|
On Friday, October 9, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a press release and multiple waivers to allow sponsors to operate Summer Meal Programs. We released a CNS Update on Friday afternoon outlining the waivers available.
OSPI CNS is awaiting USDA guidance and will release additional information as it becomes available.
Interested in Operating a Summer Program? Please join us for our food services webinar on Wednesday at 2pm PT.
We recently shared details regarding the flexibilities of U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #60. This guidance allows schools and afterschool care centers, regardless of their location, to serve at-risk, afterschool meals and snacks to students after the regular school day, through June 30, 2021.
New meal sites that are not area eligible must target meals/snacks to children in need. To meet this requirement, sites must be located in the attendance area of a public school (an elementary, middle, or high school) where at least 40% of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
Reference the 2019-20 Washington Public School Data for Area Eligibility Report for October building data to determine if your site(s) meet this requirement. Sponsors may use a month other than October, from the past 12 months, to qualify a site. If a month other than October is used, documentation from the school district must be provided.
If there are extenuating circumstances and an identified need in an area that does not meet the criterion described above, sponsors may submit an exemption request. These requests must be submitted on the Meal Distribution Plan (MDP) or the MDP Updates Survey if you have already submitted your MDP. These requests are evaluated by the Community Nutrition Programs Supervisor and Child Nutrition Services Director on a case-by-case basis.
Next Steps
- Take the At-Risk Prequalification Survey to determine if your sites are eligible to operate the At-Risk Program.
- To utilize the At-Risk waiver, you must indicate use of this waiver on the Meal Distribution Plan.
- If you have already submitted your Meal Distribution Plan, but would now like to “opt” in to use the At-Risk waiver, you must complete the Meal Distribution Plan Update Survey.
- You must indicate use of this waiver in the site application and site calendar in WINS. Please follow these instructions when completing your application.
- NOTE: You may have to clear browsing history to ensure you have the correct dates - the most current instructions have a School Year End Date of 6/30/21.
Considerations Before Establishing New At-Risk Sites
- Staff must be trained on At-Risk program requirements.
- Pre-approval visits must be conducted at new sites.
- A monitoring visit must be done within the 1st four weeks of operation.
- Site would need a fire or health inspection if not located in a school building or licensed daycare center.
- Serving Meals
- Sponsoring organizations that operate the CACFP At-Risk program must serve meals after the end of the instructional day if students are physically in care.
- If students are not in care physically (i.e. remote/virtual)
- At-Risk sponsors may continue to distribute meals for multiple days at a time, however, meals must be marked/labeled to indicate that they are an afterschool snack or supper.
- This type of meal distribution may occur at any time in the day.
Questions? Please contact your OSPI CNS Program Specialist.
This week we reviewed common questions about renewal, tips and tricks for this process, and shared other tools and resources to help you during your COVID operations. Please review the 10/8 CACFP Operations During COVID recording to help you with this process.
Weekly Calls Cancelled
Thanks to participant feedback, we have decided to cancel our last scheduled call. October is a busy time for you, as sponsors, and for us at OSPI due to renewals. If you were registered for these webinars, you should have received a cancellation notice.
We will continue to monitor the need for webinars and will send out information in our Weekly Newsletters.
As you submit your renewal applications this year, you may find some things look a little different in WINS. Here are some highlights:
-
SPONSORS CHECKLIST
On your sponsors screen, there is a checklist that places a red check as you submit each part of your application. When everything is marked with a red check then all the pieces of your renewal are submitted in WINS.
As your specialist approves each section, the check will turn green and when the entire application is approved this checklist will go away.
-
STUDY MONTH
If your application is approved you will not see an add or renew button on the study month tab until November 1, 2020. The system is designed to not accept a study month for the new year until the full month of October is complete.
Once this option becomes available, you will need to submit your documents before November 15 for October claims to be paid.
Questions? Please contact your OSPI CNS Program Specialist.
OSPI recently released Bulletin 084-20: Child Nutrition Program Options for Fall 2020. This bulletin reviews program options for this fall. This bulletin was created before new USDA waivers were released on Friday. We will continue to share updates during our weekly calls and newsletters. Please review the bulletin for additional details.
Join Washington state Farm to ECE leaders for a training on how to incorporate Farm to ECE strategies into your care setting.
This training is free and provides 4 hours of STARS credits.
Register Here
Date: Saturday, October 24, 2020
Time: 9 am - 1 pm PT
Participants will learn:
- Specific strategies and resources for Farm to ECE activities during COVID
- How to find and buy local foods for their child care meal program
- Strategies for incorporating nutrition education and garden education in early learning settings
- How to start a preschool garden
- How to engage families with Farm to Early Learning
Receive Free Materials!
Attendees who complete a pre- and post-evaluation will receive a set of Harvest for Healthy Kids picture cards in either English or Spanish. These materials will be mailed to each participant of this training at no cost.
Fiscal Year 21 Applications should be completed at least 30 days before your organization intends to operate the CACFP. This allows your program specialist to review your application in time for you to file your claim.
Please review last week's Renewal Update for important reminders about submitting your application and training requirements.
This week we reviewed common questions about renewal, as well as tips and tricks for the renewal process during our 10/8 CACFP Operations During COVID call. Please review the recording for more information.
Reminder
- If your organization's meal service is different than your regular operation or if your organization is taking advantage of any waivers you must complete a Meal Distribution Plan for your renewal application to be considered complete.
Questions? Please contact your OSPI CNS Program Specialist.
Renewal Requirement
Annual Training is required for continued participation in Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). At a minimum, the person responsible for oversight of the CACFP must participate in annual training. This training is intended for directors and administrators; monitors are encouraged to participate.
This training is mandatory; the FY2021 renewal agreement will not be approved until the appropriate person has attended training
Recorded Training
STARS Credits
Those who watched the recorded Annual Training and input their STARS ID by 9/30/2020 were eligible for STARS credits. OSPI CNS will input your credits by October 31, 2020. Please check for your credit after this date.
Questions? Please contact your OSPI CNS Program Specialist.
|
If you prepare grain items from scratch, it's important to know if your item is Whole Grain-Rich (WGR) . The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Team Nutrition developed a helpful worksheet outlining steps to check if your recipes are WGR.
Download Education Flyer in English & Spanish
As communities continue to respond to the impacts of COVID-19, schools and community sponsors across the country are working hard to ensure access to the child nutrition programs by utilizing USDA waivers, fostering new partnerships, and implementing best practices.
FRAC wants to hear from you! They have put together this quick survey to learn how COVID-19 has impacted your operations. The survey should only take five minutes or less.
How have you changed meal service operations to meet the need? What barriers remain? How does your participation compare to this time last year? This information and additional feedback from you will help FRAC inform new resources, support, and future advocacy, as well as shine a light on the work being done across the country.
The National CACFP Sponsors Association (NCA) is hosting a deep-dive into these topics:
- Engaging with Farm to Early Care and Education
- Head Start: From the Kitchen to the Classroom
- Menu Planning for the CACFP
- Leadership and Motivation
These 4-hour sessions will take an in-depth look into each topic and provide resources you can use right away!
View the Virtual Training Academy flyer for more details.
Combination baby foods are foods that include a mixture of two or more foods, such as meat and vegetables. Under certain circumstances, these foods may be counted toward a reimbursable infant meal or snack in the CACFP. Get these worksheets from Team Nutrition to learn more.
Download Worksheet in English & Spanish
The National CACFP Sponsors Association recently shared some CACFP Creditable snacks featuring legumes. Ideas include:
- Black bean salsa and tortilla chips
- Lentils and couscous
- Refried beans on a tortilla
- Roasted edamame and grape juice
- Sugar snap peas and orange wedges
- Split pea soup and crackers
- Hummus and pita triangles
- Roasted pinto beans and cheese cubes
If you're on Twitter, you can search #CACFPCreditable for more snack ideas!
|
October 14
|
SY20-21 Food Service Operations for NSLP and SFSP Sponsors Weekly Webinar - Register Here
|
|
October 15
|
September claims due in WINS
|
|
October 22
|
CACFP Operations During COVID Webinar - CANCELLED
|
|
October 30
|
Last day to submit your August claims! 60-Day Claim Deadline
|
|
October 31
|
Due Date for SY20-21 SFSP/ SSO Applications
|
|
