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On December 11, ByHeart voluntarily recalled certain infant formula products. For details about this recall and affected products, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Recall Notice webpage.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) remains committed to ensuring CACFP participants have access to safe formula. Collaborative efforts are being made between USDA and FDA to monitor this developing situation. Additional guidance will be provided if the impact of the recall evolves.
Use the ByHeart Letter to Consumers for details on next steps if you purchased this product.Parents and caregivers of infants who have used this product and are concerned about the health of their child should contact their health care provider.
Please share this information with your infant room staff and the families of infants at your center(s).
It's hard to believe that we transitioned to weekly program newsletters over three years ago! Over the past several months, OSPI CNS has been looking at our current practices and leaning into questioning how to best serve you by asking ourselves, "Does this still work?"
Changes to Newsletters
We heard you! OSPI CNS wants to ensure the information shared in newsletters continues to be pertinent and timely.
We will continue to share information in newsletters based on program (School Meals, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program), but keep an eye out for these changes starting January 2023:
- Newsletters will come to your inbox on the 2nd and 4th Mondays every month!
- Regular office hours with your Program Specialist — Office hours will provide opportunities for us to share important information and for you to ask questions. Reach out to your program specialist for their office hours information.
By changing to this format, we hope that you'll have more time to focus on what you do best—serving children delicious meals, while also ensuring you have the information to operate your programs successfully!
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Mark Your Calendars
It's that time of the year where many of us will take a break from busy work schedules to spend the holidays with family and friends.
OSPI Child Nutrition Services will not be releasing a weekly newsletter on the following dates:
- Monday, December 26, 2022
- Monday, January 2, 2023
Staff will be available to answer questions and provide technical assistance.
Thank you for all you do to provide nutritious meals to children in our state. We hope you have a safe and happy holiday season.
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Samantha Evans, CACFP Specialist, will be hosting office hours to support you with submitting Financial Reporting requirements with your claim for reimbursement!
WINS Update
Sponsors must submit a monthly claim to receive CACFP reimbursement. Beginning with the October 2022 claim, must enter financial reporting information with their monthly claims.
If Monthly Food Operating Costs and Administrative Expenses are not entered with your claim, your claim will be in error status and not be payable.
Exception: Family Day Care home (FDCH) Sponsoring Organizations and School Districts do not need to report operating expenses.
Use the new CACFP Monthly Financial Reporting and Submitting Monthly Claims Information Sheet for step-by-step instructions on completing this requirement.
Join us for Office Hours!
If your claim is in error status, this is a great opportunity to get your questions answered! During this time, Samantha will be available to answer questions such as:
- What should be included in reported Monthly Food Operating Costs?
- Where should Monthly Food Operating Costs be entered in the claim?
- Who needs to report Administrative Costs and where should these be entered in the claim?
Use this link to join the Reporting CACFP Expenses with Monthly WINS Claims Office Hours
Date: Wednesday, December 14
Time: 3–4 pm PT
Pro Tip: Enter your claim prior to December 12, that way if you get an error message, you can come to this session and get your issue resolved! Use the new CACFP Monthly Financial Reporting and Submitting Monthly Claims Information Sheet for step-by-step instructions on completing this requirement.
Questions? Please email Samantha Evans, CACFP Specialist.
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, Thursday, December 15. At 5 pm, WINS will log sponsors out of the system in order to run the monthly payment process and will not be available until after noon on Friday, December 16.
Best Practice - Submit claims early in case an error comes up and you need assistance.
What's New in Fiscal Year 2022–23 (FY23)?
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Monthly Food Operating Costs and Administrative Expenses must be submitted with monthly claims for reimbursement.
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Study Month
- If your institution is required to submit a study month, October study month numbers must be entered in WINS prior to submitting your first claim for reimbursement for FY23. If your sites did not operate in October, the first month sites were operational may be used as the study month.
- Please review the 10/31 October Study Month article for resources to ensure success.
Best Practices for Submitting Claims
- Submit your claim by the 10th of the month. This will ensure your claim is in “OK to Pay” status prior to 5:00 pm PT on the 15th.
- Monthly Food Operating Costs must be entered in WINS first to avoid WINS errors.
- When revising claim errors, use the Recalculate all Claims feature after claim revisions have been submitted. If errors persist, use the Preview Errors feature.
- When you are experiencing issues with submitting your claim or when your claim is in error status, please contact your CACFP Specialist to assist you. Your Specialist will help to troubleshoot what the issue(s) may be. Do not reach out to CNS’s Fiscal Department or the WINS team directly.
General Claim Reminders
- 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 5pm PT.
- Ensure to give yourself enough time to input all claiming data so the claim is in “OK to Pay” status.
- Once WINS closes down the claiming option users are not allowed to input claim data until after the monthly claim reconciliation process is complete. This can take up to two business days.
- Didn't submit your claim by the 15th? That's okay! File your monthly claim by the 60-day deadline.
- Example: The November 60-day claim deadline is January 30, 2023.
- 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 22–23 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.
- Errors must be resolved for claims to be paid. WINS has multiple edit checks to help resolve issues before your claim is submitted.
- Common Errors
- Total Attendance is entered with the claim and is the sum of children in attendance each day during the month. Meals claimed in excess of Total Attendance will result in a claim error.
- 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.
- Pro-Tip: Always select “Preview Errors” at the bottom of each site claim once information is entered.
Claiming Resources
Questions? Please contact your CACFP Specialist.
USDA requires each CACFP sponsoring organization (sponsors with 2 or more sites) to review each facility three times each year, and meet requirements outlined in 7 CFR 226.16(d)(4)(iii):
- At least two of the three reviews must be unannounced;
- At least one unannounced review must include observation of a meal service;
- At least one review must be made during each new facility's first four weeks of Program operations; and
- Not more than six months may elapse between reviews.
An updated CACFP Sponsor Monitoring Form for FY23 is now available for child care sites.
Reminders
- Keep completed monitoring forms on file for 3 years plus the current fiscal year
- It may be necessary to conduct more than 3 reviews per facility when findings are noted and corrective action has been assigned
- Sponsor must assess if submitted corrective action has been implemented and finding(s) have been corrected
- Documentation of review follow-up, corrective action, and correspondence must be kept
Please review the Monitoring for Sponsoring Organizations Reference Sheet for more information and best practices.
Child Nutrition Program operators can order free print materials to help kindergarten students discover MyPlate today.
Discover MyPlate: Nutrition Education for Kindergarten is fun and inquiry-based nutrition education that fosters the development of healthy food choices and physically active lifestyles during a critical developmental and learning period for kindergarten children.
Order each of the following materials now, while supplies last!
Questions? Please email the Team Nutrition inbox.
While it may not be a great time to start a garden at your center or plant seeds in the ground, winter is a great time to plan for future gardening efforts. Below is a list of some grant opportunities that can help your center increase their Farm to CACFP programing by building gardens.
Captain Planet Foundation and Delta Airlines, Project Learning Garden
Offering many different types of environmental education grants, Captain Planet supports garden programs through Project Learning Garden grants that provide garden supplies and a mobile cooking cart. Applications are due December 15, 2022.
National Head Start Association Gro More Garden Grants
The National Head Start Association with support from The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation provides grants to Head Start organizations aiming to increase both students' and their families' appreciation and understanding for healthy foods and nutrition through garden programs. Applications are due by December 23, 2022.
2023 GroMoreGood Grassroots Grant
The GroMoreGood Grassroots Grant, brought to you by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation and KidsGardening, is designed to bring the life-enhancing benefits of gardens to communities across the United States. Application Period: January 3, 2023 - February 10, 2023.
USDA's Farm to School Grant
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awards competitive Farm to School grants that support planning, developing, and implementing farm to school programs. USDA's Farm to School grants are an important way to help state, regional, and local organizations as they initiate, expand, and institutionalize farm to school efforts. Applications are due by January 6, 2023. Learn more Farm to School Grant Program Applicant Resources webpage.
The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation
This foundation provides high-quality fruit trees and shrubs, organic soil amendments, equipment, planting volunteers, and on-site orchard design work, and more, with the goal of improving the surrounding environment and providing a source of healthy nutrition. Applications open on a rolling basis.
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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 in child care programs.
Trainings will be held in January–March 2023. Some of the child care trainings include:
- Food Safety in Child care (4 hours)
- Introductions to Happy Mealtimes in Child Care Settings (4 hours)
- Norovirus in Child Care (2 hours)
- Training Culturally Diverse Groups (4 hours)
- Basic Culinary Math (4 hours)
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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