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CNS met with the CACFP Operations During COVID Workgroup to gather best practices, discuss resources, and discover what tools OSPI CNS could share with CACFP sponsors to help during this time.
Register for the New Weekly Call
To share this information, we have decided to reinstate weekly calls where we can share information and hear your questions. Join us on Thursdays!
Register Here
Date: Thursdays through October 29, 2020
Time: 10 am - 12 pm PT
The first part of our meetings will be OSPI CNS and partners sharing information followed by Q&A. In the second hour, we will host specialized sessions for different program operators:
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Thursday, September 10, we ask that ECEAP and Headstart sponsors plan to stay on for the full call.
Please hold a space on your calendar on Wednesdays from 2 - 3 pm PT. Reminder emails with your link to log into the session are sent 1 hour before the session starts.
Weekly follow up emails with a copy of the slides are sent to everyone registered for the session, even if they did not attend. We will not be posting recordings to the CNS webpages due to rapidly changing information .
Please keep an eye out in your inbox for these emails, if you do not see them in your inbox please check your SPAM box.
Last week, we shared the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announcement to extend several Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) waivers. These waiver extensions allow SFSP operations to continue through December 31, 2020.
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COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #48 - Nationwide Waiver to Allow Area Eligibility for Closed Enrolled Sites in the SFSP and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Seamless Summer Option (SSO) - Extension
- This waives the requirement for closed enrolled sites operating under the SFSP or SSO to collect income eligibility applications.
- This waiver is in effect until December 31, 2020.
- Washington State will participate in this waiver.
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COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #49 - Nationwide Waiver to Waive First Week Site Visits in the SFSP - Extension
- This waives the requirement to visit each SFSP site during the first week of operation.
- This waiver is in effect until December 31, 2020.
- Washington State will participate in this waiver.
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COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #50 - Nationwide Waiver of Meal Service Time Restrictions in the SFSP and NSLP Seamless Summer Option - Extension
- This waives the required minimum time between meal service times and allow sponsors to serve more than one meal at a time.
- This waiver is in effect until December 31, 2020.
- Washington State will participate in this waiver.
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COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #51 - Nationwide Waiver to Allow Offer Vs Serve Flexibilities in the SFSP - Extension
- This waiver allows Offer vs Serve in SFSP operations.
- This waiver is in effect until December 31, 2020.
- Washington State will be participating in this waiver.
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COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #52 - Nationwide Waiver to Extend Area Eligibility Waivers - EXTENSION 2
- This waiver applies to the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).
- This waiver allows SFSP and SSO sponsors in good standing to operate open sites in areas consistent with the State plan, but not located in “Areas in which poor economic conditions exist”.
- This waiver is in effect until December 31, 2020.
- FNS reserves the right to withdraw this approval subject to availability of funding
- Washington State will participate in this waiver.
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COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #53 - Nationwide Waiver to Allow Meal Pattern Flexibility in the SFSP and NSLP Seamless Summer Option - EXTENSION 7
- This waiver allows sponsors to serve meals that do not meet the meal pattern requirements.
- Sponsors are approved on a case-by-case basis. If your organization is unable to locate a particular item, contact your program specialist.
- This waiver is in effect until December 31, 2020.
- Washington State will participate in this waiver.
- As a reminder, Federal procurement regulations at 2 CFR 200.320(f) allow procurement by noncompetitive proposals when there is a public emergency.
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COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #54 - Nationwide Waiver to Allow Non-Congregate Feeding in the Summer Food Service Program and NSLP Seamless Summer Option – EXTENSION 4
- This extended waiver allows meals to be served in a non-congregate meal setting.
- This waiver is in effect until December 31, 2020.
- Washington State will participate in this waiver.
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COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #55 - Nationwide Waiver to Allow Parents and Guardians to Pick Up Meals for Children - EXTENSION 4
- This waiver allows parents and guardians to pick up meals for their children.
- Program operators must maintain program integrity and ensure duplicate meals are not distributed.
- This waiver is in effect until December 31, 2020.
- Washington State will participate in this waiver.
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COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #56 - Nationwide Waiver to Allow Summer Food Service Program and Seamless Summer Option Operations through December 2020
- This allows program sponsors to operate the SFSP and Seamless Summer Option through December 31, 2020 for new and returning sponsors.
- Allowing these programs facilitates the safe provision of meals by eliminating the need to collect meal payments, including cash payments, at meal sites, which speeds up service of meals, thereby reducing contact and potential exposure to COVID–19.
- This waiver is in effect until December 31, 2020.
- Washington State will participate in this waiver.
Please read the linked policy memos for more details.
Child Care Centers, Family Day Care Home Sponsors, and At-Risk Program Community Sponsors
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.
During this webinar, we cover USDA program updates, hot topics, Civil Rights, and more! IMPORTANT UPDATE: During the live training session we provided inaccurate information regarding the definition of race and have corrected this in the recorded training.
The Recorded FY 21 Annual Updates Training is now available!
We have created a handout with detailed instructions on accessing the training and getting credit for participation.
To get started you must create a Moodle Account to view this training if you do not have one already.
STARS Credits
Those who watch the recorded Annual Training and input their STARS ID by 9/30/2020 are eligible for STARS credits. OSPI CNS will input your credits by October 31, 2020. Please check for your credit after this date.
Annual Training Requirements
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.
Questions? Please contact your program specialist.
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Adult Care Center 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 - Emailed
The recorded training is now available! We directly emailed all Adult Care Center sponsor contacts with a link to the training. We encourage you to watch this recorded training before beginning your renewal in WINS, as it contains important details.
Participation is recorded when you register for the training and OSPI CNS is notified when you complete the session. There will be no certificate or confirmation email sent for your participation in the training.
Those who watch the recorded Annual Training and register with their STARS ID are eligible for STARS credits until 9/30/2020.
Have questions? Please email Megan Harlan, Program Specialist.
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Join Washington state Farm to ECE leaders for a training on how to incorporate Farm to ECE strategies into your care setting. This training will share strategies for buying local foods, incorporating nutrition education and garden education into your program, and starting a preschool garden.
Register Here
Date: Saturday, October 24, 2020
Time: 9:00 am - 3:30 pm PT
Important Reminders
Have Questions? Please contact your program specialist.
There are many different options when serving 3-5 year olds in the school district. But which program should you operate? What considerations are there?
New Resources Available!
We hope these help you when making decisions to serve children in your district settings.
Have Questions? Please contact your program specialist.
The goal of the CACFP At-Risk program is to provide school age 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.
Updated USDA Guidance
Recent guidance has been released from USDA that current Summer Food Service Program sponsors (SFSP) may extend their summer feeding operation through December 2020.
If you are not a current SFSP sponsor or you are a current SFSP sponsor but you are choosing not to extend your SFSP operation, please consider operating CACFP At Risk this Fall.
If you are planning to operate CACFP in FY21 and claim meals for October, your program renewal is due October 1, 2020. If you do not plan to operate CACFP in October, your FY21 program renewal is due at least 30 days prior to your program operation start date.
If you are interested in operating At-Risk, 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.
At-Risk Recorded Webinar
If you were unable to join OSPI CNS for the CACFP Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic Weekly Call last Thursday, we discussed important information regarding At-Risk programs.
View the recording here
If you would like a copy of the slides, please contact your program specialist.
Questions? Please email 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.
Earlier this spring, USDA released the Crediting Handbook for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). This update reflects CACFP meal pattern requirements which became effective October 2017.
Review the Updated CACFP Handbook here!
The updated meal pattern promotes the development of good eating habits through nutrition education. Additionally, this handbook is a supplementary resource to the Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs and contains additional information on creditable foods served in child and adult care centers, which may be located in a variety of settings.
The ICN’s September STAR webinar will be done in conjunction with the USDA Office of Food Safety in celebration of National Food Safety month. The webinar will highlight a bird’s eye view of your food safety plan from beginning to end, as we aim to mitigate risks throughout the flow of food from purchasing to serving to transporting and traceability.
Register Here
Date: Thursday, September 17, 2020
Time: 12 - 1 pm PT
Learning Objectives
- Identify foodborne pathogens commonly associated with retail foodservice operations
- Describe three critical food safety practices used throughout the flow of food to mitigate foodborne disease
- Identify safe transporting methods and documentation procedures
- Apply recommended traceability systems necessary to conduct a product recall
- And explain answers to frequently asked questions from previous USDA Office of Food Safety webinars.
This activity sheet can help everyone visualize what makes a Go Food to eat anytime, a Slow Food to eat sometimes, and a Whoa Food to eat only once in a while for healthy eating.
Download Go, Slow, Whoa Foods Flyer
USDA released a recorded training which includes practical tips for how CACFP operators can meet meal pattern requirements while addressing a toddler's developmental needs such as assisting children in learning how to feed themselves, encouraging children to try new foods, serving the right type of milk in the CACFP to different age groups, increasing exposure to a variety of vegetables and fruits, and more!
View the Mealtimes with Toddlers Training Webinar Here!
Complete the post-webinar practice questions for a certificate of participation.
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September 10
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Weekly CACFP Operations During COVID Webinar - Register Here
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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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