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Home > Rules & Legislation > Letters from the Commissioner > Administrative Letter 001 School Nutrition and U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Program Agreements, and School Nutrition ApplicationsADMINISTRATIVE LETTER: 1 TO: Superintendents of Schools/Private School Administrators ** Please forward to Assistant Superintendents, Principals, and Food Service Directors ** Please join us in preparing for the 2009-10 School Year as we work to offer healthier meals and nutritional information and address children’s health. All forms for the Child Nutrition Services Office are accessible via the Internet. All forms are listed as enclosures at the end of this letter with one direct link to the Forms Page. Please make sure your food service personnel have online capability to receive this and other pertinent information during the year.
Please download, print, complete and return the following forms by August 15, 2009: Policy Statement for Free and Reduced Price Meal Benefits; Letter to Parents; Suggested Anonymity and Accountability Systems (which now contains the Application/Agreement for After-School Care Snacks in the National School Lunch Program, for those participating in the After-School Snack Program); USDA Food Program Recall/Hold; IDs, Passwords and Starting Information; and Agreement for Child Nutrition Programs. Return to: Maine Department of Education, Child Nutrition Services, 23 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0023. The Program Application is available on the web and must be completed by each Local Education Agency (LEA) prior to submitting claims for reimbursement for School Year 2009-10. The application, which is filed via the Internet, must be submitted and locally approved by August 15, 2009. Applications will be reviewed by Department of Education staff for final approval. Failure to complete an application by the deadline will delay claims payment. The web address is http://www.maine.gov/education/sfsr1.htm .
Reimbursement Rates for the 2009-10 School Year will become available on our webpage http://www.maine.gov/education/sfs/ during the month of July 2009. Public schools will receive State reimbursement per lunch, in addition to the Federal reimbursement.
The USDA Food Program forms are completed electronically at the following webpage: http://www.maine.gov/education/sfsr1.htm . The information is entered by Local Education Agency (LEA) staff. LEA staff have been given IDs and passwords to access the USDA Food Program (FD) System. USDA Food Program entitlements for the 2009-10 School Year will be available on our webpage during the month of August 2009. (See the “Master File” Report under Report List.). The first offering Letter will be available September 1-15, 2009. The Shipping Addresses form can be completed at any time prior to your first order.
To complete your USDA Food Program Recall/Hold form, please download a form from http://www.maine.gov/education/forms/childnutrition/commodities/commodityfoods.htm . Please complete information on the primary and secondary contact person who will immediately pass information on to all Food Service areas to protect Maine’s students from possible danger. Please return your updated form to the Child Nutrition Services Office, Department of Education. This form must be completed and submitted yearly.
As defined in Federal Regulation 7CFR210.16, a Food Service Management Company (FSMC) is a commercial enterprise or a non-profit organization which is, or may be, contracted with/by the Local Education Agency (LEA) to manage any aspect of School Food Service (SFS). The Federal Regulation change requires all LEAs to be using the new contract language. Contracts between a LEA and a FSMC must be reviewed annually prior to implementation by the State Agency as required by 7CFR210(a)(6). The contract must be submitted to the Maine Department of Education. The Maine Department of Education provides an acceptable contract template to be used by all LEA contracts with a FSMC. Failure to use this contract could result in rejection of contracts submitted and possible delay or loss of reimbursement. Additions to the contract, if needed, should be attached as a rider. The contract template is available at http://www.maine.gov/education/sfs/fsmc.html . Contact Walter Beesley at 624-6875 or email walter.beesley@maine.gov for any questions.
Printed applications are not available from the State Agency. Each Local Education Agency (LEA) must download and print a sufficient number of applications to cover the projected student enrollment. Please be reminded to print both the front and back of the Free and Reduced Price School Meal Application. Applications are located on the Department of Education Reporting Forms page at http://www.maine.gov/education/forms/childnutrition/agreeappl/agreeapplforms.htm under Child Nutrition Services and are downloadable. Please refer to the Income Guidelines when approving the Free and Reduced Price Meal Applications and Free Milk Applications. In addition to English, Applications for Free and Reduced Price School Meals are available in the following languages: Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese (Mandarin), Farsi, French, Greek, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Laotian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Samoan, Serbo-Croatian, Somali, Spanish, Sudanese, Tagalog, Thai, Urdu, and Vietnamese. The website address is: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/FRP/frp.process.htm . Should you need assistance, please contact Sandy St.Michel at (207) 624-6843 or email sandy.stmichel@maine.gov .
Completion of the Agreement for Child Nutrition Programs is required this year for all School Administrative Units. This agreement usually is effective for an extended period of time. This was last done in August 2003. This year with all the SAU changes, new agreements will be required for all SAUs. Please sign and return the agreement by August 15, 2009. DOE will be unable to provide Federal or State subsidy until a signed agreement is received and approved by DOE. The Agreement is available online for printing at the Child Nutrition Services forms page at http://www.maine.gov/education/forms/childnutrition/agreeappl/agreeapplforms.htm
A form is attached for schools to obtain permission from parents to share free and reduced price information for other educational purposes or testing. Applications are to be used for Food Service purposes only, unless parent permission has been obtained.
The Direct Certification Predetermined Eligibility List is for free meals or free milk and will be available online. The legal agent (Superintendent or Headmaster) is the only individual authorized to access the direct certification list. Students who are on the pre-determined eligibility list do not need to fill out a Free and Reduced Price School Meal Application. Any questions about accessing the direct certification list may be directed to the Child Nutrition Services Office at 207-624-6842 or 207-624-6843.
To expedite the delivery of nutritional benefits, school officials may accept documentation that the children are homeless from the local homeless liaison or directors of homeless shelters where the children reside. Documentation to substantiate free meal eligibility must consist of the child’s name or a list of names, effective date(s), and the signature of the local educational liaison or the director of the homeless shelter. This documentation is acceptable in lieu of a Free and Reduced Price School Meal Application.
Federal law requires that Verification of Applications for Free and Reduced Price School Meals under Child Nutrition Services must be completed by each Local Education Agency (LEA). Each Local Education Agency (LEA) must submit the Verification Summary Report by November 20 of every year. This process is used to verify the accuracy of information submitted by the applicant. The web address for the Verification Summary Report is located at http://www.maine.gov/education/forms/childnutrition/agreeappl/efn90.html , and must be submitted online by filling in all the spaces on the form. If blank spaces are left, the form will not be processed. The form can be printed to use as a guide or for your records. After you have submitted the report, an email will be automatically returned to the person filing the form and to David Hartley at the Child Nutrition Services Office. If you have any questions please contact David Hartley at david.hartley@maine.gov or 624-6878. Failure to complete verification will affect claims for reimbursement and grant payments.
Lunch service shall take place no earlier than 10:00 a.m. and no later than 2:00 p.m. during each school day. Lunch is part of the school day.
The maximum student lunch rate for the 2009-10 School Year is $2.50 for elementary and high school students. Reduced Price for Lunch is no more than $.40. To exceed maximum student paid lunch, a yearly waiver must be requested. Effective July 1, 2008, students eligible for Reduced Price School Breakfast at public schools cannot be charged for breakfast. Breakfast meals must be counted and claimed as Reduced. A state reimbursement of $.30 per public school breakfast will be reimbursed with the submittal of the monthly claim. Private schools can not charge more than $.30 for Reduced Price School Breakfast.
The adult lunch rate must be, at a minimum, the per meal cost. It must cover the cost of the meal.
Schools that have a reimbursable After-School Care Snacks Program must complete the After- School Care Snacks Program section, located on the second page of the Suggested Anonymity and Accountability Systems form. This information was previously completed on a separate form, but has now been relocated to the Suggested Anonymity and Accountability Systems form. The maximum charge for Reduced Price Snacks is $.15. There is no maximum charge for Paid Snacks.
Schools must establish a separate written policy regarding lost, stolen and replacement of tickets that provides for equal treatment to children in all meal payment or eligibility groups. Guidance is offered on our web page at http://www.maine.gov/education/forms/childnutrition/agreeappl/guidelineshandlingpolicies08.rtf
The ID and password assigned to a person constitute the legal signature of the individual. Any task completed while using the ID and password is recorded as a legal signature. Please make sure that your ID and password are updated. Should you have questions, please contact the Child Nutrition Services Office. As of School Year 2010, all users must complete a form to obtain a new IDs, Password. This form is available at http://www.maine.gov/education/forms/childnutrition/agreeappl/agreeapplforms.htm The following forms need to be downloaded, completed and returned to the Department of Education, Child Nutrition Services Office: (1) Policy Statement for Free and Reduced Price Benefits, (2) Letter to Parents, (3) USDA Food Recall/Hold, (4) Suggested Anonymity and Accountability Systems (now includes the After-School Care Snacks Program information), (5) IDs, Passwords and Starting Information and (6) Agreement for Child Nutrition Programs.
Enclosures: http://www.maine.gov/education/forms/childnutrition/agreeappl/agreeapplforms.htm http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/FRP/frp.process.htm For additional information please contact:
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