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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released SP01, CACFP01, SFSP01-21: Questions and Answers Relating to the Nationwide Wavier to Allow Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) operations through SY20-21 - Q&As #2. Question 4 of this guidance provides information regarding the annual rollover of Free and Reduced-Price (F/R) Meal Eligibility for school districts.
USDA is allowing a “pause” of the F/R eligibility roll-over while districts operate Summer programs. Eligibility carryover allows children to maintain their prior school year eligibility status for up to 30 operating days into the next school year or until a new eligibility determination is made. This “pause” means that students who were eligible for free or reduced-price meals last school year will retain their status as long as your district has not received new eligibility information this year (via Direct Certification or a Meal Application). Students will maintain this eligibility until new eligibility is obtained or until NLSP operations resume.
IMPORTANT: The rollover “pause” is only applicable to districts operating SFSP or SSO. District operating National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, or Special Milk Program should follow normal processes.
This “pause” will result in the following mix of economic data and recommended actions for the 20-21 School Year:
- 20-21 Directly Certified Students through DC system – Continue to run DC monthly or more frequently.
- 20-21 Directly Certified Students through other sources – Continue to obtain data from other DC sources.
- 20-21 Eligible students via new free and reduced-price meal application – Continue to collect and process meal applications and/or Family Income Surveys.
- 19-20 Carryover students not captured in the above (the "pause") – Retain eligibility from SY 19-20.
We encourage districts to continue to collect and process meal applications as this data will provide a current picture of the economic impact to student households. In an effort to support districts, OSPI launched the It’s More Than a Meal Application and It’s More Than the Family Income Survey toolkits. These toolkits are designed to help districts promote the importance of families filling out and returning these forms. Materials are located on the OSPI Child Nutrition Services webpages.
Questions? Please contact your program specialist.
October Building Data must be collected from all traditional NSLP/SBP/SMP sponsors, even if a summer meal program is currently being operated.
Prior to October 31
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Sponsors currently operating the NSLP/SBP should follow the steps outlined in the NSLP/SBP MDP Sponsor Checklist to ensure their renewal application is complete. OBD should be entered with the October claim for reimbursement. The applicable bulletins and addendums provide additional details on the renewal process.
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Sponsors currently operating the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) or Seamless Summer Option (SSO) All School Sponsors must submit their NSLP/SBP renewal application and create SY20-21 NSLP schedules by October 31, 2020 to ensure accurate OBD is collected for SY20-21. When submitting the site calendar, sponsors should:
- Add a NSLP schedule for one day, October 31, 2020, including estimates of the Free, Reduced-Price, and Paid participation in the schedule.
- With the exception of October 31, ensure the start date for the NSLP schedule does not overlap with the SFSP/SSO schedule.
- When submitting the October claim for reimbursement, zeroes (0) should be entered for the NSLP/SBP meal counts. An error message will populate in the claim – please disregard this error message.
- The applicable SFSP/SSO Renewal Checklist provides additional details on the renewal process.
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Sponsors currently operating the SMP should follow the steps outlined in the applicable bulletins and addendums to ensure their renewal application is complete. OBD should be entered with the October claim for reimbursement.
Additional Resources
Questions about how to enter OBD in SY 20-21? Please contact your program specialist.
Complete Your Verification Process - Now Open in WINS
Verification is the process of confirming free and reduced-price meal eligibility based on an application. The verification process begins each year on October 1 and concludes November 15. Results of the verification process (Verification Summary Report) must be submitted to Child Nutrition Services by February 1, 2021.
Sponsors currently operating the NSLP and SBP who determine eligibility for meals using meal applications should move forward with the annual verification process for SY 20-21. We are waiting for further guidance from USDA on sponsors operating summer meal programs in SY20-21.
Please review our Verification update for more resources and details about completing this process.
Updated Materials Now Available!
Updated materials are located under the 'Verification of Applications' dropdown on the NSLP Meal Applications and Verification webpage. Materials include:
- Entering the VSR in WINS Training
- Reference Sheets
- Timeline and Instruction Sheets
- Tools to help you complete Verification
- Letters for households in English and Spanish on the OSPI webpages. Additional languages are available on USDA's website.
Questions about the verification process? Please contact your program specialist.
Renewal Application Deadline Extended Until 10/31!
Last month, we released a CNS Update detailing important information regarding NSLP renewal for SY20-21. Applications submitted late may not be approved in time to receive reimbursement for meals for the first month of operation.
Important Reminders
- You must submit your WINS application AND NSLP Meal Distribution Plan for your renewal application to be considered complete. We recommend to utilize the NSLP/SBP MDP Sponsor Checklist to help you meet each step. If you are operating SFSP or SSO, you do not need to complete the NSLP Meal Distribution Plan Survey.
- Review the applicable bulletins and addendum released for detailed renewal information.
- Application due dates:
- Public School Districts and Private Schools- EXTENDED Until October 31, 2020.
- For all sponsors, applications submitted late may not be approved in time to receive reimbursement for meals/milk for the first month of operation.
- Sponsors Who Contract Meals
- New for FY21 - You must complete the Contract Fact Sheet Module in WINS. The purpose of the fact sheet is to gather information about food service contracts.
- Instructions are available in WINS.
- Log into WINS.
- Go to the 'Info' tab.
- Select 'WINS Documentation and Job Aides'.
- Select the 'Completing Contract Fact Sheets in WINS' guide for step-by-step instructions.
Questions? Please contact your program specialist.
Winter weather is upon us! We realize that inclement weather or other events may sometimes unexpectedly affect your district's hours of operation, staff availability, and access to buildings.
Are Local Education Agencies required to serve Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) meals during inclement weather?
There are no requirements that LEAs serve SFSP meals. Districts should consider their unique circumstances and consult with their school administrators. LEAs should communicate meal service changes to households.
Important Reminder - USDA Foods Deliveries
Notify your carrier as soon as possible if you need to cancel or change your delivery of USDA Foods. Deliveries combine orders from multiple districts, loaded in the order they will be delivered. Early notification to your carrier allows for adjustments so other districts may still receive their order.
If your school or district experiences unexpected closures and your delivery cannot be accepted, please contact the Empire Distribution System (IEDS) carrier that delivers your USDA Foods:
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Holman Transportation – 253-867-0682
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Fastway Transportation – 509-534-9351
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Peninsula Transportation – 800-942-9909
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Oak Harbor Transportation – 253-288-8370
Loading docks and delivery areas must be clear of snow and ice to allow for safe deliveries. Please work with your facilities department to ensure your delivery area is ready.
Thank you for assisting the carriers that serve you!
The USDA announced last week that Washington state was awarded a 2021 Team Nutrition Grant. This project will focus on the standardization of 25 recipes that feature Washington-grown foods and represent the cultural diversity of our state. Five School Food Authorities (SFAs) applied and were selected to participate in this grant opportunity as sub-grantees back in May, pending our award of funds. The selected sub-grantees are:
- Quileute Tribal School
- Highline School District
- Lake Chelan School District
- Bellingham School District
- Orcas Island School District
To learn more about our state’s planned grant project, visit the Team Nutrition website.
The Family Income Survey helps to collect community economic demographic data when meal applications are not distributed. The Family Income Survey is updated for school year 2020-21 and is located on the CEP and Title 1, Part A webpage. The survey is translated into Cambodian, Chinese, Korean, Punjabi, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
Who’s required to distribute the Family Income Survey?
Local education agencies (LEAs) participating in Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or Provision 2 for both NSLP and SBP must distribute the Family Income Survey to students who attend a CEP or Provision 2 School.
REMINDER: You do not need to collect Family Income Surveys from students that are Directly Certified, as you already have their information!
Why is it important to distribute?
When free and reduced-price meal applications are not collected, the Family Income Survey is used to collect important income data. This data helps determine and maintain funding levels for significant state funding programs, mainly the Learning Assistance Program (LAP).
Are there any resources that can help me with the Family Income Survey?
Yes! Below are some resources that you can use to help get surveys returned and processed.
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Sample Letter to Households templates are available to modify and use with the Family Income Survey. These letters explain to families why returning the survey is important.
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A Best Practices document for collecting and promoting the survey is available. It contains information about the importance of the Survey and ways to increase return rates.
- We also have a helpful Timeline Resource, which identifies the important tasks and milestones around distributing, collecting, and processing the Family Income Survey.
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We are finalizing the It's More Than the Family Income Survey toolkit. Resources coming soon include: email and robocall text, an editable flyer and social media graphic, as well as social media posts! Once available, these will be located on the CEP and Provision 2 webpage, under the Family Income Survey - Tools, Letter Templates, and Promotion Best Practices dropdown.
Important Reminder
The school food service account cannot be used to cover expenses related to printing, distributing, processing, or coding Family Income Surveys. Food service staff may be helpful in establishing a process in the district as they have experience processing meal applications. Should food service staff take on this task, staff time and expenses must be coded to an account other than food service.
Questions? Please contact your program specialist.
We recently released an update regarding Direct Certification Medicaid (DCM) which provided details on common questions and resources.
Direct Certification must be pulled monthly per state requirements. Please review the Direct Certification and Direct Certification - Medicaid Reference Sheets for more details.
Resources
In an effort to support districts collecting school meal applications, OSPI launched the More Than a Meal Application toolkit. This toolkit is designed to help districts promote the importance of families filling out the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application each year.
Materials are located on the Meal Application and Verification webpage, under the "It's More Than a Meal Application Toolkit" dropdown.
Please review our recent It's More Than A Meal Application Update for more details regarding available materials.
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 Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) is the only federally funded national center dedicated to applied research, education and training, and technical assistance for child nutrition programs.
Get FREE Training - Visit theicn.org/vilt/
ICN is conducting Virtual Instructor-Led Training for anyone who would like to attend. The sessions are about 4 hours long and certificates are provided for participation. Sign up soon! There is a 25 person limit per class.
School Meal Program topics available:
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Food Allergies for SN Managers and Staff
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Food Safety Basics
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Norovirus for Schools
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Nutrition 101 (2-day sessions)
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Foundations for Training Excellence: Basics
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Training Culturally Diverse Groups
- Basic Culinary Math
Team Nutrition recently released the School Meals Programs: Providing Multiple Meals at a Time During the Coronavirus Pandemic resource. This resource provides technical assistance on the amounts of foods needed for multiple day distribution, use of “bulk” foods, best practices, and parent communication.
Other Resources
No Kid Hungry and School Nutrition Foundation are partnering to support the efforts of school nutrition departments that are working with community organizations, i.e. non-profits and out-of-school time providers, or building new partnerships to ensure kids get the food they need.
Grants of up to $50,000 will be given to facilitate partnerships with community organizations to support joint efforts to ensure kids in their community have access to the federal meals programs, backpack programs and food pantries. This grant will also support the needs of school nutrition departments to run these programs.
Deadline to apply is Oct 28, 2020 by 8:59 pm PT
Eligibility Criteria: School districts that are currently working with community organizations, or intend to work with community organizations, to provide children in their communities with access to the federal meals programs, backpack programs or food pantries during the coronavirus pandemic.
Length of Grant: November 15, 2020 – November 15, 2021
Grant Amount: up to $50,000 awarded to school nutrition departments
Download the RFP to find out more about the grant and how to apply!
The USDA Farm to School Grant Application for 2021 is now open, with proposals due January 8, 2021!
There’s a pool of up to $10 million nationwide and grants ranging from $50,000-$100,000 for planning or implementation of learning gardens, local foods in the child nutrition programs, agriculture and nutrition education, and more.
Webinars to Set You Up for Success
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October 28
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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 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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October 31
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NSLP/SBP Public/ Private Schools Renewal Applications Due! Make sure to complete all the required steps!
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