New Rules/Regulations
in the
Child Nutrition Programs
Superintendents’ Quarterly Meeting
March 28, 2012
Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act
Guiding Principles of Reauthorization
 Increasing access to school meals
 Increased nutritional integrity
 Enhanced school nutrition environment
 Increased accountability for Federal funds
1. New Meal Pattern and Nutrition
Standards for School Meals
(effective July 1, 2012)
Intent is to provide nutritious meals including:
 Fruits and vegetables every day
 Only whole grain rich breads/cereals
 Fat-free or low-fat milk
 Limitation on calories
 Reductions in sodium,
saturated fat and trans fat
1. New Meal Pattern and Nutrition
Standards for School Meals
Unintended consequences:
 Increased food/labor costs ($ 0.10 for lunch and
$ 0.27 for breakfast; higher in some regions)
 Storage space will be limited
 Requirement for training local school
nutrition personnel will increase
1. New Meal Pattern and Nutrition
Standards for School Meals
Unintended consequences:
 Challenges at the Point of Sale/Service due to
identification of reimbursable meal
 Students may be initially reluctant to choose
new foods
 Plate waste will increase

Nutrition education will be
more important than ever
1. New Meal Pattern and Nutrition
Standards for School Meals
To minimize the unintended consequences,
consider a public relations campaign:
 Child Nutrition Administrator
 School Health Advisory Council
 School personnel
 Parents
 Students
 Others
as a means of preparing everyone for the
changes before school starts.
2. Performance-based
Reimbursement (effective July 1, 2012)
To be eligible for the additional 6 cents,
districts must:
 Ensure all schools meet the nutrition
standards/meal pattern*
 Schools must be certified by the NCDPI
Funds will be available with the
November claim for reimbursement.
*Criteria for certification are still unknown.
3. Meal Price Equity Requirement
(effective July 1, 2011)
Concern that “free” reimbursement was being
used to support meal costs for paying students
prompted Congress to require districts to either:
1. Annual increase in the “paid” meal price to
get to the difference between the “free rate”
and the “paid rate” ($2.79- $0.28 = $2.51)
OR
2. Contribute non-Federal funds to the nonprofit Child Nutrition account.
3. Meal Price Equity Requirement
Non-Federal funds may not include:

A la Carte food/beverage sales

State Revenue Match ($45,000)

Catered Meal Sales
Non-Federal Funds may include:

Any state, local or grant contribution coded
to purpose code 54350 “Local Revenues for
Lunch Equity”

DPI will work with LEAs on an individual
basis to identify possible revenue sources
4. Improving Direct Certification
States must increase percentage of students
directly certified for free meals using Food and
Nutrition Service (FNS) data to 95%.
It is critical for every child who is
participating in the school meals programs
to be enrolled in the district.
5. Public Notification of
Performance
Requires districts to publicly disclose the
results of:
 Administrative Reviews (CRE/SMI)
 Health Inspections
 Local Wellness Policies
 Other areas
We request your assistance to support
achievement and maintenance of compliance
in operational areas.
6. Competitive Foods
The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized* to
establish nutrition standards for all foods sold or
provided to students on campus during the
school day including:

A la Carte foods and beverages

Vending Machines

School Stores and other sales venues

Fund-raisers
*The authority does not extend to evening events.
A proposed rule will be published in the Federal
Register in the Spring of 2012.
7. Local Wellness Policies
Districts must strengthen their local wellness
policies to:
 Include stakeholder involvement
 Develop implementation strategies
 Include an annual assessment of progress
Please be prepared to designate an individual,
by title, who has authority over all areas of
coordinated school health, to oversee the
local wellness policy implementation and
assessment.
8. Professional Standards for
School Nutrition Personnel
Given the increasing scope, complexity and
responsibility of managing the Child Nutrition
Programs, the Secretary of Agriculture has
been given the authority to establish minimum
professional standards for:
 Local Child Nutrition Administrator
 State Child Nutrition Director
Proposed rule will be issued in the
Federal Register, Fall, 2012.
Verification for Cause
Two types of Verification:
1.
Annual Verification – random sample of
“error prone” applications
2.
“Verification for Cause” - a district receives
a complaint/allegation of misrepresentation
of income or other information on an
application for school meal benefits
Districts are required to verify
school meal applications when
complaints are received alleging
questionable applications.
Verification for Cause
Procedures for conducting Verification for Cause
are prescribed in USDA Guidance.

Notification to the household

Receipt/verification of documents

Notification of adverse action

Appeals

Hearing Procedure
We recommend consultation with the district’s
legal counsel to discuss the consequences should
evidence of fraudulent activity be obtained during
the verification process.
Innovative School Breakfast
SBE Resolution encourages districts to use
innovative school breakfast programs such as:
 Breakfast in the Classroom
 Grab-and-Go Breakfast
 Second Chance Breakfast
These programs may be considered part of the
instructional day as long as an appropriate
educational activity is taking place while students
are eating.
Innovative School Breakfast
In schools where 70% of students are eligible for
F/RP school meals, there is usually no cost to the
district to implement universal breakfast.
Breakfast in the classroom has been shown to
increase math and reading scores among low
income students; for students of average income
or above, breakfast in the classroom has shown
increased attendance.
“No Kid Hungry” Summer
Nutrition Programs
Over 400,000 students leave school for the summer
months and one of their greatest challenges is
having food to eat.
Please consider working with your
Child Nutrition Administrators to
participate in the summer nutrition
programs. DPI and DHHS have
proposed a NC demonstration
project that will substantially
increase reimbursement rates.
Do you have questions?
Thank you for
your continued
support of the
Child Nutrition
Programs.