For sponsors who wish to participate in the CACFP Program in SY20-21
A Meal Distribution Plan (MDP) Survey must be submitted if you plan to take advantage of any nationwide waivers or serving a meal service that is different than your usual service. A MDP must be completed and submitted along with your WINS renewal application.
Submit Your CACFP MDP survey.
Sponsors should fill out the MDP Survey based on current meal distribution methods. We understand during this public health emergency that meal service might change. Sponsors should re-submit their MDP survey as their meal distribution models are updated.
Child Nutrition Services (CNS) automatically receives notifications when the survey is completed. For questions, please contact your program specialist or call 360-725-6200.
Due to the public health crisis, USDA Child Nutrition Program requirements are subject to change both as updated guidance is received from the USDA and at the discretion of the State Agency. Please check CNS Updates and OSPI's website for all important updates and/or changes.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released SP 24, CACFP 13, SFSP 13-2020: Questions and Answers for the Child Nutrition Programs during School Year 2020-21 - #5.
This policy memo reviews common questions and answers regarding school reopening, meal patterns, potable water, Child Care and Afterschool requirements.
For more details, please review the full policy memo.
Have questions? Please contact your assigned OSPI program specialist.
Child Care Centers, Family Day Care Home Sponsors, and At-Risk Program Community Sponsors
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, and monitors are encouraged to participate. At a minimum, the person responsible for oversight of the CACFP must attend. This training is intended for directors and administrators. Monitors are encouraged to attend.
This training is mandatory; the FY2021 renewal agreement will not be approved until the appropriate person has attended training.
Virtual Training
If you did not attend the live annual training session on on 8/19/2020, you may watch the recorded session to meet training requirements for CACFP.
The recorded session will be posted to our Moodle Platform after the recording is ADA compliant.
We will release an update when this recording is available – keep an eye out in the Weekly CNS Newsletters. Those who watch the recorded Annual Training and register with their STARS ID are eligible for STARS credits until 9/30/2020.
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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, and monitors are encouraged to participate. At a minimum, the person responsible for oversight of the CACFP must attend. This training is intended for directors and administrators. Monitors are encouraged to attend.
This training is mandatory; the FY2021 renewal agreement will not be approved until the appropriate person has attended training.
Virtual Training
Annual Training will be available as a recorded training on the Moodle Platform. The recorded session will be posted after the recording is ADA compliant.
We will release an update when this recording is available – keep an eye out in the Weekly CNS Newsletters. Those who watch the recorded Annual Training and register with their STARS ID are eligible for STARS credits until 9/30/2020.
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OSPI Child Nutrition Services has formed a Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Team to assess our policies and procedures in Child Nutrition Services to identify any areas of racial or ethnic inequity. Following this investigatory process, we will develop and implement an action plan to address issues identified.
We invite Child Nutrition Program sponsoring organization administrators and operators and other organizations that support child nutrition and/or advocate for social justice to participate in a virtual focus group with us on August 25, 2020, from 2 – 4pm PT.
If you would like to participate, register here.
Can’t participate, but still want to provide input to this process? Complete this survey.
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) sponsors, except emergency shelters and at-risk only programs, are required to collect enrollment and income information from families annually. This information is used to complete a study month and determine the claiming percentages for meal reimbursements.
Steps to complete this process:
Completing a Study Month for FY 2021
- Complete a study month between July 1 and October 31, 2020.
- Begin no earlier than July 1, 2020.
- Use one calendar month or 30 consecutive days.
- Enter results of the FY 2021 study month prior to entering October 2020 claims, using 10/1/2020 as the “Effective Date”.
- Maintain supporting documentation.
Questions? Please contact your program specialist.
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.
- 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.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is working with state child nutrition agencies to provide safe and flexible meal service to children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recently, USDA released tip sheets with best practices:
We highly recommend reviewing these reference sheets for tips during the pandemic.
Have questions? Please contact your program specialist.
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, USDA issued waivers to allow State Agencies administering the CACFP and other child nutrition programs to complete desk reviews in lieu of conducting onsite reviews.
This has allowed us to make changes to our administrative review process to accommodate public health guidelines and to provide necessary social distancing by not visiting sponsors or sites in person.
Throughout this recording, we will reference USDA guidance that has modified additional components of conducting administrative reviews during the pandemic.
View the recorded training here | Print a copy of the slides
During this webinar, we will review:
- What a desk review is
- What do you need to do to prepare for a desk review
- The steps to a desk review
- What you'll need to gather and submit for a successful review
Questions? Please contact your program specialist.
Need help with determining what counts as whole grain-rich? Looking for activity flyers for children that provide nutrition education?
Learn about the CACFP Creditable tools and nutrition education resources available for free on our website.
Watch On Demand Webinar
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
September 15
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August Claims Due in WINS
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September 30
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Renewal Due - Make sure to complete your Application, MDP, and Training Requirements!
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