What is National Nutrition Month?
National Nutrition Month is an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics inviting others to learn about developing healthy eating habits and doing physical activities.
Why Get Involved?
Involving young children with good nutrition and physical activity can have life- long lasting effects on their health. As a sponsor of CACFP you already have a head start on healthy eating practices.
Let's Get Started!
- Invite parents to join in the planning
- Take a look at your menus:
- Offer a variety of tastes, colors, textures, fresh items and culture
- Chat with the children at meal time about what the foods they are eating
- Where does the food come from?
- How is it grown?
- Share why the food is healthy
- Make plans to grow a garden onsite
- Offer hands-on food activities with children and take pictures to share
- Take the children on a field trip to the grocery store, orchard, fruit stand or farmer’s market to learn about fresh produce
- Have children create artwork about their favorite healthy foods
- Read books about healthy foods and keeping physically active
- Play games that encourage physical movement
- Participate in OSPI’s CACFP Week 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
We Want to Celebrate YOU!
We want to highlight the great things you and your organization do every day to promote good nutrition and provide healthy meals. Make your CACFP Excellence Award nomination or submit your recipes and CACFP statement(s) by March 7, 2022!
Visit eatright.org's National Nutrition Month webpage for more information.
The FDA has issued a Public Health Advisory after Abbott announced a voluntary recall for certain Similac brand or Elecare powdered infant formulas after Cronobacter and Salmonella complaints. The FDA is advising consumers not to use Similac, Alimentum or EleCare powdered infant formulas if:
- the first two digits of the code are 22 through 37 and
- the code on the container contains K8, SH, or Z2, and
- the expiration date is 4-1-2022 (APR 2022) or later.
The code is printed on the product packaging near the expiration date.
Products that do not contain the information listed above are not impacted by this advisory. This advisory does not include liquid formula products or any metabolic deficiency nutrition formulas. Consumers should continue to use all product not covered by this advisory.
While FDA is the Federal regulatory agency responsible for ensuring the safety of infant formula, FNS is committed to working collaboratively with the FDA to ensure that FNS stakeholders receive timely and relevant information. FNS will provide additional information as this situation develops.
The 2021–22 Washington Public School Data for Area Eligibility Report is now available.
This report may be used to establish area eligibility for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO). Area eligibility may be assigned if school data indicates that the proposed meal site is located in an attendance area of a public school where at least 50% of the children are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.
The Area Eligibility in Child Nutrition Programs Reference Sheet provides more details on area eligibility.
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.
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If your center is closed two weeks or less: Add closure dates as Non-Operating Days
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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.
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.
What does this mean for CACFP?
Schools and child care providers may offer flavored, low-fat milk (1%) in addition to unflavored, low-fat milk and flavored or unflavored nonfat milk for those ages 6 and up.
Share Your Thoughts
USDA is inviting comments on this final rule to provide insight as we work towards developing permanent, science-based meal standards for the long-term.
The Final Rule is available for public comment until March 24, 2022. Submit your comments here.
Additional resources are also available on USDA’s Building Back Better with School Meals webpage.
The Washington State Food Worker Course is the only authorized online training program to receive a WA State Food Workers Card. Please be aware, other websites may appear to offer a similar card online but are not valid in Washington.
While the course is provided at no charge, you will be charged a $10 fee for the food workers card. The fee is used by local health departments to defray the costs of food worker training and education, administration of the program, and testing. (Washington Administrative Code 246-217-025).
For additional information please visit the Washington State Department of Health website or visit Local Health Department Contacts for information specific to your county.
The Washington State Department of Commerce announced a funding opportunity for licensed child care providers. This is a new round of funding for minor renovations to existing buildings used by child care providers licensed or certified by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). The grants should support child care providers so they can maintain or expand operations during and after the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Grant Details
- Family homes, child care centers, and K-12 school districts are all eligible to apply.
- Program Guidelines with specific allowable costs, the Notice of Funding Opportunity, and other supporting documents are now available online.
Webinar
Commerce's Early Learning Facilities (ELF) program will host virtual informational sessions about grant funding in English, Spanish, and Somali. The information sessions will cover eligible grant costs, program requirements, eligible organizations, and instructions on submitting applications through ZoomGrants.
Questions? Please email the Department of Commerce's ELF team.
In honor of Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Week, USDA’s Team Nutrition will present a special CACFP Halftime: Thirty on Thursdays webinar on “Grains Ounce Equivalents Tools for CACFP Operators.”
Register for a Webinar!
This upcoming webinar will highlight different tools for implementing grains ounce equivalents that CACFP operators can use to plan meals at their sites, and answer frequently asked questions about the topic. Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions and check their knowledge through interactive polling questions.
Register for the Grains Ounce Equivalents Tools for CACFP Operators webinar (English)
Date: Monday, March 14
Time: 11:00 – 11:30 am PT
Register for the Grains Ounce Equivalents Tools for CACFP Operators webinar (Spanish)
Date: Monday, March 14
Time: 12:00 – 12:30 pm PT
Additional Information
- Both webinars will be recorded and made available at a later date. All who register for the webinar will receive an email once the recording is available.
- Team Nutrition will provide certificates of participation to individuals who attend the entire thirty-minute webinar.
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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 28 for assistance.
Interested in watching recorded Team Nutrition trainings on other CACFP Topics? Visit the CACFP Halftime: Thirty on Thursdays webpage.
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