 Farm to Summer Week is July 11–15, 2022
OSPI celebrates the use of locally produced food in SFSP and can’t wait to see the great efforts you’ve made to include local foods and nutrition or agricultural enrichment activities into your meal service.
Share your Farm to Summer success stories on social media using #WAFarmtoSummer!
Want to learn more about how to integrate local farm fresh foods into your meal service? Check out these resources:
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.
WINS will be available to input claims until 5:00 pm PT, Friday, July 15. At 5pm, WINS will log sponsors out of the system in order to run the monthly payment process.
Best Practice - Submit claims early in case an error comes up and you need assistance.
General Claiming Reminders
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FSMC & Vended Sponsors – Correct your Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) Average Daily Attendance (ADA) Before Claiming
- Meals claimed in excess of the CAP count for a site will result in a claim error. SFSP sponsors must make Average Daily Attendance (ADA) revisions prior to submitting monthly claims. Specialists must approve revisions before claims can process for payment.
- Revised ADA's will not be approved for claims that go into error status due to meals claimed over the approved CAP.
- Compare the Average Number of Meals to the approved CAP. If the Average exceeds the CAP, increase the ADA in your site calendar and email your Program Specialist.
- Here is a quick equation to determine whether the ADA should be revised: Total Meals Served / Number of Operating Days = Average Number of Meals per day.
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Working with a Food Service Management Company (FSMC) or Vendor? FSMCs and Vended Sponsors cannot be reimbursed for any meals above the 120% of the ADA. Update the ADA prior to submitting the claim for the excess meals to be reimbursed.
- Calendar revisions for changes in meal service operations, such as operating days, must be submitted prior to or on the same day of the meal service change.
- Monthly claim data must be in "OK to Pay" status by 5:00 pm PT on the 15th.
- Didn't submit your claim by the 15th? That's okay! Submit your monthly claim by the 60-day deadline.
- Errors must be resolved for claims to be paid. WINS has multiple edit checks to help resolve issues before your claim is submitted.
- Pro-Tip: Always select “Preview Errors” at the bottom of each site claim once information is entered.
Claiming Resources
Have Questions? Please contact Hydie Kidd, Fiscal Supervisor, or Trisha Santee, Fiscal Analyst.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released several policy memos. The Keep Kids Fed Act extended key waivers to support meal access for summer 2022. All SFSP operations should continue to support the return to "normal" operations and support meal access to children in need. The intent of these waivers is to provide additional support for this transition.
Requests to use these waivers will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and only for the extent and duration necessary. A Meal Distribution Plan (MDP) must be completed for all waiver requests. If you would like to request any of these waivers, please email the summer meals team for a link to the current MDP.
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COVID–19: Child Nutrition Response #113- Nationwide Waiver of Meal Service Time Restrictions for Summer 2022 Operations – EXTENSION 4
- This waiver applies to the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).
- This waives the requirements on the amount of time that must elapse between meal services, and the duration of a meal service.
- This waiver allows more than one eligible meal to be served at one time.
- This waiver is in effect through September 30, 2022.
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COVID–19: Child Nutrition Response #112- Nationwide Waiver to Allow Parents and Guardians to Pick Up Meals for Children for Summer 2022 Operations – EXTENSION 7
- This waiver applies to the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).
- 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.
- This waiver is in effect through September 30, 2022.
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COVID–19: Child Nutrition Response #111- Nationwide Waiver to Allow Non-Congregate Feeding for Summer 2022 Operations – EXTENSION 7
- This waiver applies to the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).
- This waiver allows meals to be served in a non-congregate meal setting. Requests to only provide non-congregate feeding will be considered for specific circumstances. If approved, congregate feeding must continue once feasible and safe to do so.
- This waiver is in effect through September 30, 2022.
Last week, USDA released additional policy memos, including:
A list of these waivers and a summary can be found on the COVID-19 Nutrition & Meals Guidance webpage.
Questions? Please email your program specialist or the Summer Meals Inbox.
Now that the application deadline has passed and some of you have started operating, there are some reminders we want to share!
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Claiming
Keep an eye on your participation to make sure you can adjust your ADA in WINS prior to submitting your claim. Remember, sponsors who use a FSMC/Vendor must adjust ADAs before the claim goes into error status.
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Meal Service
- Any changes to mealtimes and/or service days must be approved by OSPI. Maintaining continuous communication with site staff is essential to ensuring all changes are reported in a timely manner.
- Make sure each meal service takes place within the approved WINS mealtime.
- If any of your sites are going on a field trip, please be sure to submit a Field Trip Notification no later than the day before the field trip.
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Food Safety is Everyone's Responsibility!
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Staff Changes
- All site supervisors, staff and volunteers must be trained before they assist with SFSP operations. If you have a new staff supervisor or staff member who is not listed in WINS, please update your site application(s) as soon as possible!
- Staff must be trained on topics based on their role in the SFSP. OSPI CNS created several short, topic-based SFSP trainings available in Moodle that sponsors can incorporate into staff trainings. There are several different training topics such as Monitoring, Menu Planning, Offer Vs. Serve, Point of Service Meal Counting, and more!
Questions? Please email the Summer Meals team.
It's important to communicate with families as we transition back to normal SFSP operational requirements. We understand this may be challenging, as families have been able to grab meals and leave the past two summers. Two major changes from operations during the pandemic include:
- Requiring of all meals to be consumed on site.
- Parents or guardians no longer able to pick up meals for their children.
Best Practices
- If a child asks for additional meals for siblings/friends who are not present, remind them you must be able to see the child who is receiving the meal.
- Put up clear signage reminding participants meals must be eaten on site.
- Set up a visible perimeter, such as cones, and make a rule that meals cannot be taken past the established perimeter.
- Provide enrichment activities that entice participants to stay: bubble blowers, coloring sheets, books, other types of entertainment – get creative!
Resources
OSPI has the following resources to assist with this transition, which can be found on our SFSP Requirements and Materials page! We encourage sponsors to print up these resources and provide them to sites.
Questions? Please email the Summer Meals inbox.
This summer, OSPI will be promoting SFSP meal sites through No Kid Hungry (NKH) and the USDA Summer Meals4Kids Site Finder. You can use these tools to promote summer meal sites in your communities.
- USDA Resources
- Families can call 1-866-3-HUNGRY (1-866-348-6479)
- For Spanish, families can call 1-877-8-HAMBRE (1-877-842-6273)
- Summer Meals Locator- Promote this tool in English or Spanish.
- USDA National Hunger Hotline- can be reached Monday–Friday
- No Kid Hungry Resources
- Texting Line - Families may text "Food" or "Comida" to 304-304 to find free summer meals near them.
- Meal Site Locator - Promote the NKH Meal Site Finder.
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OSPI Promo Kit- If you ordered an SFSP Promo Kit this year, materials should already be delivered to the sponsoring organization—Make sure to distribute materials to your sites! Sites should post materials in locations that will attract attention to their sites, as well as high-traffic areas where potential participants may see the information.
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Survey Flyer: This year CNS is going to be collecting information on how parents heard about summer meal sites. Post this flyer in a visible location during the week of July 25–29, 2022! Parents can scan the QR code with their phone or visit the URL listed on the flyer to answer a few questions and register for a chance to win a $50 gift card courtesy of United Way of King County.
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Banner: Use this banner to promote your site throughout the summer months.
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Stickers: Stickers can encourage participants to come to your site and try new foods!
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Bookmarks: Learning does not stop during the summer months! Inspire participants to read and spread the word with these double-sided bookmarks.
Need More Materials?
We encourage you to use a printer of your choice to have additional items produced. You can use the images and graphics on the SFSP Resources webpage at no charge to you.
Questions? Please email the Summer Meals Team.
The USDA requires SFSP sponsors to have appropriate arrangements for food service during periods of inclement weather (7 CFR 225.6(c)(2)(i)(D)). Although all outdoor sites are not required to have an alternate temperature-controlled site, sponsors should have a contingency plan for dealing with extreme weather conditions, such as thunderstorms, excessive heat, or poor air quality. Options may include:
- Using a tent to provide extra shade on extremely hot days.
- Partnering with a housing community to use an air-conditioned lobby or community room on extremely hot days.
- Discontinuing meal service if safety is a concern.
If safety for staff and families is a concern and you plan to discontinue meal service, or the meal service will take place at an alternate site, plans must be in place for how the community will be notified. Sponsors are encouraged to plan for emergency situations in advance to ensure a rapid response.
If you plan on using a backup site that is not already included in your SFSP application, reach out to the Summer Meals team and request the site be added in WINS. Backup sites must still meet SFSP area-eligibility requirements.
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