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- SOUTHWEST MONTANA SCHOOL SERVICES CO-OP FOOD PROGRAM - SPRING 2019 DELIVERY 4 MEMO

TO: Participating Food Service Managers FROM: Cindy Giese, Bid Manager DATE: Tuesday, April 16, 2019

This is the first week of the fourth and final delivery period for the SWMSS Spring 2019 Cooperative Bid. There has been no news from FSA so we will assume that all is going great and you should receive your orders in a timely manner. This last delivery started Monday, April 15, and will conclude by Friday, May 3. Please be sure to contact Tammie Claassen at FSA - Billings or Carmen Steele at FSA - Spokane if you have any delivery or product issues. They can take assist you directly rather than me relaying the messages, and they’re happy to help.

- ADMINISTRATIVE FEE DETAILS - Southwest Montana School Services (SWMSS) charges each participating district an administrative fee of $0.90 per case/unit based on your total order amount. This admin fee will be billed on March 15, and payment is due by April 30, 2019.  Please respect the 45 day payment period as this may affect your opportunity to participate in the Fall 2019 bid. SWMSS member districts receive a discount off this fee. To learn more about becoming a SWMSS member district, please [ click here ], or have your Superintendent or District Clerk contact Jennifer Brekke, Marketing Coordinator, in the SWMSS office.

- SPRING 2019 PRODUCT NUTRITION DATABASE - The Spring 2019 Product Nutrition Database can be found on the SWMSS website by CLICKING HERE and scrolling toward the bottom of the page. It includes product formulation sheets and Child Nutrition labels for all Spring 2019 food items (alphabetized by product category). The previous bid cycle database is also available for reference & OPI reviews on that same page.

Food is the Most Important School Supply Kids can't learn on an empty stomach. Studies have shown that when kids have the healthy meals they need, test scores go up, attendance is better, and behavior improves. Our cooperative food purchasing program offers many of the options you need to give your students a delicious, nutritious meal. Thank you for participating. Learn more about our program here

- COMMUNICATION & IMPORTANT DATES - Please keep the lines of communication open so that we are aware of any issues and problems can be solved in a timely manner. Also, please let me know if you, your staff, and your students experience positive things with our products. All of us together will make our bid a better tool for your menu needs. Bids are due on Friday, April 19, from our distributors FSA and Sysco, and our intended award date is Thursday, April 25. Mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 1 st for the opening of the Fall 2019 order window!

- a special message from Cindy - I would like to inform you that this will be my last memo from SWMSS as I am retiring from my position as bid manager. Working in the world of school nutrition has been an exciting and fulfilling career, and I have enjoyed this position as well as my work as food service director at Lewistown schools. I have made wonderful contacts and lasting friendships during my tenure and have come to fully realize just how important all of you are in feeding the students of Montana. I encourage all of you to keep up the good work using your creativity and skills to complement your dedication and care for those kids. I thank you for your friendship, professionalism and camaraderie over the years and I trust that our Montana kids will continue to be well nourished and supported as learning students in the future. Patrice O’Loughlin is the new bid manager and we have been working together to get the Fall 2019 bid out, awarded and presented to you for participation. Please contact her with good wishes, product questions, and suggestions for improvement going forward. Her contact information can be found below and on the SWMSS website. We are excited about the Fall 2019 Cooperative Food Bid so be on the lookout for upcoming emails with more details. ~ Cindy Giese

- CONTACT DETAILS -

Patrice O'Loughlin, Bid Manager (406) 861-3534 poloughlin@swmss.coop Jennifer Brekke, Marketing (406) 522-6024 jbrekke@swmss.coop

Tammie Claassen, FSA - Billings (406) 238-7854 tammie_claassen@fsafood.com Carmen Steele, FSA - Spokane (509) 483-7746 carmen_steele@fsafood.com