The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released SP 20-2020, CACFP 11-2020, SFSP 11-2020: Questions and Answers on the Nationwide Waiver to Extend Unanticipated School Closure Operations through June 30, 2020.
This memo reviews common questions regarding extending the school year until June 30.
Questions? Please reach out to your program specialist.
Washington's Coordinated Community Response Action Team wants to identify the challenges and best practices of community food distribution efforts.
Your input will help us identify areas where more support is needed from the state, as well as strategies that are working well to address hunger in communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Any feedback you can provide is helpful.
Please complete this survey by June 19th regardless of whether or not your program is operating a meal service program this summer.
Complete the survey here
Questions? Please contact Bianca Smith.
The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has released a new Team Nutrition resource, Seamless Summer Option: Providing Multiple Meals at a Time During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic.
This new publication provides Program operators with technical assistance on the amounts of foods needed for multiple days of meals, use of “bulk” foods, best practices, and parent communication.
Visit the Seamless Summer Option webpage for more information.
Additional Tools
It is important to advertise the availability of summer meals before the end of the school year. Even if there won’t be a summer feeding program in your community, you can share resources that allow households to locate summer meals in the area.
There are a number of resources, in both English and Spanish, to raise awareness in your community.
-
No Kid Hungry Texting Line - Families may text "Food" or "Comida" to 877-877 to find free summer meals near them.
-
No Kid Hungry Meal Site Locator - Promote the https://www.nokidhungry.org/find-free-meals website.
-
Banners - OSPI developed reusable banners to promote your SFSP sites. If you are operating a site this summer, you can order banners here.
OSPI has developed reusable 6 ft. x 3ft. banners to help promote your SFSP sites this summer. You can order these banners to be shipped to you at no cost by completing the order form below. Sponsors can order up to one banner per SFSP site they plan to operate this summer.
IMPORTANT - Deliveries cannot be sent to a PO Box and someone must be available to accept the delivery.
Order your banners here
With so much information needing to be shared, we separated our newsletters into the following categories:
- School Meals and Food Distribution Updates
- Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) Updates
- Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Updates
We want to ensure that important information is shared to appropriate groups and that you are able to easily identify which program the information is geared towards.
Next Steps
If you are on our contact list to receive mandatory updates for the programs listed above, you should receive a separate newsletter that includes articles specific to that program.
If you do not receive this update in your inbox, please check your spam box and make sure the waospi@public.govdelivery.com email address is on your safe senders list.
Didn't receive an expected update? Please email samantha.brueske@k12.wa.us and include which programs you need updates for in the message.
Recently, we shared that the USDA approved Washington State for the Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) program. Some key takeaways:
- DSHS is currently building the system for families to apply and be approved, this will not be available until later this month.
- OSPI created a Communication Toolkit to help you spread the word about the program and how to apply. This is slated to be released within the next week.
What role do schools play?
1. Distribute information to families.
Many families eligible for these benefits are not already enrolled in Basic Food, so they need to complete the application process for P-EBT to receive benefits. OSPI is releasing a communications toolkit.
2. Continue to distribute, collect and process free and reduced-price meal applications.
Many families that did not qualify for free and reduced-price meals prior to the COVID-19 pandemic may now qualify. Collecting updated household income applications helps more families access the P-EBT benefits while they are available. Eligibility for free and reduced-price meals must have been determined no later than June 30 to be eligible for these benefits.
3. Update your free and reduced-price meals eligibility data in CEDARS frequently.
DSHS will compare application data to CEDARS data. This will help determine that children are eligible for free or reduced-price meals and are students in a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program. Keeping CEDARS data (enrollment and F/R qualification) as up-to-date as possible will ensure eligible households receive their benefits in a timely manner.
Please keep an eye out for future CNS Updates and stay connected by continuing to join us for our weekly update calls.
Does your program intend to transition to "traditional" summer? Is your organization new to operating SFSP in summer 2020?
If you answered 'Yes' to both of these questions, then you are required to attend the SFSP Preapproval webinar!
This requirement is in addition to the recorded training requirement.
This webinar will help us ensure your program is ready to operate the SFSP before we approve your application for the program.
At least one lead administrator from each new sponsoring organization must participate in the webinar.
Watch the Recorded Training Here
Have questions? Can’t make it to the scheduled webinar? Contact us at summermeals@k12.wa.us.
The weekly update calls for School Meal Program and Summer Food Service Program sponsors are extended through June.
Register Here
See you on Wednesdays at 2pm! Please keep an eye out for future CNS Updates for any changes or cancellations.
Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) developed a list of farmers and local food suppliers around the state that want to work with schools and community organizations feeding kids this summer.
The list includes the farms and what products the farms have available, especially those that are good fits for school meal programs, childcare, and summer meals during COVID-19 (such as sack lunches, grab and go, and multi-day grocery boxes).
This is a great way to support local agriculture and find fresh flavorful foods to include in your meals this summer.
Have questions? Contact Bianca Smith.
Unable to attend the live webinar? No worries, you can watch the recorded webinar on demand!
The Strategies and Resources for School Nutrition Professionals to Implement CDC's Latest Guidance Related to COVID-19 webinar was recorded and is now available on demand!
This webinar reviews strategies and resources available to assist school nutrition professionals in implementing guidance related to COVID-19 meal service.
Watch the Recording Here
Tools and Resources from the Webinar
Click to edit this placeholder text.
June 3
|
Weekly School Meals and Summer Programs Sponsors Call - 2pm | Register Here
|
June 15
|
SFSP Application Deadline
|
|