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February 18, 2021 
Volume 1
¡Para traducción al español, haga clic aquí!
A Note from Rob!

Hello DCPS School Food Friends,

I’ve truly missed you all as we’ve navigated the events of the last year, and I’m proud to tell you that the meal program at DCPS is stronger than ever. While the COVID crisis has shifted our meal program operations, the DCPS Eats! Team has been very busy working to make sure that nutritious and delicious meals are available throughout the city. We began emergency meal service in 47 school sites across the district on March 16th of 2020, and we’re closing in on reaching almost 2 million meals served. As a team, we took great pride in ensuring that we served highly-nutritious foods that aligned with the values of our programs and remained the core of our work... Read on here!

Celebrating Black History Month
By Tamara Hobbs
 
The 2021 Black History Month theme developed by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) is, The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity. Within this theme, the DCPS Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) team will celebrate the beautifully diverse family representations that make up our food service family. Throughout this month-long celebration, our team will feature recipes selected by staff that embody their personal family representation, identity, and diversity through food. Check out how we'll be celebrating each week, here!
Looking Back at 2020...
By Tamara Hobbs

March 15, 2021 will mark one year since the COVID-19 pandemic migrated school meal programs from school cafeterias to primarily grab-and-go meal services. As we look back at what was a tumultuous year for all of us, the DCPS FNS team would like to highlight some of the ways in which we were able to support the health and achievement of our students through nutritious school meals. To learn more, click here.

The Good Food Purchasing Program
By Lea Howe, DC Greens

Many of you are familiar with the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP) from past School Food Collaborative meetings. As a refresher, in late 2018, DC passed the Healthy Students Amendment Act which included several new and important provisions to the original Healthy Schools Act of 2010, including a requirement that DC Public Schools adopt this values-based procurement program. As its name suggests, the GFPP focuses on food purchasing and the quality of ingredients we’re feeding students everyday in school. 

Get updates on GFPP progress here!
SY20/21 Food Service Operations 
By Brittney Stretsbery
 
In light of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, DCPS Food and Nutrition Services has been working diligently since March 2020 to fully utilize United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) waivers in order to best meet the meal accessibility and nutrition needs of students and community members. Currently, DCPS is offering free grab and go breakfast and lunch meals from open meal sites in all eight wards across DC through the Summer Food Service Program. Any DC youth age 18 and younger can receive up to three meal packs at a time. Parents or guardians can also pick up meal packs on behalf of youth in their family

To learn more about DCPS FNS's plans for this year, click here.
We want to hear from YOU!

If you have input you would like to share with DCPSEats! about school meals, please email food.dcps@k12.dc.gov.

We love to hear from you and take your feedback, thoughts and ideas seriously!
 
And keep your eyes out for our next quarterly newsletter coming late Spring! 

Campaign Highlight: 
This Spring keep your eyes peeled for the "Elevate Student Voice in School Meals" Campaign. This is in collaboration with The Green Scheme and Don't Mute My Health. To learn more, click HERE.

FFVP Update:
Looking for some new unique produce to try with your family? The Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program (FFVP) has been expanded by the USDA to any student picking up a meal at an open meal site or learning in-person at participating schools! Check out what our students have tried here!
Grocery Distribution Update
DCPS FNS is excited to partner with Martha’s Table to provide students and their families with Grab-n-Go Groceries from several DCPS open meal sites! Please click here for the full grocery distribution schedule!
Upcoming Celebrations:
*Hear the Crunch – 3/10
*National Nutrition Month – March 2021 
*National School Breakfast Week – 3/8 – 3/12 
*National School Lunch Hero Week – 5/3 – 5/7
*Follow @DCPSEats! on social or visit our open meal sites to participate!

International Food Day
International Food Day is a special event held every year through a partnership with DCPS’s Global Education Department, to bring awareness to food and culture from different countries. Check out how we celebrated here!

New Recipe Highlight
DCPSEats! Chicken Pot- Pie – Learn how to make this delicious recipe here!

FNS Staff Highlight
Robyn Douglas is our Manager of Nutrition, Compliance, and Partnerships! Learn more about her background and all that she does for school meals here

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