On June 24, 2022, Congress passed The Keep Kids Fed Act of 2022 and moved the bill on to be signed by the president. We are anxiously awaiting details from USDA and will provide an update as soon as we have more information.
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Child Nutrition Services (CNS) is applying for the USDA Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement (LFS) Program.
About This Program
The goal of the LFS program is to increase local food consumption and support farmers/producers by creating purchasing relationships for the future. This program will allow OSPI CNS to purchase domestic, locally grown foods. These foods will be purchased from local producers, small businesses, and socially disadvantaged farmers/producers for distribution to schools. OSPI CNS plans to apply for approximately $3.6 million in LFS funding.
Our Plan
OSPI CNS solicited information through a Request for Information (RFI) to help identify potential food items for the LFS funding.
Once our LFS proposal is approved, School Breakfast Program (SBP) and National School Lunch Program (NSLP) sponsors will be able to order these foods to use in their programs at no cost to them.
We Need Your Feedback!
To help ensure the food items we plan to target will meet your needs, please respond to this short survey by 5pm today!
Questions? Please email Nichole Garden, Farm to School Program Specialist.
Applications to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for SY 22–23 must be submitted in WINS by June 30, 2022.
CEP allows schools with a high number of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals to serve free breakfast and lunch to all students without collecting school meal applications. CEP is available to public, private, and tribal schools.
To participate in CEP, schools or groups of schools must have an Identified Student Percentage (ISP) of at least 40% based off April 1 data. The ISP is calculated by dividing the number of identified students (students directly certified for free meals) by the number of enrolled students. The SY 22-23 CEP Eligibility Report estimates the districtwide ISP and school level data using information from the Comprehensive Education Data and Research System (CEDARS) as of April 2022.
To receive approval, LEAs must calculate their actual ISP and submit source documentation representative of April 1, 2022. ISPs must be validated by CNS prior to approval to operate CEP. Tools to help Local Education Agencies (LEAs) apply for CEP are posted to the CEP & Provision II Webpage.
Resources
CEP Questions? Please contact your OSPI CNS School Meals Program specialist.
Upload Student Data for Summer P-EBT
Although Washington has not received approval of our Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) 3.0 plan, we anticipate being approved for Summer P-EBT.
If you have not already done so, please upload student data now. Messages on access to upload have been sent to your designated P-EBT contact. The portal will remain open until June 30.
Communication to Families
Previously, we asked districts to support reaching out to families to let them know about a new texting option for benefit information. We are delaying communications about this system until we receive an approved plan. Please keep an eye out on our P-EBT for Districts webpage and the DSHS P-EBT webpage for more information in the coming weeks. If/when approved, summer P-EBT benefits are tentatively scheduled to be issued to families in late August.
Questions from families? Please direct families to call the P-EBT Call Center at 833-518-0282.
Questions about the P-EBT Portal or Uploads? Please reach out to the P-EBT Support inbox.
Questions about Student Eligibility or School Closures? Please email the CNS Team.
Thank you for your assistance in ensuring students get these important benefits.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released updated Civil Rights Division (CRD) policy memos.
Updates on Materials Containing the Nondiscrimination Statement
- The state prototype meal application materials for school year 2022–23 are available in English on the Meal Application and Verification Information webpage, under the Application Materials dropdown. These materials contain the updated 2022 nondiscrimination statement. We are awaiting translated materials from USDA.
- If your organization has already printed materials that include the previous nondiscrimination statement, you are not required to re-print documents.
- If your organization has not printed materials, please use the updated versions as they become available on the OSPI CNS webpages or utilize SY 20–21 or SY 21–22 materials.
- OSPI CNS is ordering updated And Justice for All Posters and will be distributing them over the coming months. Until you receive the updated posters, please continue using the 2019 And Justice for All poster.
- OSPI CNS will be updating reference sheets, materials, and webpages in the coming weeks.
Next Steps
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Effective Immediately: If not currently part of your organizational practices, update program discrimination complaint processing procedures to include complaints alleging sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination.
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Effective Immediately: Process any complaints alleging sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination as complaints of prohibited sex discrimination. There will not be a grace period for accepting and processing discrimination complaints based on sexual orientation and gender identity in FNS programs.
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Before August 3, 2022: Update webpages and documents with the updated USDA Child Nutrition Programs Nondiscrimination Statement.
- The USDA is currently working to translate the updated nondiscrimination statement into additional languages. Please do not translate the nondiscrimination statement at this time.
- OSPI CNS will update documents previously translated with the updated nondiscrimination statement. Please keep an eye out for future CNS Updates.
- The nondiscrimination statement is required on all documents referring to program access, program approval, and widely distributed documents. Examples include: items distributed to the public, landing page of web pages, student handbooks, brochures, letters to families, or press releases.
- Child Nutrition Program operators and sponsors are required to take reasonable steps to ensure program access and benefits to individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP).
Questions? Please email the Child Nutrition inbox so we may assist.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released SP 11-2022: Determining Eligibility for Severe Need Reimbursement for the School Breakfast Program and the Two Cent Differential Reimbursement for the National School Lunch Program in School Years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.
USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) recognizes that as we return to normal operations, Local Education Agencies (LEAs) that used nationwide waivers to operate the programs during School Year (SY) 20–21 and/or SY 21–22 may not have the data needed to determine eligibility for severe need reimbursement rates for breakfast served through the School Breakfast Program (SBP) or the two cent differential reimbursement for NSLP lunches served in SY 22–23 and/or SY 23–24.
Eligibility
Schools are eligible for severe need breakfast reimbursement rates if 40% or more of NSLP lunches served to students at school during the second preceding school year were at the free or reduced-price rate.
Schools are eligible for the two cent differential if 60% or more of the NSLP lunches served in the second preceding school year were at the free or reduced-price rate.
Eligibility Details for SY 22–23 and SY 23–24
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Schools that operated NSLP during SY 20–21 and SY 21–22 have second prior year data available to determine eligibility for severe need and two-cent differential reimbursement for SY 22–23 and SY 23–24, respectively.
- These schools must use the percentage of lunches served free or at the reduced price during the second preceding year to determine eligibility for severe need and two-cent differential reimbursement for SY 22–23 and SY 23–24.
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Schools that did not operate NSLP during SY 20–21 but did operate NSLP during SY 21–22
- Use the percentage of lunches served free or at the reduced price during SY 21–22 to determine eligibility for severe need and two-cent differential reimbursement for SY 22–23 and SY 23–24.
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Schools that did not operate NSLP during SY 20–21 and SY 21–22 may use the following options:
- Use the percentage of lunches served free or at the reduced price during SY 19–20. Data should only be used through the month that the school served free and reduced-price NSLP meals, i.e., February or March 2020.
- Use the percentage of lunches served free or at the reduced price during the first three months of SY 22–23. Schools new to NSLP or SBP participation are permitted to demonstrate that they qualify for severe need and two cent differential reimbursements.
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Schools that did not operate NSLP during SYs 2020–21 and 2021–22
- Use the percentage of lunches served free or at the reduced price during SY 22–23 to determine eligibility for SY 23–24.
Resources
Questions? Please contact your OSPI CNS School Meals Program specialist.
The nationwide waivers that allowed the operation of the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) in SY 21–22 expire on June 30, 2022, and School Food Authorities will return to traditional operation of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in SY 22–23. With the return to traditional operations, Child Nutrition Services will continue conducting Administrative Reviews (ARs) and Procurement Reviews (PRs) for sponsors operating the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or the School Breakfast Program (SBP).
In prior years, a combined administrative review (AR) and procurement review (PR) notification letter would have been emailed out to sponsors selected for review in the upcoming school year by June 30. For SY 22–23, the administrative and procurement review will continue to be conducted separately. Sponsors will receive two email notification letters, one for the administrative review and one for the procurement review.
AR notification letters will be sent to sponsors selected for review by Thursday, June 30, 2022.
PR notification letters will be sent to sponsors selected for review by Friday, August 5, 2022.
Who will be selected for an Administrative Review?
Those sponsors initially scheduled for an AR in the third year of the four year cycle. If a sponsor was scheduled for a review in SY 21–22, but the AR was not conducted, anticipate being selected for an AR in SY 22–23.
Material Due Dates
- Preliminary materials for both reviews are due September 30, 2022 and must be received prior to approval of your renewal application.
- Submit AR materials to the School Meals inbox.
- Submit PR materials to the Procurement Team inbox.
Questions about Administrative Reviews? Please contact your OSPI School Meals Program Specialist.
Questions about Procurement Reviews? Please email Barb Krogstad, Procurement Specialist.
Thank you for all your work to provide nutritious meals to the students of Washington! Because of your hard work and dedication, over 105.3 million meals have been provided to students so far this school year. We hope you have a wonderful, restful summer!
Reminders for the End of the Year
School Meal Programs Annual Training will be held 8/8 & 8/9 at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA.
Who Should Attend?
This training is meant to enhance your knowledge about the School Meal Programs and allow time for you to connect to other School Food Service Directors around the state. Training is free to attend; however, participants must pay for meals, parking, and any overnight stays.
Registration Information
- Each participant must register for the event using their own pdEnroller account.
- While there is an option to register more than one attendee with one account, you will not be able to register each person for different sessions. Due to this issue, we recommend each participant to register with their own account.
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Create your free pdEnroller account if you do not have one already.
- Please limit attendance to 3 people per LEA to ensure all who are interested in attending may have the opportunity.
- Registrants will receive a confirmation email with their selected sessions! Keep this email for your records!
Register for the SY 22–23 School Meal Programs Annual Training today!
Dates
- Monday, August 8 - Pre-Con Day
- New Director Training | 12–4 pm
- Are you new to the School Meal Programs? This session is aimed at new Food Service Directors and Managers. Join us for a 4-hour, interactive overview of Performance Standard 1: Certification & Benefit Issuance, Performance Standard 2: Meal Pattern Requirements, and General Areas with the goal to set you up for a successful school year.
- Participants will receive 4 hours of Professional Standards Credits for this session.
- SY 2022–23 Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Annual Training | 1–4 pm
- Did you get funding to operate the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program for the upcoming school year? Join this pre-con session to review the program. Required for new FFVP operators, this session is appropriate for returning sponsors as well.
- Participants will receive 3 hours of Professional Standards Credits for this session.
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Tuesday, August 9 - Annual Training—Planned training sessions will include a variety of topics for both new and seasoned staff. Best Practice: Review the Annual Training Schedule to review session descriptions and class times before registering! Participants may receive up to 6.5 Professional Standards Credits for attending the full day training.
Recorded Training Option
All planned trainings will be recorded and posted to the School Meal Programs Annual Training Moodle course for those who are unable to attend this in-person training. Maximize your Professional Standards Credits by viewing all trainings! Please note: You must have a Moodle Account to access these annual trainings.
Questions? Please email Sam Brueske, Training and Communications Specialist.
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) renewal closing date for the current program year is June 30, 2022.
Sponsors who do not renew their CACFP application by June 30, will not be eligible to operate CACFP the remainder of Fiscal Year (FY) 22 (July–September 2022).
Sponsors most affected by this change are those who plan to operate At Risk or Pre-school programs that start in August or September 2022 who have not operated CACFP this school year.
School Districts that do not renew their CACFP application by June 30 for their pre-school programs may decide to:
- Claim pre-school children on NSLP for SY 2022–23
OR
- Claim pre-school children on NSLP for August/September 2022, then renew their FY 23 CACFP application and claim preschool children on CACFP October 2022–June 2023.
If you plan to operate CACFP in the Summer or Fall and have not yet renewed your CACFP application, please contact your CACFP Specialist to start this process.
For more details on this and other changes in FY23, watch the “What’s New in CACFP” recorded webinar.
Join us for a Scratch Cooking Recipe Development Training following the WSNA Conference in Spokane on Wednesday, July 27!
At this half-day, free training, you’ll learn the basics of recipe standardization from how to find and analyze a starting recipe through taste testing and scaling to volume. Other useful scratch cooking topics such as planning for success, using local ingredients, and how to promote your new recipes will also be covered.
Register for the Scratch Cooking Recipe Development Training
Date: Wednesday, July 27
Time: 1–5 pm PT
This training will be most useful for nutrition professionals responsible for scratch recipe development and menu planning. Location to be determined. This training will be repeated in three additional locations around the state in October.
This training will be repeated in three additional locations around the state in October. For additional information about this or other Team Nutrition Grant activities email Erica Lamson, Team Nutrition Grant Coordinator.
The Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) is the only federally funded national center dedicated to applied research, education and training, and technical assistance for child nutrition programs.
Register for a Virtual Training!
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.
Trainings will be held in July and August. Some trainings include:
- Food Safety in Schools Course (3-Day Session)
- Key Performance Indicators (4 hours)
- Reimbursable School Meals (4 hours)
- Financial Management for Managers (2-Day Session)
- Basic Culinary Math (4 hours)
- Procurement and Inventory Management (4 hours)
- AND MORE!
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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June 29
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April 60-day Claiming Deadline - if you haven't already, submit your claim |
| June 30 |
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) renewal closing date (for schools planning to operate At-Risk or Pre-school programs that start in August or September 2022) |
| June 30 |
CEP Applications Due in WINS |
| July 15 |
June Claims Due in WINS |
| August 8–9 |
SY 22–23 School Meal Programs In-Person Annual Training |
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