 May 7th is Child Nutrition Hero Day. This day is normally one where we recognize the hardworking individuals whose contributions help nourish children across our state.
You've Gone the Extra Mile
This year, we want to recognize the innovative and empathetic response that child nutrition professionals gave during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a part of Public Service Recognition Week, Child Nutrition providers across Washington State, as well as OSPI’s Child Nutrition team, are being recognized for their work in feeding children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Governor Inslee has chosen this group of people for the Extra Mile award, to honor the public servants who went above and beyond to feed children this year.
A Well-Deserved Award
When Governor Inslee announced statewide school closures, the OSPI Child Nutrition Services (CNS) team took immediate steps to work with program operators to plan to serve meals in their respective communities.
Your heroic efforts resulted in over 20 million meals that were served to kids in the first six months of the pandemic. School staff, child care employees, and community organizations collaborated as the need for meals rose across the state. Meals were distributed not only from school buildings, but also community parks, bus stops, and in some cases, delivered directly to homes by food service staff.
Program operators continually revised their operations to meet the needs of families while continuing to provide safe meals that maintained program integrity. CNS staff acted as liaisons between program operators and the USDA to advocate for the changing dynamics communities were facing and advocated for waivers and flexibilities to allow programs to better serve children.
Thank You
OSPI would like to thank the child nutrition heroes who persisted against many challenges during the pandemic. You have been the rock in every community you serve and we celebrate your heroism during this past year. Congratulations!
Apply for the Summer Meals for Kids Grant (Form Package 412) by Monday, April 26, at 4 pm PT.
The Washington state legislature has provided $250,000 for the Summer Meals For Kids grant.
These grants are available to all sponsors operating a summer program. If you do not have an EDS or iGrants account, you must create one
Please review our 3/22 Update for more details on how you can use these funds, grant ideas, and how to get an EDS account.
Questions? Please email Mikhail Cherniske.
Join us for the How to Participate in Farm to Summer and Celebrate Farm to Summer Week Lunch n’ Learn!
Farm to Summer can increase SFSP participation and keeps money in your local community when local products are purchased for SFSP. Plus it's fun! Join us to learn more.
Register Here
Date: Thursday, May 13
Time: 1:30–2pm PT
During this webinar we will discuss:
- Farm to Summer!
- What it is
- How it can benefit your program
- How to participate in Farm to Summer Week (July 12–16, 2021)
Required Annual Training - Register Now!
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New SFSP Sponsor Training for Summer 2021 – For organizations and administrators that did not operate SFSP in summer 2020 AND did not operate SFSP during SY 20–21.
Register Here
Date: Thursday, April 22
Time: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm PT
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Returning SFSP Sponsors Updates for Summer 2021
- For organizations that operated SFSP in Summer 2020 but did not operate SFSP during SY 20–21
- If you are currently operating the SFSP, you do not need to attend this session. Please ensure to register for the May 5 Bi-Weekly Webinar.
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Register Here
Date: Tuesday, May 4
Time: 9–10 am PT
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Sponsors Continuing SFSP Operation through Summer 2021 Updates – For organizations that operated SFSP in SY 20–21.
Register Here for our regular Bi-Weekly Webinar
Date: Wednesday, May 5
Time: 2–3 pm PT
Complete Your Summer 2021 Application
Application Materials Include:
Additional application materials can be found on the SFSP Program Materials/Forms webpage.
Questions? Contact your Program Specialist or email summermeals@k12.wa.us.
As you are planning your summer operation, now is the time to reach out to other sponsors who may be operating in your community! Sponsors who participate in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) or Seamless Summer Option (SSO) must coordinate with other sponsors to ensure efforts are not duplicated. Under SFSP, two meals may be served and claimed each day. If children are already receiving two meals from a program sponsor, an additional two meals may not be served and claimed under SFSP by another sponsor.
In Washington, some school districts are required to offer a summer meal program. Check in with your local school district to learn what their summer plans are!
To learn who also may be operating in your community, please reference USDA’s Capacity Builder or contact OSPI.
Questions? Contact your Program Specialist or email summermeals@k12.wa.us.
Per guidance given in CACFP 12-2013, SFSP 14-2013, sponsors that operate both SFSP and CACFP At-Risk Meals are not required to monitor their sites following the SFSP requirements during the summer, in addition to monitoring those same sites again following the CACFP requirements during the school year. Instead, these sponsors may follow the CACFP monitoring schedule year-round.
If sponsors choose to follow the CACFP monitoring schedule year-round, one of the three annual reviews must occur during the summer.
Review for SFSP requirements:
- Include the review of a meal service.
- Must be unannounced.
- One review must occur during the summer.
Review for CACFP requirements:
- At least one must include the review of a meal service.
- At least one must be unannounced.
- Two reviews must occur during the school year.
USDA approved Washington state’s CACFP Monitoring Waiver request and has granted flexibilities for Sponsoring Organizations.
If you opted in for the CACFP Statewide Monitoring Waiver and intend to follow the CACFP monitoring schedule year-round to include your SFSP operation:
- Only 2 monitoring visits are required (1 SFSP & 1 CACFP).
- Both the SFSP & CACFP visit must include the review of a meal service.
- CACFP & SFSP visits may be announced.
USDA granted Nationwide Waivers to allow for all Child Nutrition Program monitoring to be done off-site. Please review the resources below for waiver information, instructions on how to “opt in” for available CACFP waivers, and helpful resources for conducting monitoring visits remotely.
Waiver Information & Off-site Monitoring Resources:
Questions? Please contact your Program Specialist.
From time to time, users have noticed the Washington Integrated Nutrition System (WINS) is slow to advance to a new page or certain functions don’t work well when using Internet Explorer. To stay up to date and continuously improve user experience, Internet Explorer is no longer the recommended browser for accessing WINS.
For the best experience with WINS, we recommend to use Google Chrome, Firefox, or other updated browsers.
During these webinars OSPI CNS will discuss hot topics, highlight important reminders, and provide an opportunity for you to ask questions.
Register Here
Dates: Every other Wednesday through 6/30/2021
Time: 2–3 pm PT
Program operators offering the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)/ School Breakfast Program (SBP), Seamless Summer Option (SSO), and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) during the 20-21 school year are encouraged to join us for these webinars.
Reminders
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Follow up emails will no longer be sent after the meeting. If you missed our last webinar, you can review the recording from our 4/7 meeting here.
- 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.
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Child Nutrition Services (CNS) invited the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) to conduct several FREE trainings over the coming year. These sessions can be attended by any food services staff, and they offer Professional Standards.
There is a limit of 2 participants from each site per training. We will be offering sessions more than once so there will be more opportunities to attend later in the year.
Trainings
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Food Allergies - This training reviews food allergies, food intolerance, reading food labels, avoiding cross contact, accommodating students with food allergies, laws regarding food allergies, and educating the school community about food allergies
Sign-Up Here
Date: Tuesday, May 11
Time: 12 - 4pm PT
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Basic Culinary Math - This training allows participants to review and practice basic culinary math skills and focus on key skills such as measuring and converting measurements, scaling recipes, and calculating food costs.
Sign-Up Here
Date: Tuesday, May 25
Time: 12 - 4pm PT
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Food Safety Basics - This session is designed to provide a basic understanding of food safety. Lessons include methods for training staff, how to prevent foodborne illness, and resources for monitoring.
Sign-Up Here
Date: Thursday, May 27
Time: 12 - 4pm PT
Registration Information
Participants register for the training using the pdEnroller platform.
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Each participant must have their own pdEnroller account to sign up for the training if you do not have one currently. You may use this link to create an account, if needed.
- Keep your confirmation email!
- This email is your portal to the training session and additional handouts for the training.
- Pro Tip: You can add events to your calendar via the event page, this way your Zoom access link is available from your calendar.
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Can't Attend?
- Log into your account.
- Select your name in the upper right hand corner.
- Click on 'My Events'.
- Upcoming events appear at the top of your screen, you should see the class and a 'Cancel Registration' button.
- You can cancel your registration at any time using pdEnroller.
- Waitlist Participants:
- PdEnroller notifies CNS of the number of interested participants and automatically creates a waitlist when the session is filled.
- If someone cancels their attendance, pdEnroller automatically notifies the next person on the waitlist and gives them an opportunity to register - keep an eye out in your emails.
IMPORTANT:
- The ICN requires a minimum of 15 registrants per session to conduct the training. If there are not a minimum of 15 registrants, the training will be canceled.
- There is a limit of 25 participants for each session.
Have Questions? Please email Samantha Brueske, Training and Communications Specialist.
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April 21
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Bi-Weekly Food Service Operations for NSLP and SFSP Sponsors Webinar - Register Here
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April 22
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New SFSP Sponsor Training for Summer 2021- Register Here
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April 26
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Summer Meals For Kids Grant Application is Due!
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April 29
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February Claim 60-day Deadline - if you haven't already, submit your claim!
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May 4
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Returning SFSP Sponsors Updates for Summer 2021-
Register Here
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May 5
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Sponsors Continuing SFSP Operation through Summer 2021 Updates - Register Here
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