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Q1. Are
chartered public schools in New Hampshire required to provide a food
program for children? There is a statute requiring each school board to
make a meal available during school hours (RSA
189:11-a).
A1. No.
Providing a meal to children makes good sense but it is not a legal
requirement for charter schools. The charter school is free
either to join the federal food program or not, and to provide a meal or
not. This is an option.
Q2.
If a charter school “wanted” to participate in the federal school
lunch/meal program, what would the charter school have to do?
A2. 1.
The charter school would contact the New Hampshire Department of
Education, Bureau of Nutrition Programs & Services to receive an
application and instructions which, upon approval, would allow
participation in the program. Contact Elaine Van Dyke,
Administrator, 271-3860.
2. The
charter school would pick a meal program option appropriate to its
needs. The options could be: serving breakfast, lunch, and after school
snack or providing any combination of the three meals.
3.
The charter school would have to decide to be either its own “School
Food Authority”(SFA) and handle all the administrative, preparation, and
compliance requirements, OR to enter into an agreement with the host
school district/SFA and contract for meals to be served as a site of the
host district/SFA. If connected to an existing SFA, funds would flow
from the Department of Education to the SFA to the charter school site.
Q3. What
type of paperwork is required of the school site to participate in the
program?
A3. 1.
The federal food program requires paperwork to document meals served to
children. As a SFA, administrative duties include: applications
for participation, parent income eligibility forms, daily meal count
sheets, daily student rosters, food production records, self-monitoring
documentation, health & sanitation inspections, food service management
and operations budget reports, approved menus, cash management,
recipient of monitoring by state agency and USDA.
2. As a Site of a school
district/SFA, administrative duties include: daily meal count sheets,
monthly rosters of students, approved menus, recipient of monitoring by
SFA and state agency and USDA, health and sanitation maintenance, safe
and standard food service food handling practices.
Q4.
What are some ways that schools could provide a breakfast meal,
with or without participation in the federal meal reimbursement program?
A4. Bagged
breakfasts—bagel, fruit, milk--served in the classroom (give student bag
as he/she gets off the bus); home-style sit-down breakfast in a
cafeteria; offering pre-packaged servings of cereal, milk, and fruit.
Q5.
Are there any resources or grants for getting a food program set
up—regardless of whether the charter school is in or out of the federal
reimbursement program?
A5. The
Dairy Council has a grant program offering funding and technical support
for start-up USDA meal programs, particularly breakfast programs. The
Bureau of Nutrition Programs and Services has available Team Nutrition
grant funds (tight turn around and availability) after programs are
running to assess and improve the nutrition environment of the school
program.
Q6.
What are some innovative ideas to incorporate food, nutrition, and
healthy lifestyle choices into the student’s day?
A6.
Growing certain foods as part of a science program. Involve students in
making lunch—taking turns, learning sanitation, being the chefs for the
day. Bring in local chefs to show how they make foods. Dress for the
occasion-- learn about the torque and dress of the chef! Study local
farms and use local farm products in meals. Adopt-a-farm/farmer. Have
students set up and manage an entrepreneurial farmers’ market.
Q7. Where
could a charter school go for interesting ideas about food programs,
healthy menus, or to see what other schools/places have done?
A7.
There are a plethora of available web site to preview. The Department
of Education’s Bureau of Nutrition Programs has resources listed on
their web site in the newsletter: Tiffin Topics. These sites are
recommended.
-USDA: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/WhatsNew.htm
-NH Department of Education
-National School Food Service Management
Institute:
www.nfsmi.org
-The New England Dairy Council:
www.newenglanddairycouncil.org
-5 A Day:
www.5aday.com
Q8. If
the charter school has a vendor contract with a restaurant or business
for breakfasts, lunches, and/or dinners, what are some contract features
to consider?
A8. If
the charter school has a USDA school lunch application, then the
contract must have very specific elements. If, however, the charter
school is contracting on its own for services, contract features might
include: cafeteria as classroom, quality of food, assuring fresh produce
is on the menu x times per week, inclusion of vegetarian meals at least
1 x week, serving ethnic foods that coordinate with the curriculum,
serving meals such as picnics, banquets, etiquette luncheons, teas,
historically-accurate meals of a particular period of history. Invite
students to grow herbs and have them used in meals, integrating other
ways of linking food/meals with curriculum. |
