Other Regulatory Requirements Presented by: Linda Stull Grants Coordination and School Support School Nutrition Training and Programs

Prepayment of Meals It is important that students are able to prepay for meals in a common location, at designated times during the week so that overt identification is prevented. Prepayment of meals should be advertised.

Sample Poster

Student Meal Prices Meals must be served free or at a reduced price. Maximum reduced price for lunch is 40 cents Maximum reduced price for breakfast is 30 cents Neither the USDA nor the MDE set specific paid prices for school lunch, breakfast, special milk or a la carte food items.

Unit Pricing School meals must be priced as a unit (paid or reduced price). Offer versus Serve (OVS) does not affect the unit price of the meal established by the SFA. Regardless of the number of items students select, they must pay the established unit price for a reimbursable meal.

Unit Pricing The USDA sets the maximum price that can be charged for a reduced price lunch or breakfast. Schools may use a tiered pricing structure (example: combo meals, super meals, etc.).

Setting Prices for Adult Meals Adult meals cannot be subsidized by federal funds. Schools have the option of charging all a la carte prices or setting an adult unit price for the whole meal.

Setting Prices for Adult Meals

Competitive Foods Competitive foods are all foods sold in competition with the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) to children in food service areas during the school’s designated lunch or breakfast periods.

Competitive Foods There are two categories of competitive foods: Foods of minimal nutritional value (FMNV) All other foods offered for individual sale

FMNV Categories of FMNV include: Soda water Water ices Chewing gum Certain candies: hard candy, jellies and gums, marshmallow candies, fondant, licorice, spun candy, and candy-coated popcorn

FMNV These foods belong to specific categories that are described in Appendix B of the regulations for the NSLP. Current program regulations prohibit the sale of FMNV in the food service areas during the school meal periods [7 C.F.R (b)]. The regulations do not prohibit their sale outside the food service area at any time during the school day. States and local school food authorities may impose additional restrictions.

FMNV Schools that participate in the NSLP and SBP must prohibit the sale of FMNV in food service areas during the designated meal periods.

Other Foods Offered for Sale Regulations do not prohibit the sale of these foods at any time during the school day anywhere on the school campus, including the school food service areas.

Parent/Student Input The National School Lunch Program regulation requires that each school food authority obtain student and parent input on a yearly basis and keep it on file. There are many different approaches that a district can use to obtain the input

Parent/Student Input Suggestions for student involvement Student food service advisory committee Lunch survey for students Food preference surveys Taste testing parties Youth advisory council

Parent/Student Input Suggestions for parent involvement Parent advisory committee Parent participation day Questionnaires designed for parental input Parent/teacher group meetings designed specifically for the lunch program analysis

Coordinated Review Effort (CRE) State agencies must conduct a CRE in all SFAs at least once during each 5-year review cycle, provided that each SFA is reviewed at least once every 6 years.

Coordinated Review Effort (CRE) During a CRE, only selected schools are reviewed; not all of the schools in the SFA are reviewed. CRE looks at two organizational levels – SFA and school. CRE looks at performance in two time periods, the Day of Review and Review Period. Some findings may extend outside the review period.

Two primary review components: Critical Areas of Review and General Areas of Review. In the Critical Area there are two Performance Standards. Performance Standard 1 – Certification, Counting, and Claiming Performance Standard 2 - Menu Planning Coordinated Review Effort (CRE)

In the General Area, the following areas are reviewed: Free and Reduced Price Process Verification Food Quantities Civil Rights Monitoring Reporting and Recordkeeping Food Safety and Sanitation Procurement

Additional Administrative Reviews (AAR) Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required States to conduct AAR reviews of selected Local Educational Agencies (LEA). LEAs are selected each year based on risk criteria. 1) Verification data indicating a high- level (e.g. top 25% among SFAs within a State) of non-response or response based terminations 2) Consistently claiming over 90% free eligibles or 80% reduced price eligibles

Additional Administrative Reviews (AAR) AARs focus on CRE Performance Standard 1 Critical Areas of Review and the verification component of the General Areas of Review. application, certification, verification, meal counting, and meal claiming procedures.

School Meals Initiative (SMI) Nutrition Review at all participating SFAs once every five years (7 CFR ) Evaluates compliance, over the school week, with the nutrition standards for lunches and, as applicable, for breakfasts The Road to SMI Success - A Guide for School Foodservice Directors roadtosuccess.html. roadtosuccess.html