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Monthly claims are due by the 15th of each month following the claim period. All claims entered in WINS and in OK to Pay status will process for payment at the end of the month.
VSR Reminder
- All School Meal Program (NSLP/SBP/SSO) sponsors are required to submit the Verification Summary Report (VSR) in WINS by February 15, 2022.
- The January claim will not process until the VSR is error free and submitted in WINS.
- Sponsors who do not collect free and reduced-price meal applications and conduct verification, such as Residential Child Care Institutions (RCCI) with no day students as well as those participating in CEP, must still complete the VSR to certify their total enrollment.
- VSR Resources
General Claiming Reminders
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Seamless Summer Option (SSO) Operators
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Correct your Average Daily Attendance (ADA)
Meals claimed in excess of the CAP count for a site will result in a claim error. SSO sponsors should make Average Daily Attendance (ADA) revisions and have specialist approval prior to submitting monthly claims.
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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.
- Give yourself enough time to input all claiming data, preview errors, correct errors. Completing these steps will help you ensure the claim is in “OK to Pay” status.
- At 5 pm, the claim function is closed. This means that the system does not allow access to claims until after the monthly reconciliation process is complete. This can take up to two business days.
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Didn't submit your claim by the 15th? That's okay! Submit your monthly claim by the 60-day deadline.
- Example: The January 60-day claim deadline is April 1, 2022.
- Claim reimbursements that are not entered into WINS or not in OK to pay status will NOT process for payment by the end of the month.
- The 21–22 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.
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Errors must be resolved for claims to be paid. WINS has multiple edit checks to help resolve issues before your claim is submitted.
- 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.
- Review the Claiming Error Messages in WINS Information Sheet for more details on possible errors.
- Pro-Tip: Always select “Preview Errors” at the bottom of each site claim once information is entered.
Claiming Resources
Questions? Please contact your School Meals Program Specialist.
The Consolidation Appropriations Act, 2021, allowed the offering of low-fat (1%) flavored milk in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program. This flexibility expires on February 18, 2022. To continue serving low-fat, flavored milk for the remainder of SY 21-22, the Meal Pattern Flexibility Waiver must be requested. Please update the SY 21-22 Meal Distribution Plan (MDP) with additional waiver requests
The Appropriations Act also prohibited funds from being used to procure raw or processed poultry products from the People’s Republic of China in Child Nutrition Programs. This prohibition also expires on February 18, 2022.
USDA recently provided guidance on funding and resources to assist sponsors of school nutrition programs dealing with supply chain disruptions. This relief funding is made available through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and authorized under the CCC Charter Act. Assistance is being provided through the following three channels.
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Supply Chain Assistance- WA allocation $18,233,217
Funding for all School Food Authorities “exclusively” for the purchase of domestic foods that are minimally processed. Allocations will be based on $5,000 for each SFA plus a proportional amount based on October 2021 enrollment.
We are currently seeking spending authority through the state legislature and plan to distribute these funds at the beginning of next school year. Funds may be used through 9/30/2023. Please review SP 03-2022: Allocation of Supply Chain Assistance (SCA) Funds to Alleviate Supply Chain Disruptions in the School Meal Programs for additional USDA guidance on SCA funds. More Washington state specific details will be provided in a OSPI Bulletin and webinar.
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USDA Foods in Schools- WA allocation $5,283,131
Majority of funding will be added to next year’s entitlement allocation. A small amount was added to this year’s DoD allocation.
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Local Food For Schools- WA allocation $3,644,643
Funding to state agencies for the purchase of domestic local foods for distribution to schools. OSPI Child Nutrition Services is currently awaiting details from USDA.
Questions? Please email the Child Nutrition team.
Do you believe in the power of good nutrition? Are you interested in assisting school districts and other institutions in providing children with healthy and nutritious meals? CNS is seeking skilled candidates for several positions. Does this sound like you? Apply to join the CNS team today!
Current Recruitments
Upcoming Recruitments
- Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Special Programs Supervisor
- Administrative Program Specialist – multiple programs
- Administrative Assistant 3- Community Nutrition
- Business Analyst
- Fiscal Specialist
- Fiscal Analyst
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently published Transitional Standards for Milk, Whole Grains and Sodium - Final Rule for the School Meal Programs and Child & Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
This final rule establishes transitional standards to support the continued provision of nutritious school meals as schools respond to and recover from the pandemic and while USDA engages in notice-and-comment rulemaking to update the meal pattern standards to more comprehensively reflect the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025. The standards are effective July 1, 2022 and include:
- Low-fat (1%) flavored milk may be served in the School Meal Programs and to children ages 6 and older in CACFP.
- In the School Meal Programs, unflavored nonfat or low-fat milk must be offered as the second milk type if low-fat flavored milk is served.
- At least 80% of grains served in the School Meal Programs must be Whole-Grain Rich and the remaining servings of grains must be enriched.
- Reduces the dietary specifications for sodium for school lunch by 10% to Target 1a for SY 23-24.
- Sodium Target 1 will be maintained for school lunch in SY 22-23 and for school breakfast in SY 22-23 and SY 23-24.
The Final Rule is available for public comment until March 24, 2022. Submit your comments here.
Learn More
The USDA is hosting a webinar for School Food Authorities (SFA) and local program operators on the Final Rule.
Register for the Transitional Standards for Milk, Whole Grains, and Sodium Webinar
Date: Wednesday, February 16
Time: 11:00am-12:00pm PT
Additional resources are also available on USDA’s Building Back Better with School Meals webpage.
Questions? Please contact your School Meals Program Specialist.
Does your district offer summer school or other activities during the summer? If so, it’s time to start thinking about summer meals!
Who must provide summer meals?
Schools in the district offering summer programs of academic, enrichment, or remedial services and have 50% or more of the children enrolled in the school qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. (RCW 28A.235.160)
Exemptions are provided by OSPI on a case-by-case basis and must be approved in advance.
Please take this short survey and let us know about your plans for summer 2022.
Who else can provide summer meals?
Any school district can serve summer meals to kids at any school or site where 50% or more of the children living in the area qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. This can be determined using school data or census data.
What options does our district have when offering summer meals?
There are many resources to help you decide which option is best for your school or district:
Questions? Please contact your School Meals Program Specialist.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently published a correcting amendment in the Federal Register to amend Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and National School Lunch Program (NSLP) regulations.
This amendment, titled CACFP Meal Pattern Revisions Related to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010; Correcting Amendments, corrects previously published errors in three meal pattern tables. Specifically, this correcting amendment corrects values for ready-to-eat cereal for infants, yogurt for all age groups at CACFP snack, and milk for 3-5 year old children at CACFP snack.
The meal pattern charts on the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) website as well as other guidance documents containing the CACFP and NSLP meal pattern tables will be updated in the coming weeks.
Breakfast After the Bell (BAB) requirements related to House Bill 1508: The Washington Kids Ready to Learn Act will be returning in SY 22–23 and is required in high-need schools. High-need schools are defined as any public school where at least 70% of the total students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals; or, if operating the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), the school has a free claiming percentage of 70% or more.
Join us for a Webinar!
The Breakfast After the Bell: Designing Your Implementation Plan webinar will review things to consider when creating a BAB implementation plan, important reminders, and next steps.
Resources
Questions? Please email Mikhail Cherniske, CNS Legislative Specialist
We continue to hear of the ongoing challenges around school closures, food order cancelations, delays, and shortages. To request additional waivers due to school closures or supply chain disruptions, please update the SY 21–22 Meal Distribution Plan (MDP).
Please notify your program specialist of school closures and continue to submit MDPs as well as document supply chain disruptions.
If flexibilities outside of the MDP are needed, please email your program specialist with a description of the disruption and how the Meal Pattern requirements will be met to the maximum extent practicable.
Questions? Please contact your School Meals Program Specialist.
House Bill 1660 (2020) introduced new requirements around fee waivers for students eligible for free or reduced-price meals or students enrolled in the College Bound Scholarship Program.
Associated Student Body (ASB) clubs and other extracurricular activities are considered local education programs. Annual parental consent is required before free or reduced-price eligibility information can be shared. This includes students who are eligible for fee waivers via their enrollment in the College Bound Scholarship Program (as eligibility for College Bound is based on eligibility for free or reduced-price meals).
Check out our updated resource, Implementing HB 1660 – Nutrition Services Reference Sheet for more information and helpful tips.
Questions? Please email Mikhail Cherniske, CNS Legislative Specialist.
Join USDA’s Team Nutrition for their new webinar series, Meal Talk Webinars.
These webinars provide interactive trainings on hot topics related to school meals.
A Focus on School Breakfast
In honor of National School Breakfast Week (March 7–11, 2022), the first Meal Talk webinar will focus on school breakfast, and will provide an overview of USDA’s School Breakfast Program, including the benefits of school breakfast, program requirements, and resources for navigating supply chain challenges.
Register for the School Breakfast Meal Talk Webinar
Date: Wednesday, March 9
Time: 12–1 pm PT
This webinar will also feature training materials from Team Nutrition on hot topics in school breakfast, including offering meats and meat alternates, offering smoothies, and best practices to reduce added sugars. Learn about fun new materials that can be used to add excitement to school breakfast events and other celebrations!
Additional Information
- Certificates of participation will be provided for those who attend the entire webinar. This webinar may count toward USDA Professional Standards for School Nutrition Programs, Key Area 1000: Nutrition and Key Topics 1100: Menu Planning.
- This webinar will be closed captioned and recorded. The recording will be posted to the Team Nutrition website at a later date. All who register will receive an email when the recording is available.
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Do you need an alternative format or accessibility tools to help you participate in this event? Participants who require a different accessibility tool to participate in this webinar, please email Sheila Kopczynski by February 23 for assistance.
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What is the Pre-Order Survey?
The Pre-Order Survey is your commitment and a preliminary order for the upcoming 2022–23 school year. The survey informs OSPI Food Distribution volume and types of foods we need to order for the entire 2022–23 School Year.
Review the recorded Pre-Order Survey webinar!
NOTE: W-Code Pricing – Processors are expressing uncertainty in the pricing the 22-23 school year and expect processing fees to increase. We encourage you to still order what you need and you will have the option to decrease your order quantities prior to receiving.
Who must complete the survey?
Local Education Agencies (LEAs) who plan to participate in the USDA Food Distribution program for SY 2022–23.
Timeline
- Complete your initial Pre-Order Survey by Friday, February 18.
- On February 22, OSPI CNS will tally the total quantity of products requested for the state and label any items that don't meet the minimum truck load requirement as "DO NOT ORDER".
- You will have until Friday, February 25, to review and revise your order for items that did not meet state truck load minimums and reallocate your entitlement dollars to other products. If you do not reallocate the entitlement dollars for these items, your entitlement will be returned to your account.
New for the 2022-23 School Year!
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20 Case Minimum Requirement
Your frozen order must have a minimum of 20 cases and each dry order must have a minimum of 20 cases for delivery.
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No August Delivery
The first delivery period is September 2022 and the final will be May 2023.
Resources
Questions? Email Sarah Davis or call 360-725-6215.
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