Summer 2023 is Quickly Approaching!
Applications to operate the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) for Summer 2023 will be opening April 15th, and that means it is time to plan for annual training!
Requirements for All Sponsors
All lead program administrators from organizations planning to operate the SFSP in 2023 must watch OSPI CNS’s Civil Rights and Procurement recorded trainings annually, prior to program application submission.
Note: Civil Rights & Procurement trainings can be waived if training was completed earlier in the year with another CNS program. Please keep documentation regarding training completed.
Annual Training
In-Person Annual Training Dates – Required for new SFSP sponsors, returning sponsors with new lead administrators, sponsors who did not operate SFSP in summer 2022, and sponsors who were assigned in-person training as part of Corrective Action from an administrative review. Returning sponsors in good standing are also encouraged to attend in person.
For more details about program operations, please review the Intro to SFSP recorded training.
SFSP Returning Sponsor Webinar –
This webinar will satisfy the annual training requirement for sponsors who operated SFSP in 2022, do not have new lead administrators, and were not assigned in-person training as part of Corrective Action. Join us to hear program updates and refresh on SFSP requirements. A recording of the webinar will be made available at a later date for those who cannot attend live.
Date: Wednesday, April 5
Time: 1pm — 4pm PT
2023 SFSP Returning Sponsors Annual Training (pdenroller.org)
Reminders
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Application Deadlines SFSP applications open in April and the federal deadline to submit a complete and correct application is June 15. When applying to sponsor the SFSP, consider your anticipated meal service begin date and submit your WINS application and additional required documentation at least 30 days before your program will start.
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Site Locations To prevent the duplication of services, the area new sites propose to serve must not be served in whole or in part by another site.
- Additional sites in a single area may be considered if it is demonstrated that each site will not serve meals to children who are served by another site in the same area for the same meal. 7 CFR 225.6(d)
- Use the USDA SFSP Capacity Builder to see if other sites operate in the same location as your proposed site. Priority is given to returning SFSP sponsors and sites.
Questions? Please email our Summer Meals Team.
USDA Child Nutrition Program sponsors have the responsibility to inform applicants, participants, grassroots organizations, and potentially eligible persons of the program availability, changes in your programming, your rights and responsibilities as a program operator, the policy of non-discrimination, and the procedure for filing a complaint. Public notification responsibilities include websites or webpages used for the promotion of the Child Nutrition Programs (i.e., nutrition services homepage).
What is required to be posted on websites?
Sponsors must post:
- The updated USDA Child Nutrition Programs Non-Discrimination Statement
- All information materials and sources, including websites, used by program operators that inform the public about the Child Nutrition Programs must contain the full USDA nondiscrimination statement. It is not required that the nondiscrimination statement be included on every page of the program information website. At a minimum, main landing pages must either have the full nondiscrimination statement, or a link that directs to the full statement on the organization’s website.
- Nondiscrimination statements must be available in a language that users understand, include links in the target language as appropriate. The USDA Nondiscrimination Statement is in the process of being translated into 22 languages.
- Information regarding Child Nutrition Programs in languages commonly encountered
- Operators and sponsors are required to take reasonable steps to ensure program access and benefits to individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). All materials vital to participation must be provided to families at no cost.
- An already translated tagline must be provided at the bottom of your documents and on webpages for families that may need interpretation services. The LEP – Important Information to Translate Notice Reference Sheet includes two tagline options that are already translated into frequently encountered languages in our state.
- Information regarding accommodating disabilities and special dietary needs in the Child Nutrition Programs
- Sponsors must make reasonable accommodations to meal(s) on a case-by-case basis to accommodate disabilities which restrict a child’s diet. Your organization’s Special Dietary Accommodations procedure and Request Form must be publicly available on a program webpage.
- Reference the Special Dietary Needs Reference Sheet for additional information on requirements. OSPI has developed a Request Form for Special Dietary Accommodations that has been translated into seven languages.
- Details on how to file a Civil Rights complaint, including complaint procedures
- Program operators must have separate procedures and logs for handling and documenting USDA Child Nutrition Program Civil Rights complaints. The Civil Rights Complaint Procedure must be publicly available on the program’s webpage.
- All civil rights complaints related to the USDA Child Nutrition Programs must be forwarded to the USDA or to OPSI for forwarding to the USDA. OSPI has developed a sample Civil Rights Complaint Procedure and Complaint Log.
Resources:
Questions? Contact your Program Specialist.
Welcome Back to a New Year!
While it's only February, it's already time to start thinking about Summer Meals, and what better way than a kickoff event?
The last couple years have brought a lot of changes in our programs. To help stay in touch, we invite you to join us for a short webinar this week. During this webinar, we will introduce staff, discuss training, and provide information regarding 2023 SFSP plans.
Register for the 2023 SFSP Kickoff Webinar
Date: Wednesday, February 15
Time: 2–3 pm PT
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) reimbursement rates for 2023.
Rates are effective for the time period of January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. Review the rates on the CNS Claims and Fiscal webpage, under the SFSP dropdown.
Questions? Please email the summer meals team.
Federal child nutrition programs, including the SFSP, have unique and complex regulations and requirements that must always be met.
If an applying organization has never operated a child nutrition program, we consider it a best practice to recommend they operate as SFSP site(s) under an existing SFSP sponsor the first year. This allows new organizations to:
- Serve meals to the community and get acquainted with the program requirements.
- Sponsors have final administrative and financial responsibility for all sponsored sites.
- Unknown projection of participation numbers during the first year may lead to Program unsustainability. Becoming a sponsored site allows new operators to gauge participation levels at proposed sites for future planning and budgeting.
- SFSP is a reimbursement program. This means funding is only provided for eligible meals that are served to participants.
If you are a current SFSP sponsor and would like to hear more about helping new organizations serve our youth meals this summer, please email the Summer Meals team.
Register Now for the Regional Farm to School Roadshow: Connecting Local Producers and School Buyers
Co-hosted by OSPI CNS and WSDA Regional Markets Program, this in-person training and networking event will bring together Washington school nutrition professionals and agricultural producers to promote and facilitate Farm to School purchasing relationships.
In this one-day, in-person training, school nutrition professionals will attend training sessions focused on local procurement and culinary techniques for safe meat preparation, hear from local leaders about successful Farm to School partnerships, and engage in a facilitated producer-buyer networking session. Don’t miss this event for building your Farm to School program!
Tuesday, March 21- Northeast Washington ESD 101, Spokane
Tuesday, March 28- Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center, Mount Vernon
Thursday, March 30- Capitol Region ESD 113, Tumwater
All trainings will take place from 8:30 am – 4:15 pm PT. Follow registration link to view the full training agenda.
Deadline to register is March 6th, 2023.
Questions? Please email the CNS Farm to Child Nutrition Programs team.
While it may not be a great time to start a garden at your school or plant seeds in the ground, winter is a great time to plan for future gardening efforts. Whole Kids Foundation’s Garden Grant Programs can help your center turn outdoor spaces into powerful hands-on learning gardens that connect kids with food, spark their curiosity and support classroom curriculum.
Check out the Garden Grant FAQs for basic information about the program and how to apply for the grant. Whole Kids Foundation is hosting a Garden Grant Q&A Webinar on Wednesday February 15, 2023 12 PM PST where you can get your application questions answered.
Did you know you can purchase produce from a school garden or farm to use in a reimbursable meal? Sponsors with a garden or farm operated and owned by their district or organization can form an interdepartmental agreement with the garden or farm to provide products to their child nutrition program. The normal procurement process does not need to be followed when an interdepartmental agreement is in place. However, the cost of the products purchased from the garden or farm should be reasonable compared to the market pricing for the same products.
Prior to utilizing this food in your cafeteria, it is important to develop protocols and procedures that will ensure the food produced from the school gardens or farms are safe. Slow Food USA and the Whole Kids Foundation teamed up to create a Garden to Cafeteria Toolkit that can help you navigate starting a Garden to Cafeteria program at your schools. It is important that you check with your local health department to ensure the protocols and procedures meet any local regulations
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The 2022-23 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), the Seamless Summer Option (SSO), and the Afterschool Snack Program (ASP). 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 Program Reference Sheet provides more details on area eligibility.
Questions? Please contact your program specialist.
Join us for office hours held every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month through June, from 2-3pm.
Come talk to SFSP specialists and fellow sponsors about all things SFSP.
Register for Office Hours Here
The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health was a great success due to valuable input provided by conference participants across the country. For more information about the conference, action steps and goals moving forward, please review the following:
Post-Conference Updates
To keep momentum of the Conference, please join the Biden-Harris administration for their first post-Conference monthly update.
Register for the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health Monthly Update session
Date: Wednesday, January 25
Time: 12:30 - 1:00 pm PT
In September 2022, the USDA issued a Final Rule for streamlining Program requirements and improving integrity in the SFSP. The rule became effective October 1, 2022, and compliance with the provisions must begin May 1, 2023. Key aspects of the Final Rule are:
- Decrease paperwork burdens while making permanent operational flexibilities.
- Give sponsors the ability to focus program oversight and technical assistance on sites that need it most.
- Ease redundant requirements for high performing, experienced program operators.
- Provide local control of meal service times and allow children to take one non-perishable item offsite to eat later.
- Provide clarification on performance standards, program definitions, and other program requirements.
- This rule also codifies FNS’ statutory waiver authority for all child nutrition programs including the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program and SFSP.
CNS will go over the impact of these changes on SFSP operations during annual training. More information can be found on USDA's Streamlining Program Requirements and Improving Integrity in the SFSP webpages.
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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