Sign Up for the New Webinar Series!
We will see you every other week until December 16!
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 these webinars.
You must register for this NEW series.
Register Here
When? Every Other Wednesday
Dates? November 18, December 2, December 16
Time? 2 - 3 pm PT
Reminders
- Save us on Your Calendar! When you register, there is an option to add us to your calendar at the bottom of the confirmation email.
- 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.
- 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 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released SP 04, CACFP 03, SFSP 03-2021 - Questions and Answers Relating to the Nationwide Waiver to Allow Summer Food Service Program and Seamless Summer Option Operations through School Year 2020-21 - Extension - Q&As #3
Questions? Please contact your program specialist.
In a previous At-Risk update we reviewed requirements from USDA, details regarding eligible sites, and considerations for operating the CACFP At-Risk program.
Some Highlights
- 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).
- Sponsors may submit an exemption request if there are extenuating circumstances.
Claiming Meals
- Sponsoring organizations that operate the CACFP At-Risk Afterschool Meals Component may only claim meals after the end of the instructional day if students are physically in care.
- For CACFP At-Risk afterschool care programs that are providing on-site care to children attending school virtually: Schools that are operating virtually are considered "in session". Only a meal and/or snack served after the virtual school day is over would be reimbursable.
- For CACFP At-Risk afterschool programs that are not caring for children on-site: When meals are being provided for children that are not in on-site care, at-risk suppers and or snacks may be claimed even if they are distributed before the end of the school instructional day. These meals must be marked as At-Risk meals.
Questions? Please contact your OSPI CNS Program Specialist.
Monthly claims are due by the 15th of each month following the claim period. This allows processing to take place in a timely manner. Here are some important reminders about claiming in the Washington Integrated Nutrition System (WINS):
Claiming During Renewals
- Sponsor Application, Site Applications, and Site Calendars must be in APPROVED status before entering claims into WINS.
- Meals claimed in excess of the CAP count for a site will result in a claim error. Double check your Average Daily Participation (ADP) prior to entering the claim.
- Meals claimed in excess of the CAP count for a site will result in a claim error. Double check your Average Daily Attendance (ADA) prior to entering the claim.
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SFSP sponsors must make Average Daily Attendance (ADA) revisions prior to submitting monthly claims. Specialists must approve revisions before claims can process for payment.
- Revised ADA's will not be approved for claims that go into error status due to meals claimed over the approved CAP.
- WINS edit checks the number of approved operating days for each site to the number of operating days entered in the site claim. If these numbers don’t match, the claim will go into error status.
General Claiming Reminders
- Monthly claim data must be in "OK to Pay" status by 5:00 pm PT on the 15th.
- WINS will automatically log all users out of the system on the 15th of each month at EXACTLY 5pm PT.
- Ensure to give yourself enough time to input all claiming data so the claim is in “OK to Pay” status.
- Once WINS closes down the claiming option users are not allowed to input claim data until after the monthly claim reconciliation process is complete. This can take up to two business days.
- Didn't submit your claim by the 15th? That's okay! File your monthly claim by the 60-day deadline.
- Example: The October 60-day claim deadline is December 30, 2020.
- The 20-21 Claim Processing Dates Information Sheet takes weekends and holidays into consideration for the 60-day deadlines. You may want to print or bookmark this information.
- Refer to the Claims Reference Sheet for details on what to do if you don't submit your claims by the 60-day claim deadline.
- Errors must be resolved for claims to be paid. WINS has multiple edit checks to help resolve issues before your claim is submitted.
Claiming Resources
Have Questions? Please contact Hydie Kidd, Fiscal Supervisor, or Pam Fravel, Fiscal Analyst.
SFSP meal delivery may be beneficial to childcare centers if school age children are now in care all day due to COVID-19. Coordination between the school district and the childcare center needs to be a formal arrangement where the childcare center is either a “site” under the school district OR the childcare center is a “stop” on a meal delivery bus route. The process listed below must be followed for either one of these scenarios:
Childcare Center is a Site SFSP Meal Distribution
Meals are dropped off at the childcare site:
- Childcare staff must be trained by School District on SFSP requirements as they pertain to their role
- Childcare staff must take “Point of Service” meal count using the SFSP meal count form
- Meal counts must be submitted to the school district
- Communication about meals received, leftovers on hand, and accurate meal count forecasting must occur regularly to ensure enough meals are delivered for each child AND to reduce food waste
- The childcare center cannot claim these meals for reimbursement
Childcare Center is a “stop” on the Meal Delivery Bus Route
Meals are distributed to children individually:
- School district staff would take “Point of Service” meal counts as each meal is provided to a child
- The childcare center cannot claim these meals for reimbursement
Reminders
- Childcare centers are unable to pick-up meals on behalf of the children in their care.
- Under no circumstance may children receive more than the number of reimbursable meals allowed in each Program for which they are eligible.
Questions? Please contact your CNS Program Specialist.
SFSP/SSO Renewals Must Be Approved Before Submitting October Claims
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.
Applications received after 10/31 deadline might not be approved by the 11/15 claim deadline.
Renewal Reminders
Please review our training and WINS renewal requirements article for more details.
Questions? Please contact your OSPI CNS Program Specialist.
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.
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 Safety Basics
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Norovirus for Schools
- Norovirus for Child Care
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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
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.
ECE and Childcare Centers
“New for FY 2021, institutions operating the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) at non-school based sites are included in the definition of eligible schools and may apply for funding.”
Webinars to Set You Up for Success
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November 15
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October Claims Due in WINS
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November 18
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SY20-21 Food Service Operations for NSLP and SFSP Sponsors Webinar - Register Here
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November 30
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Last day to submit your September claims! 60-Day Claim Deadline
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