice heard! Please provide your input on the school nutrition program challenges you believe should be addressed. SNA's Public Policy & Legislation Committee will meet to draft the Position Paper on December 4, 2020, and your responses will determine what your regional committee representative will discuss during the drafting. The deadline to submit is today, November 17, 2020. If you have any questions, please reach out to SNA's Government Affairs & Media Relations team at advocacy@schoolnutrition.org. Share your feedback. Back to the top USDA Announces $10 Million in Farm to School Grants The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced its Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) will seek to award $10 million in Farm to School Grants in 2021. Each grant helps implement farm to school programs that increase access to local food in eligible schools, connect children with agriculture for better health and inspire youth to consider careers in agriculture. Applications are due January 8, 2021. Check out FNS's website for Farm to School Grant resources, such as Frequently Asked Questions. Back to the top State Snapshots Massachusetts Creates Amendment Requiring Community Eligibility Provision Amendment 226 of H 5150 requires any public school with 50% or more identified student percentages to implement the federal Community Eligibility Provision 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 USDA training session to learn about the Community Eligibility Provision available to the district before the school committee's vote. Back to the top Mark Your Calendars Upcoming Team Nutrition Webinar This Thursday, November 19, 2020, 2:00 pm ET, join Team Nutrition for the webinar, "Crediting Single-Serving Packages of Grains in the Child and Adult Care Food Program." This webinar will show Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) operators how to credit single-serving packages of grains toward a reimbursable meal or snack. Attendees will have a chance to submit questions to the presenters and check their knowledge through interactive polling questions. Back to the top Upcoming Institute of Child Nutrition Webinar Since the onset of the worldwide pandemic and school closures, school nutrition professionals have taken action from interruptions in their typical daily operations and created innovative, alternate plans to provide meals to our nation’s children. During their upcoming webinar on Thursday, November 19 at 2:00 pm CT, the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) will recognize unspoken heroes across the nation and highlight stories of how school nutrition programs are serving meals during these unprecedented times. Now that schools adjust to their back-to-school plans, it is essential for school nutrition professionals to stay inspired and deliver exceptional service while navigating the current parameters for program operations. Joining us from Greenville County Schools in South Carolina, Lauren Couchois will present how their team has maintained operations through the summer and fall to date. To register for this webinar, visit this link. Back to the top Mystery Chat Corner On November 17, 2003, which famous Austrian actor is sworn in as the Governor of California? A: Arnold Schwarzenegger Back to the top