On January 21st, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will post two proposed rules to the Federal Register.
USDA will open a 60-day comment period for both proposed rules on www.regulations.gov.
Child Nutrition Services will share additional information as it becomes available.
Join us for a webinar on Thursday, January 23 at 2:00pm to learn about the new permanent agreement and what to expect during this process.
We are releasing the new Child Nutrition Programs Permanent Agreement this week!
All sponsors participating in Child Nutrition Programs signed a Permanent Agreement when they first began operating a Child Nutrition Program. We were required to make changes to the Permanent Agreement including combining separate program agreements (National School Lunch Program (NSLP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), etc.) into one unified agreement.
Note: This Permanent Agreement is separate from the annual renewal that is completed in the Washington Integrated Nutrition System (WINS).
Here’s what you need to know:
- The new agreement includes all Child Nutrition Programs and applies to any program a sponsor is eligible to operate.
- For Local Education Agencies, the Superintendent is the designated signer. For all other sponsor types, the designated signer depends on your organization structure.
- We will be using DocuSign to collect electronic signatures. We will send an email containing the document – called an “envelope” – to the designated signer.
- The new agreement will replace the one currently in effect between OSPI and your organization.
Questions? Email Amber Lopez or call 360-725-6208.
OSPI has officially proposed changes to OSPI’s meal time rules in Chapter 392-157-125 of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC).
Our proposed rules address the State Auditor’s Office’s (SAO) findings by:
- Requiring schools to provide a lunch period that ensures all students have a minimum-seated lunchtime of 20 minutes beginning in the 2023–24 school year.
- Requiring all elementary schools to schedule recess before lunch beginning in the 2023–24 school year.
We want your feedback!
These rules are not final and we want to hear from you! Public comments will be accepted in written form until April 17th, 2020. Please send comments to Leanne Eko, Director of Child Nutrition Services, at leanne.eko@k12.wa.us or by mail at:
Leanne Eko, Director of Child Nutrition Services Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction PO Box 47200, Olympia, WA 98504-7200
Public Hearings
We will also hold four public hearings around the state this spring in Olympia, Vancouver, Spokane, and Yakima.
Olympia: April 3, 2020, 1:30–3:30pm Olympia School District Office 111 Bethel St. NE – Olympia, WA 98506
Vancouver: April 10, 2020, 1:30–3:30pm Educational Service District 112 2500 NE 65th Ave. – Vancouver, WA 98661
Spokane: April 16, 2020, 1:30–3:30pm Spokane School District Office 200 N. Bernard St. – Spokane, WA 99201
Yakima: April 17, 2020, 1:30–3:30pm Educational Service District 105 33 S. 2nd Ave. – Yakima, WA 98902
Questions? Contact Mikhail Cherniske at mikhail.cherniske@k12.wa.us.
To arrange accommodations for persons with disabilities, please contact Kristin Murphy by March 27, 2020, at 360-753-4201 or TTY 360-664-3631 or by email at Kristin.Murphy@k12.wa.us.
For language interpreter services, please contact Jennifer Stevens by March 27, 2020, at 360-725-6162 or TTY 360-664-3631 or by email at equity@k12.wa.us.
There's still time to submit your Breakfast Meals for Kids Grant!
The application deadline has been extended through Tuesday, January 28, 2020.
Apply for a grant to start a breakfast program, increase participation in an established breakfast program, or implement an alternative breakfast delivery model such as breakfast in the classroom. Priority will be given to schools without a breakfast program.
This competitive grant application is available in the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction iGrants system (Form Package 383).
Grant information, tips, and resources can be found on the Child Nutrition Grants webpage.
Questions? Please email Wendy Barkley or Jeff Booth.
Do you want to boost meal participation, eliminate student meal debt, and free up staff time? Join the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and United Way of King County (UWKC) for a webinar all about the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Wednesday, January 29th at 1:00pm.
CEP allows eligible schools and school districts to offer school lunch and school breakfast at no cost to students, eliminating student meal debt and ensuring that all students have access to healthy meals.
We'll dive into the basics and provide plenty of time for you to ask your questions! During this short one-hour webinar, we will hear from OSPI’s Learning Assistance Program (LAP) Office, OSPI’s Child Nutrition Services team, and others. We will explore:
- An overview of CEP
- How it works with federal and state funding programs like Title I, Part A, and LAP
- Best practices for collecting alternate income forms
- Timeline and process for School Year 2020-21 implementation
Child Nutrition Services has been making improvements to the Direct Certification system in the student search matching function and other background functions.
On December 20, 2019, we discovered an increase in the number of students with the reason qualified category “Migrant”. Students originally matched for free and reduced-price meals were subject to a change in reason qualified “Migrant”.
This issue has been corrected. Many of the student eligibility statuses displayed on the Direct Certification lists December 4, 2019, through January 10, 2020, are incorrect. These students can be identified because they display as “Migrant” with a blank “Date Eligible” field. Assessment of this issue indicates the majority of these students are actually eligible by Medicaid for either free or reduced-priced meals. This may represent a change in eligibility status in the case where students were appearing as Free by Migrant, but are actually Reduced-Price by Medicaid. These students must be changed back to their original benefits and a reduction in eligibility status.
If you downloaded the direct certification list between December 4, 2019, and January 10, 2020, we suggest you download again for correct data.
If you need assistance with notification of households or have other concerns about this information, please contact Wendy Barkley at wendy.barkley@k12.wa.us or 360-725-0433.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (DoD Fresh) allows schools to use USDA Foods entitlement dollars to buy domestically grown fresh produce.
If you are interested in participating in the DoD Fresh Program, please complete the 2020-21 DoD Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Enrollment Form by January 31, 2020.
Participation in the DoD Fresh Program is optional.
Questions? Email Sarah Davis or call 360-725-6215.
The WSNA 2020 Industry Seminar and USDA Foods Tasting Show on Tuesday, February 18 and 19th at Emerald Downs in Auburn is around the corner! You can register online or download a registration form. The Early Bird registration deadline is Tuesday, February 4th.
The USDA Foods Tasting Show will only include items that will be on contract for the 2020-21 school year. This is a great opportunity to taste products prior to completing your Food Distribution preorder for the 2020-21 school year! In addition, there will be an opportunity to attend informational sessions on best practices and tips for managing your USDA Foods entitlement.
For more information about the USDA Foods Tasting Show, contact Marlon Hopkins at 360-725-6209. For more information about Industry Seminar or the Washington School Nutrition Association (WSNA), visit www.washingtonsna.org or contact Marianne Culligan at 206-714-5832.
Each year, the American Commodity Distribution Association (ACDA) sponsors a national conference.
When registering for this event, you will be able to attend educational and networking opportunities at an ACDA conference. Additionally, this conference focuses on how to strengthen USDA Food Distribution Programs.
Join OSPI CNS in Seattle! Come learn from industry leaders about topics ranging from Using Technology, New and Reformulated USDA Foods, How to Cook for Special Diets, and more.
Conference Information Date: April 27 - 30, 2020 Location: Hyatt Regency Seattle - Book by March 31, 2020, to receive a discount!
For more information, and to register for the event, please visit the ACDA Annual Conference webpage.
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