The United States Department of Agriculture is proposing a rule that would establish minimum professional standards for school nutrition personnel who manage and operate the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.
The proposed rule would also institute hiring standards for the selection of State and local school nutrition program directors and require all personnel in these programs to complete annual continuing education/training. These proposed changes respond to amendments made by section 306 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA), which required USDA to establish professional standards for school nutrition personnel. The HHFKA also requires each state to provide at least annual training to local educational agency and school nutrition personnel.
The Maine DOE’s Child Nutrition Program provides trainings several times during the school year, including at the fall informational meeting and the spring Tri-State Conference.
Information on the proposed standards for school nutrition professionals can be found here.