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Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released SP01, CACFP01, SFSP01-21: Questions and Answers Relating to the Nationwide Wavier to Allow Summer Food Service Program and Seamless Summer Option Operations through SY20-21 - Q&As #2. This memo reviews common questions regarding the operations of Summer Meal Programs during the 20-21 school year.
This memo comes after USDA released a press release and multiple waivers to allow sponsors to operate Summer Meal Programs through the SY20-21. We released a CNS Update 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.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #68 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 Details
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 and waiver reference- the most current instructions request a reference to CNR #68 in the School Name section.
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.
All required program materials for the application, monitoring visits, meal counts, and more can be found on the SFSP Program Materials & Required Documents Webpage.
Frequently requested materials include:
Need help locating something? Email summermeals@k12.wa.us.
With the start of a new fiscal year on October 1, monitoring visits must be conducted of all SFSP sites, regardless of whether they operated during emergency or traditional SFSP in SY 2019-20.
There are 3 required monitoring visits for SFSP sites.
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Pre-operational Visits – Must be conducted before a site’s first day of service.
- Required for all new sites.
- May be waived for returning sites.
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First Week Visits – Must be conducted during a site’s first week of operation.
- Required for all new SFSP sites or returning sites with significant operational problems noted on the previous year’s site review.
- May be waived if:
- A sponsor successfully participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
- Site operated last year and did not have any serious findings noted on its site review.
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Site Reviews – Required to be conducted within the first 4 weeks of operation at all SFSP sites.
For more information on waiving SFSP monitoring visits and the Nationwide Waivers, please reference:
All SFSP Monitoring Forms and Reference Sheets can be found on the Program Materials/Forms webpage.
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SFSP/SSO Renewal is Due October 31.
All Sponsoring Organizations who plan to operate SFSP/SSO this fall must submit a Meal Distribution Plan that reflects their current meal distribution methods and waiver implementation.
We understand during this public health emergency that sponsors’ meal service models may change. Program operators should resubmit their MDP survey as their meal distribution models are updated.
Checklists Updated as of 10/15!
The SFSP/SSO Checklists summarize the renewal process and can be used as a guide to submitting both the applications in WINS and the Meal Distribution Survey
Renewal Reminders
Please review last week's training and WINS renewal requirements article for more details.
Questions? Please contact your OSPI CNS Program Specialist.
Districts offering the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)/ School Breakfast Program (SBP), and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) this fall are encouraged to join us for weekly webinars.
Register Here
Date: Wednesdays through November 4, 2020
Time: 2 - 3 pm PT
Please hold a space on your calendar. A reminder email with your link to log into the webinar is 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.
Miss last week? You can review last week's recording at this link.
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The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) provides healthy meals to all children ages 18 & under, and students ages 21 and under enrolled in a Washington school district.
SFSP sponsors must promote meal access to all children. This includes providing accommodations for children with disabilities who have special dietary needs.
Often times accommodations can be made within the meal pattern requirements. If this is the case, a medical statement is not required. Examples of this may include modifying the texture of meals (pureed, chopped, etc.) and substituting food items from the same component.
Potential Substitutions
Gluten Free Grains
- Corn Products, such as tortillas, tortilla chips, popcorn, corn-based cereals
- Rice Products, such as rice crackers, enriched white or brown rice, rice cereals
- Oat Products, such as gluten-free oatmeal or oat-based granola bars
Milk Alternatives*
- Lactose-free milk
- Lactose-reduced milk
*Please note that approved milk substitutes are not creditable in SFSP without a note signed by a state-recognized medical authority.
Meat Alternates
- Yogurt, flavored or unflavored and nonfat, low-fat, or whole
- Cheese, such as cheddar, mozzarella, American, or Swiss
- Beans or Peas, such as black beans, refried beans, chickpeas, or hummus
- Nuts/Seeds*, such as almonds, cashews, or sunflower seeds
- Nut/Seed Butters, such as almond butter, peanut butter, or sunflower butter
- Eggs
*Please note that Nuts/Seeds may only comprise 50% of the M/MA component at lunch/supper.
Substitutions Outside the Meal Pattern
If an accommodation cannot be made within the meal pattern requirements, a statement signed by a state-recognized medical authority would need to be submitted. The statement must detail:
- Food(s) to be avoided
- How the food impacts the participant
- Food(s) to be substituted
OSPI has developed the Special Dietary Accommodations Form, available in both English & Spanish, as a resource. When supported by a signature from a state-recognized medical authority, meal modifications that do not meet meal pattern requirements can be claimed for reimbursement.
Resources on Special Dietary Accommodations
Questions? Please email summermeals@k12.wa.us.
The USDA has released several waivers that extend through the summer, as well as some extending through September 2021.
Please visit the OSPI Nutrition & Meals Guidance webpage, under the Important Updates header, to review any of these waivers.
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October 21
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SY20-21 Food Service Operations for NSLP and SFSP Sponsors Weekly Webinar - Register Here
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October 30
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Last day to submit your August claims! 60-Day Claim Deadline
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October 31
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Due Date for SY20-21 SFSP/ SSO Applications
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