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Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the extension of several nationwide waivers. Washington state will participate in the following waivers that apply to the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP):
- COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #84 - Child Nutrition Update for School Year 2021-2022
- This memo announces a new suite of Child Nutrition Program Nationwide waivers and flexibilities to support a successful school reopening in school year 2021-2022.
- These flexibilities will increase funding, support access, and balance operational needs with the goal of providing nutritious meals across all Child Nutrition Programs.
- While many waivers provide flexibilities for an extended timeframe, USDA expects schools and child care providers to only use the flexibilities for the duration and extent that they are needed.
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COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #87 – Nationwide Waiver to Allow Non-Congregate Meal Service for School Year 2021-2022
- This waiver applies to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Seamless Summer Option (SSO), and Child & Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
- This waiver allows meals to be served in a non-congregate meal setting.
- Flexibilities of this waiver may be implemented from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, or until congregation in in-school settings is safe and healthy, whichever is sooner.
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COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #88 – Nationwide Waiver of Meal Times Requirements for School Year 2021-2022
- This waiver applies to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Seamless Summer Option (SSO), & Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
- This waives the established meal time parameters, the required minimum time between meal services, and allows sponsors to serve more than one meal at a time.
- Flexibilities of this waiver may be implemented from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, or until congregation in in-school settings is safe and healthy, whichever is sooner.
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COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #89 – Nationwide Waiver to Allow Parents and Guardians to Pick Up Meals for Children for School Year 2021-2022
- This waiver applies to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Seamless Summer Option (SSO), and Child & Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
- 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.
- Flexibilities of this waiver may be implemented from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, or until congregation in in-school settings is safe and healthy, whichever is sooner.
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COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #91 - Nationwide Waiver to Allow Specific Meal Pattern Flexibility in the Child and Adult Care Food Program for School Year 2021-2022
- This waiver allows States to grant requests from sponsors for the following flexibilities on case by case basis:
- At least one serving per day, across all eating occasions must be whole grain-rich;
- The crediting of grains by ounce equivalents must be fully implemented by October 1, 2021;
- Low-fat milk (1%) must be unflavored.
- All other meal pattern requirements remain in effect.
- This waiver is effective July 1, 2021, and remains in effect until June 30, 2022.
- USDA expects these flexibilities will be utilized only as needed and that program operators will seek to meet the meal pattern requirement to the greatest extent possible.
- The purpose of this waiver is to assist schools, community organizations, and day care homes with reopening and to ensure that children are able to receive benefits with appropriate safety measures.
- This waiver allows:
- Schools, regardless of their location, to claim all afterschool snacks at the free rate;
- At-risk afterschool care centers, regardless of their location, to apply to participate in the CACFP and claim all meals and snack at the free rate;
- All day care homes, regardless of their location, to receive the Tier 1 reimbursement rate for all meals and snacks.
- This waiver is effective July 1, 2021, and remains in effect until June 30, 2022.
- COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #95 - Nationwide Waiver of Onsite Monitoring Requirements for State Agencies in the Child and Adult Care Food Program- EXTENSION 3
- This waiver allows OSPI CNS to conduct Administrative Reviews as a desk audit and waives the requirement for on-site visits for reviews during the emergency.
- This waiver is in effect immediately, and remains in effect until 30 days after the end of the public health emergency.
- COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #96 - Nationwide Waiver of Onsite Monitoring Requirements for Sponsors in the Child and Adult Care Food Program- EXTENSION
- This waiver removes the requirement that CACFP monitoring requirements be conducted onsite.
- Please note that to ensure Program integrity during this time, sponsoring organizations should continue monitoring activities of Program operations offsite (example: through desk audit).
- This waiver is in effect immediately, and remains in effect until 30 days after the end of the public health emergency.
Questions? Please contact your OSPI CNS Program Specialist.
Have you noticed 1% and fat free milk have been in short supply?
There has been a significant delay in milk deliveries, missed deliveries, and canceled orders in Washington State as a new warehouse is set up for distribution.
Milk shortages seem to be impacting fat-free and 1% milk varieties, while 2% and whole milk are available.
CACFP Allowable Milk Options:
- 1 year old: Whole Milk
- 2 year old and older: Fat-Free, Low-Fat (1%)
- Flavored Milk: Must be fat-free and only allowed for children ages 6 and up
What Do You Need To Do?
The Meal Distribution Plan (MDP) provides the state agency information about which waivers you intend to use.
If you have not been able to provide CACFP allowable milk options to the appropriate age group (fat free or 1%), but you have been able to provide other milk varieties (2%, whole milk, or flavored milk that is not fat free or flavored milk to children under the age of 6) you must inform OSPI CNS.
Note: If you have submitted an MDP or MDP Update Survey that includes the Meal Pattern Flexibility Waiver for milk fat percentage, no action is required.
Questions? Please contact your OSPI CNS Program Specialist.
Who Must Attend Annual Training?
- All institutions participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
- All institutions planning to participate in the CACFP in FY 21–22.
- At a minimum, the person responsible for oversight of the CACFP must attend. This training is intended for directors and administrators.
Register Now!
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FY21-22 CACFP Annual Updates Webinar for Child Care, At-Risk (community sponsors), and Family Day Care Home Sponsors
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Register Here!
Date: Wednesday, June 23
Time: 1:30–3:30pm PT
- If you are unable to attend the live session, this webinar will be recorded and posted to the CACFP Child Care Annual Training Moodle. We anticipate the recording will be posted by July 15, 2021, and a CNS Update will be released when the recording is available.
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FY21-22 CACFP Annual Updates for Adult Care Center Sponsors - This recorded session will be available on our CACFP Adult Care Annual Training Moodle by July 15, 2021.
FY21-22 Training Requirements
This year has three components, all CACFP sponsors must certify completion of all training requirements when submitting their Washington Integrated Nutrition System (WINS) sponsor application. Training requirements include:
- The FY21-22 CACFP Annual Updates Webinar - Join us as we discuss the past year, renewal updates, and looking ahead to FY 2022.
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Annual Civil Rights Training - This session will review the basic requirements of Civil Rights requirements when operating the CACFP. This is a recorded session— more details to come.
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Ounce Equivalents Training - You may have read a previous update on what Ounce Equivalents are and how to start implementing them in your programs. Join us for a live training session— more details to come!
Will STARS Credits be Available for These Trainings?
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) has specific requirements for which trainings can offer STARS credits. We are looking into which trainings meet these requirements. We will share more details in upcoming CACFP Newsletters.
Questions? Please contact your OSPI CNS Program Specialist.
The Farm to ECE Community of Practice is a network of farmers, providers, programs and others interested in learning about farm to ECE in Washington State.
Register Here
Date: April 27, 2021
Time: 3–4 pm PT
Join the Farm to ECE Community of Practice call to hear Chris Iberle, WSDA Farm to School Lead, share how early learning programs can connect with farms in their area that are interested in working with child care to supply local foods, or be a part of education. Chris will also talk about new tools being developed to connect programs with farmers and ask for your feedback.
To learn more, please visit the Washington State Farm to School Network webpage.
Lunch n’ Learn webinars are short, concise, “power sessions” on specific CACFP-related topics. Most of the topics are based on sponsor suggestions and we will be presenting a different one each month through September!
Infant Meal Updates
Do you serve infants in your centers? During this session we will discuss what documents are required for infant meals and important reminders!
Register Here
Date: Tuesday, April 27
Time: 1:30–2:00 pm PT
During this webinar we will discuss:
- Combination Store Bought Baby Food
- Ounce Equivalents for Infants
- Upcoming Infant Trainings
- Questions and Answers
Upcoming Office Hours
Office hours are a time for informal question and answer sessions. Join us for a discussion on the infant meal pattern, infant meal records, combination baby food follow up, and ounce equivalents.
Join Live Here!
Date: Monday, May 24
Time: 2–4 pm PT
Please come with questions or items you would like to discuss related to infant meals.
 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!
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 center 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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Infant Meal Pattern Requirements - This training reviews requirements for serving infants in the CACFP, including: changes to the updated infant meal pattern charts and requirements for serving breastmilk and infant formula, strategies that support infants and their developmental readiness for solid foods, and requirements for serving more nutritious solid foods to infants.
Sign-Up Here for the May 4 class
Sign-Up Here for the May 6 class
Time: 12–4 pm 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.
- Make sure to edit your profile to include your STARS ID to make getting your STARS credits easier!
- 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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Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) has an unprecedented opportunity to improve access to fruits and vegetables for Washington's low-income families.
From June through September, the American Relief Plan Act more than doubles WIC’s cash value benefit for fruits and vegetables, to $35.00 per participant.
How Can You Help?
The Department of Health is asking your help to get the message out about this increase to the families you serve and to encourage them to apply for WIC benefits if they aren’t currently participants.
This increased benefit is only for four months, and every family in Washington who is eligible for WIC can take full advantage of this opportunity.
Join the Webinar to Learn More
Join WIC for a webinar! During the webinar they will: provide and overview of WIC, discuss how the benefits work, and how you can help spread the word.
Register Here
Date: Thursday, May 6
Time: 1:00–2:15 pm PT
To learn more about WIC, visit the Washington State Department of Health's WIC webpage.
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April 27
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Lunch n' Learn: CACFP Lunch n’ Learn: Infant Meal Records
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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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June 23
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FY21-22 CACFP Annual Updates Webinar for Child Care, At-Risk (Community), and Family Day Care Home Sponsors - Register Here!
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July 15
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FY21-22 CACFP Annual Updates for Adult Care Centers posted in Moodle
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