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Local Education Agency(LEA) applications for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) are due September 30, 2021.
Please follow the instructions provided in the bulletins to ensure the renewal process is complete. The NSLP/SBP Renewal Application Checklist can be used as a guide to complete the application.
For links to bulletins and their attachments, please review the 7/18 Renewal Article.
General Reminders
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SY 22-23 Document Submission Form: The SY 22–23 Document Submission Form must be submitted in addition to the WINS application. Additional information submitted through the form includes:
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Milk Substitute Notification: Sponsors are required to notify OSPI Child Nutrition of their intent to provided a milk substitute to children outside of those with a documented medical need.
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Paid Lunch Equity (PLE) Waiver Election: Sponsors are required to notify OSPI Child Nutrition Services of their intent to waive the requirement to raise paid lunch prices.
- August Operating Dates:
- If your LEA has less than 10 operating days in August, they may be included in your SY 22-23 site calendar and may be combined with the September claim for reimbursement.
- If your LEA has more than 10 operating days in August, they must be added to the SY 21-22 site calendar and a separate August claim for reimbursement must be filed.
Resources
Questions? Contact your OSPI CNS School Meals Program Specialist.
Child Nutrition Services is looking for members for the SY 22–23 & SY 23–24 School Meal Programs Advisory Council
The CNS Advisory Council is a voluntary group, comprised of a diverse group of sponsors from different geographic regions, size representation, and meal production methods. The purpose of this advisory council is to provide a forum for collaboration and understanding between OSPI and sponsors of the School Meal Programs.
While not a decision making authority, the advisory council will serve a critical role by:
- Providing input on and sharing of best practices;
- Providing input on training and resource needs;
- Engaging in peer to peer learning and peer support.
Submit Your Interest Form Today!
If you are interested in participating in this group, please complete this interest form by Friday, October 7, 2022.
Member Selection
Member selection will be based on size, geographical location, meal production method, and type sponsor type, to best represent sponsors in Washington. Sponsors may volunteer and/or be invited by OSPI CNS.
OSPI CNS will make final decision on members. Advisory Council members agree to be honest, transparent and respectful in their dialogue with other Advisory Council members and while representing the Advisory Council.
Questions? Please email the School Meals team inbox.
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Preparation for applying for grant projects takes time. We wanted to share some upcoming opportunities so you can start planning for your projects now.
Child Nutrition Services will have the following grants available Fall 2022. These grants will be available in the OSPI iGrants system.
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U.S. Department of Agriculture Equipment Assistance Grant
- A federally-funded grant for equipment that costs $1,000 or more per unit.
- Applicants must be a public or private school, charter school, tribal or tribal compact school, or a residential child care institution and have an approved application to operate the USDA National School Lunch Program.
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Grant Criteria- Purchase equipment to serve healthier school meals, improve food safety, and help support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of the School Breakfast Program.
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Breakfast Meals for Kids Grant
- A state funded grant to start or expand the School Breakfast Program.
- Applicants must be a public school district, charter school or tribal compact school and have an approved application or be in the approval process to operate the USDA School Breakfast Program. This grant may also be utilized to purchase or renew a license for nutrient analysis software used to support the School Breakfast Program.
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Grant Criteria- Start or expand the School Breakfast Program
Note: For both grants, construction costs are not an allowable cost and must be paid for by the Local Education Agency.
Getting Ready to Apply
- Collaborate with stakeholders to ensure your project meets the needs of your students.
- Ensure to work with administration so you can get proper approvals for your project.
- Start gathering complete specifications for the equipment needed and estimate the complete cost for the grant application. You’ll need the following:
- Three quotes from potential suppliers
- Tax, shipping/freight
- Cost of installation
- Review the CNS Grant Writing Tips and Tricks Reference Sheet for important reminders and considerations.
Questions? Please email the CNS Grants team inbox.
Thank you for your ongoing work around Pandemic EBT (P-EBT). We are wrapping up data collection and ask you be on the lookout for any P-EBT messages where we may need to validate your data or correct an upload. There will also be an opportunity in September to upload any additional students that were missed or applied over the summer.
Some Important Tips for Sharing P-EBT Information
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Always use the DSHS P-EBT webpage for current information.
- This webpage has important details regarding how families receive their benefits.
- We have received several questions asking when children will receive a new P-EBT card. Benefits for children who qualified for P-EBT previously will be available on their existing P-EBT cards. This card is different than normal Quest EBT cards. Newly eligible children will receive a P-EBT card shortly after they receive approval letters.
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Encourage Families to Sign Up for Up-To-Date Information
We encourage you to share out that families can sign up for text message alerts about the status of their child’s P-EBT by going to textpebt.dshs.wa.gov. All they have to do is fill out a simple verification form to enroll.
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Share information out in meaningful ways to the communities you serve
Work with partners to determine the best way to get in contact with families. This may include communications teams, McKinney-Vento, foster care liaisons, equity coordinators, language access coordinators, PTA groups, and community partners.
P-EBT Plan Information
The Children Under 6 and Summer 2022 P-EBT programs will be available as follows:
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P-EBT Children Under 6 program: Qualifying children under age 6 who live in a household that receives Basic Food benefits (the Federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Washington State’s Food Assistance Program) may receive $43 for each month they received Basic Food assistance from September 2021 – June 2022.
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Summer 2022 P-EBT program: Qualifying children under age 6 as well as school-aged children will receive a one-time lump sum of $391 per child to cover the summer period through July and August 2022. School-aged children enrolled in Washington state schools that operate the NSLP who are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals are eligible for Summer 2022 P-EBT benefits. Children under 6 will receive benefits under this plan as long as they receive Basic Food assistance during July and August.
- These benefits are separate from a P-EBT 2021-22 School Year program, which has not been approved by USDA at this time.
Students that were enrolled in a NSLP school last year, but did not complete a meal application may qualify by completing an application by August 31, 2022.
P-EBT Contact Center
For full details and additional questions about P-EBT benefits, families can visit dshs.wa.gov/PEBT or call the P-EBT Contact Center at 833-518-0282 between 8 am and 5 pm PT, Monday-Friday (except observed holidays).
With so many districts opting into the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), we have been working to create some new resources, including Notice of Eligibility Letters for the Family Income Survey and an updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document.
Join us for a CEP Webinar!
During this webinar, we will review the yearly timeline of operating under CEP, best practices, and common questions. Additionally, we will share old and new resources.
Register for the SY 22–23 CEP Webinar
Date: Wednesday, September 28
Time: 1:30–3:00 pm PT
What Are Your Next Steps When Operating CEP?
Notify households about CEP operation and the availability of breakfast and lunch meals at no cost.
- Ensure that an accurate meal counting system is in place that includes safeguards to prevent second meals from being counted and claimed.
- Connect with the department in charge of distributing the Family Income Survey and share resources provided on the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and Provision 2 webpage and Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and Title I, Part A webpage.
- Serve all students at participating school(s) breakfast and lunch at no cost for the 4-year cycle.
Resources
It's More Than the Family Income Survey Toolkit- This toolkit is designed to help districts promote the importance of families filling out the Family Income Survey each year. The information collected on these forms can help schools receive funding for important programs.
Family Income Survey- Notice of Eligibility for Reduced Fees:
Questions? Contact your OSPI CNS School Meals Program Specialist.
We've recently received questions about how 30-day rollover impacts sharing eligibility information of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
Parental Consent
Annual parental consent is required before free or reduced-price eligibility information can be shared. This consent expires at the end of each school year. 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.
30-Day Carryover
Eligibility carryover allows children to maintain their prior school year eligibility status for up to 30 operating days into the next school year, or until a new eligibility determination is made. However, parental consent does not carryover from the previous school year.
What You Need to Do
Local Education Agencies (LEAs) are required to disseminate free and reduced-price application information at the beginning of the school year. LEAs should include the Consent to Share form in the application packet.
Do not share eligibility information unless a new Consent to Share form is received. The current year's form applies to the current year eligibility determination via an application or through the Direct Certification or Direct Certification-Medicaid (DCM) list.
Questions? Contact your OSPI CNS School Meals Program Specialist.
Regional scratch recipe development trainings coming this October!
These trainings will explore scratch recipe development and standardization, including where to source recipes, how to know if a recipe is a good fit for your program, how to determine crediting information, and scaling recipes to volume. Trainings are offered at no cost for program sponsors and will be most useful for those directed involved with scratch recipe and menu development.
Mark Your Calendar
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Tuesday, October 11 – Bremerton, Bremerton School District Administration Building, 12–4 pm PT
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Thursday, October 13 – Ellensburg, Central Washington University, 12–4 pm PT
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Wednesday, October 19 – Everett, Everett Community College, 12–4 pm PT
Registration information will be released in the coming weeks.
Questions? Please email Erica Lamson, Team Nutrition Grant Director.
October orders open Tuesday, September 6, and will close Tuesday, September 13, at 4 pm.
Surplus orders will open Wednesday, September 14 at 1pm for groups 1 - 3, and 2 pm for all other groups. Surplus closes Thursday, September 15, at 4 pm.
For more information on your group number, please review the SY 2022–23 Order and Delivery Schedule.
Ordering
- To place an order - log-in to CNP Web.
- Your Food Distribution Application must be completed (including certified and submitted) before you can place an order
- Ordering Instructions
- Review the messages on the CNP Web message board for a current list of product availability and shortages
- New Fees - Delivery Fee Schedule for SY 2022–23
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New - Minimum 20 cases per warehouse (dry vs frozen).
- Due to increased labor and production cost, several processors issued price increases starting in the November order period. Please review the 10/11 W-Code Price Increase Article for more details.
The Ordering and Receiving webpage has multiple resources to assist you in placing your ordering including; instructions, order and distribution schedule.
Important Reminders
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Confirmation of USDA Foods—If you’re scheduled to receive a USDA Foods Delivery, you should receive an appointment confirmation from the carrier. Please remember to reply to the carrier confirming receipt of appointment.
- Deliveries
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To update or change your delivery contact person, please complete the Delivery Updates Form.
- Standard USDA food deliveries are wrapped and stacked on pallets no higher than approximately five feet and left at your loading dock for you to remove.
- Carriers will drop pallets at dock or just inside the threshold of your facility if the entrance can accommodate. Any request for removal of product from the pallet or asking the driver to enter the facility will require additional cost and must be arranged in advance.
- If there are delivery discrepancies or damages, you may return those cases with the driver.
Questions? Please email the Food Distribution Office or call 360-725-6204.
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| September 6–13 |
October USDA Foods Orders Open in CNPweb
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| September 14–15 |
October USDA Foods Surplus Orders Open in CNPweb
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| September 15 |
August Claims Due in WINS |
| September 29 |
July 60-day Claiming Deadline - if you haven't already, submit your claim |
| September 30 |
LEAs - Deadline to Submit SY 22–23 Renewal Application |
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