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Each year, Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) sponsors are required to complete annual training requirements.
This summer, we are hoping to host several in-person training events in addition to the required training. These optional trainings would be approximately 5 hours long and would offer STARS credits to those who attend the session.
Please fill out the FY23 CACFP Annual Training Interest Survey so we may better plan for these trainings.
National CACFP Week is coming!
OSPI Child Nutrition Services is joining the National CACFP Sponsors Association for National CACFP Week. This annual campaign is designed to raise awareness of how the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Child and Adult Care Food Program works to combat hunger and bring healthy foods to the table for participants of child care centers, adult day services and day care homes across the country.
You can get involved in this celebration by:
- Nominating your organization, yourself, or a staff member for the CACFP Excellence Award
- Submitting your favorite CACFP meal pattern compliant recipe
- Submitting a brief statement, artwork, photos, or quotes about what CACFP means to you, your staff and the families you serve
Make your CACFP Excellence Award nomination or submit your recipes and CACFP statement(s) by March 7, 2022!
Who is eligible to receive the CACFP Excellence Award?
Any individual or organization participating in the CACFP (centers, homes, schools, emergency shelters, food banks, etc.) or CACFP Sponsoring Organization receive this award.
Examples of nominations for CACFP Excellence may include, but are not limited to:
- Continued to provide CACFP meals/snacks during the pandemic:
- Ex. Meal delivery, expansion of services, collaborated with local organization, etc.
- Committed foodservice staff
- Uses creative, appealing, and nutritious CACFP compliant menus
- Conducts ongoing efforts to make mealtime fun
- Offers nutrition education
CACFP Excellence Award recipients, recipe submissions, and CACFP statement submissions will be highlighted in our March 13 Weekly Newsletter. CACFP Excellence Award recipients will also be acknowledged by State Agency staff during a virtual recognition event and presented with a certificate of excellence on March 16, 2022.
Appeal procedures give USDA Child Nutrition Programs sponsors an avenue to appeal when the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Child Nutrition Services takes adverse administrative action as required by federal regulations.
These procedures are specific in what actions are appealable and what programs they apply to. Appeal procedures are included in Final Letters summarizing review findings; however, you may review the procedure at any time on our webpages.
Questions? Please contact your program specialist.
The State agency must be notified when centers experience closures of any length due to COVID-19 or staffing shortages.
Site Calendars
Site calendar(s) must be updated to reflect the days your center was closed.
- If your center is closed two weeks or less:
- Add closure dates as Non-Operating Days
- If your center is closed longer than 2 weeks:
- Edit current calendar to end on the last day of operation
- Create a new calendar to being the first day of operation after center closure has ended
Please notify your specialist to report center closures as they occur. As a reminder, you can always use the Find Your CACFP Specialist Map to find your specialist.
To support school nutrition, child care, and adult care professionals' efforts to connect children and adults with nutritious meals throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) established nationwide waivers to allow program flexibility for School Year 2021–22 (SY 21–22) and Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22).
Allowances may be requested in circumstances where sponsors are experiencing food or labor shortages or altered facility operations due to COVID-19.
The CACFP Meal Distribution Plan (MDP) & Waiver Request Survey may be submitted for current program operation through September 30, 2022. Use this Checklist prior to beginning the survey. If you exit the survey before it is submitted, your progress will be lost.
The MDP Survey must be submitted to request the following flexibilities:
- Grab-and-Go Meal Service
- Off-site Monitoring
- Meal Pattern Flexibilities
Additional information or follow up documentation may be requested by your Program Specialist to support approval of waiver requests.
More MDP Information
- Your MDP must be submitted and approved prior to utilizing available waivers granted by the USDA. Approval may be made retroactive in emergency circumstances when prior approval cannot be made.
- FNS expects schools and child care providers to use the flexibilities for only the duration and extent that they are needed.
- Waiver use will be approved on a case-by-case basis and only for a limited duration of time.
- Once you submit the MDP you will receive a confirmation email.
- Your program specialist will contact you regarding approval status of your organization's plan and waiver request(s).
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To request use of additional waivers or extensions for approved waivers, program operators should notify their program specialist and submit an additional MDP for approval.
Resources
Questions? Please contact your CACFP Specialist.
Interested in Sponsoring the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)?
OSPI Child Nutrition Services is currently seeking sponsors for the 2022 USDA Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). The SFSP helps ensure children and teens living in low-income areas continue to receive nutritious meals during the summer or during emergency school closures, when they do not have access to school meals.
We encourage those interested in operating the SFSP to review our recent OSPI Medium Article and to sign up for our weekly SFSP newsletters.
SFSP Training
Training is required for all sponsors who wish to operate the SFSP. Sponsor administrators must complete training requirements and then train all sponsor staff.
Please view our 1/24 SFSP Annual Training article for training requirement details.
Reminders
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New Sponsor Process
If you are interested in learning more about becoming an SFSP sponsor and the application process, please review the CNS New Sponsor Application Process Flow Chart for more information.
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Sponsors who are new to the SFSP, or did not participate in summer 2021 must be assessed for Viability, Capability and Accountability (VCA) prior to applying for the SFSP as a sponsor. The VCA process can take approximately three months to complete depending on the organization type and other factors.
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Application Deadlines
SFSP applications open in April and the federal deadline to submit a complete and correct application is June 15. When applying to sponsor the SFSP, consider your anticipated meal service begin date and submit your WINS application and additional required documentation at least 30 days before your program will start.
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Site Locations
To prevent the duplication of services, the area new sites propose to serve must not be served in whole or in part by another site.
- Additional sites in a single area may be considered if it is demonstrated that each site will not serve meals to children who are served by another site in the same area for the same meal. 7 CFR 225.6(d)
- Use the USDA SFSP Capacity Builder to see if other sites operate in the same location as your proposed site. Priority is given to returning SFSP sponsors and sites.
Please review the 1/24 SFSP Newsletter for additional information and resources.
Questions? Please email our Summer Meals Team.
Register now to attend free, live, interactive training sessions for child nutrition professionals offered by the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN). These virtual training sessions feature individual lessons led by ICN's expert trainers on important topics for child nutrition professionals in child care programs.
Trainings will be held in February and March. Some of the child care trainings include:
- Food Safety in Child care (4 hours)
- Introductions to Happy Mealtimes in Child Care Settings (4 hours)
- Norovirus in Child Care (2 hours)
For a list of trainings as well as training dates and times, please visit ICN’s VILT Registration page.
Registration is limited to 25 participants per session, and training sessions will fill up quickly.
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