Some school districts have delayed school start dates to accommodate changes in instructional models. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released four waiver extensions for organizations operating Summer feeding programs longer than anticipated. This is to help fill the gap between when Summer programs traditionally end and when school typically starts.
School districts are required to operate the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) beginning the first day of school operations in SY 20-21 and may not choose to operate Summer programs in September with this extension of the nationwide Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) waivers.
Questions? Email summermeals@k12.wa.us or call 360-725-6200.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released two policy memos:
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SP 24, CACFP 13, SFSP 13-2020: Questions and Answers for the Child Nutrition Programs during School Year 2020-21 - #5
- This memo reviews common questions and answers regarding school reopening, meal patterns, potable water, Child Care and Afterschool requirements.
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SP 23-2020: Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Operations for SY 2020-21 during COVID-19
- This memo reviews common questions and answers regarding the operation of FFVP during the 2020-21 SY.
Have questions? Please contact your assigned program specialist.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released SP22-2020: Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Program Allocation of Funds for Fiscal Year 2021. OSPI has awarded funds to program sites. Please check your WINS Application to review awarded amounts.
New and Returning Sponsor Annual Training - Required
Training is required to participate in this program. This year we will be hosting training as a live webinar for both new and returning sponsors.
Register Here Date: Thursday, September 3, 2020 Time: 10am - 12pm PT
This webinar will go over program requirements, as well as a discussion about program flexibilities that are allowed during the current public health crisis.
Have Questions? Please email Rachel Floyd, School Meal Programs Lead Specialist.
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Please remember all shipping pallets must be returned to the delivery company. Please have your pallets available for pick up at the time of your next USDA Foods shipment.
Non-returned pallets can lead to increased shipping costs for everyone. Thank you for your cooperation.
Questions? Contact the Food Distribution Office at 360-725-6204.
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OSPI CNS will be paying additional funds to Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) sponsors as “State Summer Match” dollars to utilize unspent state fund balances.
The calculation used is the number of SFSP/SSO Lunch meals reported in the June claim, multiplied by .036 cents. This is a final use of state fund balances.
We will pay these funds out through apportionment at the end of August and will be listed on the apportionment statement under fund code 4198-05. Future revisions to the June claim month will not be eligible for additional money.
Thank you for all you do for the children in our state.
As of August 15, 2020, Local Education Agencies (LEAs) are not receiving new or changed matches in either the date parameter feature or the district lists. Typically, matches coming from the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) updates nightly.
If you are accessing the direct certification free lunch or direct certification Medicaid lists for the first time this year, the information is current through August 14, 2020.
OSPI is working to resolve the issue. We will notify you when the issue has been resolved.
The annual Value of Commodities Shipped report summarizes the total value of USDA Foods shipped to your district during the school year for the National School Lunch Program. The report for School Year 2019-20 is now available.
Instructions on how to generate and print the report are available on the Food Distribution webpage.
Please print a copy of the report for your business manager or fiscal officer.
The following information is provided in the Value of Commodities Shipped report:
COMMODITY: Each commodity is listed as either bonus or entitlement.
- 10000 codes: USDA direct items
- W-Code: State processed USDA items
- D001 code: Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Fresh funds (if applicable)
- 100532 code: Unprocessed Fruit and Vegetable Pilot funds (if applicable)
UNITS SHIPPED: The cumulative number of units that were shipped to your district during the 2019-20 school year.
SFSP REPORT: If you participated in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), you will need to log into CNP using your SFSP username and password to access your summer usage. Then continue with the instructions above.
USDA VALUE: The cumulative values using weighted cost averaging of all shipments received as shown on each Local Education Agency (LEAs) Order Form.
The total value (sum of total entitlement value and total bonus value) may be used as the amount of revenues for account 6998 commodities on the district’s annual financial statement (Form F-196).
The value may also be used for:
- Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) 10.555 National School Lunch Program.
- Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA).
Questions? Please email Sarah Davis or call 360-725-6215.
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September 11, 2020, is the last date to apply for Pandemic EBT (P-EBT).
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Department of Social and Health Services have teamed up to create a new program called Pandemic EBT, or P-EBT, for short. These benefits will help families most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis to continue to have access to nutritious meals.
P-EBT is available for students, including children of immigrant households, who were enrolled in a K-12 school that offered a school lunch program during the 2019-20 school year AND were eligible for free or reduced-price school meals; or attended a school where meals were free for all students.
There are two ways to apply:
- Online: www.WashingtonConnection.org (on the application, choose ‘Pandemic EBT — Emergency School Meals Program’ box in the Food Assistance section); or,
- Call: 877–501–2233 (DSHS Customer Service Contact Center — interpreter services are available)
Please use your social media to get the word out to the families you serve!
Additional information and translated documents are available on the OSPI Pandemic EBT Guidance for Schools webpage.
The goal of the CACFP At-Risk program is to provide children a meal and or snack outside of their school day while they are in a structured and adult-led environment that provides educational support and/or enrichment activities.
Who can apply for At-Risk Meals in the Fall of 2020?
- At-Risk sites providing meals to children on-site in addition to in-person programming/activities.
- Sites offering non-congregate meals to children may be eligible, however there still must be regularly scheduled enrichment or educational activities provided in a structured environment.
- Offered activities may be through a regularly scheduled virtual skype call, a zoom group call, or by a phone call from staff.
- This must be in addition to what is being required for “remote learning” and counting as school instruction/school work.
- Activities must go above and beyond what is offered to the general student population and include contact with or outreach to the child.
- Grab-n-go meals with a sent-home packet of work are not allowed. Sending a packet of materials for the week for the student to work on independently is not sufficient.
- Strictly providing grab-n-go meals is not allowed.
- Staff must directly connect with the students, to provide support, homework help, and/or offer enrichment opportunities extending beyond what is being offered as part of the school day.
Next Steps
You must complete the At-Risk Pre-Qualification Survey. This survey will help interested organizations determine if they are eligible to participate in the CACFP At-Risk program in the upcoming year.
Questions? Please email your program specialist.
Our weekly meetings will continue focusing on school district reopening for the 2020-21 School Year.
IMPORTANT UPDATE
The weekly webinars are intended for school nutrition program directors and staff who plan, administer, implement, monitor, and evaluate the operations of the school nutrition programs. Beginning this week, these calls will be directed to school food service directors and educational service district staff only. Participants previously registered that are outside this group will be removed from the call.
A separate webinar will be released for those outside of this group. More information to come.
Register Here Date: Wednesdays through the months of July and August Time: 2 - 3 pm PT
We will continue to record these webinars and email all registrants with a follow up each week.
Join the School Nutrition Association (SNA) and your school nutrition peers to discuss learn what's working and what's not, and collectively brainstorm solutions to complex challenges—practical ideas that will be developed in real-time and compiled as a take-home resource.
Topics during this conference:
- National participation trends.
- The best ideas to feed kids in response to virtual and blended learning environments.
- Financial sustainability for school nutrition programs.
- Ways to help district adminstrators understand the importance of school meals.
- The unique financial pressures currently facing school nutrition programs.
The conference will be held Monday, October 26 - Wednesday, October 28. Register here.
The School Nutrition Association (SNA) recently created a new marketing resource to help members promote school meals to families as students head back to school.
“Safe, Nutritious School Meals—Something You Can Count on for SY 2020-21” is a new sharable flyer that includes details and links to help reassure parents and the community that school meals continue to be a safe, nutritious choice to fuel student success during the 2020-2021 school year.
Share this flyer with stakeholders along with details on your program. Additional Tools from SNA:
USDA Trainings
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has great options for you to fulfill your staff training requirements.
You can go to https://professionalstandards.fns.usda.gov/ and find over 450 different free trainings?! Here are some great reasons to use this tool:
- All trainings are organized by the key area, training topic, and the specific learning objective according to USDA professional standards requirements.
- Trainings come in different formats to meet the needs of you and your staff - online, printed, recorded webinars.
- Trainings are from reliable sources.
Highlighted Trainings
Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN)
In addition to this resource, the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) is a federally-funded center dedicated to child nutrition education and training. You can use their e-learning portal for free!
Some highlighted courses you can assign to staff:
- Basic Culinary Math
- Meal Patterns
- Focus on the Customer
- Weights and Measures
- Nutrition 101
- A 6-part course on preparing healthy meals.
- CT1: Introduction
- CT2: Preparing Fruits, Vegetables, and Salads
- CT3: Preparing Entree Items
- CT4: Preparing Soups, Eggs, Dairy, & Sauces
- CT5: Preparing Breads and Baked Goods
- CT6: Using Seasonings
The August STAR Webinar will explore the many factors that may influence the way people interact and respond to conflict, including self-reflection which looks at personality characteristics and attitudes, in addition to existing biases and stereotypes. Finally, you’ll engage in identifying non-productive behaviors and building skills that will help promote successful conflict resolution.
Attendees will be able to:
- Describe the role personalities, biases, and stereotypes play in conflict.
- Identify effective management techniques and skills to build productive behaviors and promote successful conflict resolution.
- Determine how personal biases and stereotypes can limit teamwork and diversity in the workplace.
Register Here Date: Thursday, August 27, 2020 Time: 12 - 1 pm PT
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