Congress got rid of a free lunch for all program. That means some students are going hungry1/13/2023 As schools around the country reopen after winter break, their students are being reminded of the lunch debt they've racked up this school year – an ugly reality that follows the end of federal assistance that paid for school meals for more than 50 million students during the pandemic. Click here to read the full article.
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On the heels of last week's news that Minnesota's budget surplus has grown larger, there are renewed calls to approve free school meals for all students, regardless of income.
Districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program receive federal funds to offer free and reduced-price meals to eligible students. A universal program asks the state to provide the remaining funds to cover all students. Click here to read the full article. The White House this week unveiled its new strategy for improving the health of Americans and reducing food insecurity ahead of its Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health, which got underway today.
President Joe Biden announced a goal of ending hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity by 2030 so fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases. Among the initiatives are proposals to develop a front-of-packaging labeling scheme and update the nutrition criteria for the "healthy" claim on food packages. The initiative also calls for facilitating sodium reduction in the food supply by issuing longer-term, voluntary sodium targets for industry, and assessing additional steps to reduce added sugar consumption, including potential voluntary targets. The White House is proposing to increase access to free and nourishing school meals, provide summer benefits to more children and expand Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligibility to more underserved populations. It also wants to work with Congress to pilot coverage of medically tailored meals in Medicare, test Medicaid coverage of nutrition education and other nutrition supports, and expand Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries’ access to nutrition and obesity counseling. Though East Hampton is a solidly middle-class town in Connecticut, dozens of families are applying for free school meals for the first time as they contend with high food costs and tight budgets.
Like their peers in most of the US, East Hampton children soon will no longer automatically receive breakfast and lunch at school without charge as they have for the past two years. That’s because Congress in June did not extend the Covid-19 pandemic waivers that had expanded free school meals to all students, regardless of income. Click here to read the full article.  Nothing says summer like ice cream! You're sure to find the perfect summer treat to serve. Find novelty treats, new flavors, cones and more! Click here to view the guide.
School nutrition professionals are gearing up for more supply chain challenges this upcoming school year, a new report by the School Nutrition Association reveals.
The report compiled findings from a series of listening sessions held this spring with school nutrition professionals, food distributors and state agency staff. During the sessions, participants revealed their current supply chain struggles and anticipated another hard year for school foodservice. Click here to read the full article. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will allocate close to $1 billion to assist school nutrition programs with purchasing American-grown items amid continued supply chain challenges, the Biden administration announced Thursday.
The funds, totaling $943 million, will be dispensed to school districts via state agencies and is supplemental to the $1 billion in procurement assistance that the USDA earmarked for school nutrition programs last December. Click here to read the full article. Supply chain disruptions, inflation and rising gas prices are producing unprecedented complications for school nutrition teams. And the federal government is about to make things worse. Click here to read the full article.
E S Foods announced today that it is acquiring assets of school foodservice company Notables. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Notables is a producer of school meal kits – a specialty of E S Foods for over 15 years. Click here to read the full article.
 The morning meal is in the spotlight as school nutrition programs across the country celebrate National School Breakfast Week, held March 7-11.
In honor of the week, Chartwells K12 Vice President of Culinary Peter Gilhooly spoke with FSD about the special dishes that will appear on Chartwells K12 menus as well as what’s trending in school breakfast. Click here to read the full article from Foodservice Director.  A lawmaker has introduced a bill in Congress that would increase the reimbursement rate for school lunches. The Level Up Nutrition for Children in Every School (LUNCHES) Act would increase the reimbursement rate to 59.5 cents per meal.
Earlier this year, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) raised the reimbursement rate to provide schools with an additional 25 cents per lunch to help combat rising food costs. Click here to read the full article. From the United States Department of Agriculture:
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2022 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced an adjustment in school meal reimbursements to help schools continue to serve children healthy and nutritious meals. This move will put an estimated $750 million more into school meal programs across the nation this year, making sure federal reimbursements keep pace with food and operational costs, while ensuring children continue to receive healthy meals at school.  In a letter to families this week, Indiana School District, Noblesville Schools let them know supply chain issues are causing problems in the lunchroom, which means lunches will have much less variety than normal. Click here to read the full article.
 Problems in the supply chain are showing up in many areas — from companies not producing enough product, to delivery delays and a shortage of workers in the trucking and warehousing industries. Keeping properly stocked with food is a particular issue for schools — and for food banks and pantries, which have seen spikes in hunger due to the pandemic. Click here to read the full article.
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