NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant (Form Package 472) closes today March 27!
Public school districts, private schools, tribal schools, charter schools and residential childcare institutions are eligible to apply National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Equipment Assistance Grant.
Last Call for Applications!
View the recorded webinar for an overview of the application, important changes from previous year's applications, tips for your application, and grant timelines.
View the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant Interest Webinar Recording
Submit Your Application by 4 pm PT
Applicants may apply for a single school or multiple schools, including central kitchens. Applications are completed in iGrants (form package 472) and are due before 4 pm PT, Monday, March 27, 2023.
Questions? Please email the CNS Grants team.
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Healthy Meals Incentives Grants for Small and/or Rural School Food Authorities (SFA) - Grant Application Opening Soon!
As part of a cooperative agreement to develop and implement the USDA Food and Nutrition Service's Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, Action for Healthy Kids is offering competitive grants (up to $150,000 per SFA) for small and/or rural school food authorities to support efforts to improve the nutritional quality of their school meals.
The online grant application portal will open on April 10, 2023. The deadline for submitting a grant application is 5:00pm EST on May 26, 2023.
Is your SFA eligible to apply? See the Grant Eligibility Requirements below:
- Must participate in the National School Lunch Program and/or School Breakfast Program
- Must meet the definition of small and/or rural (see below).
Small School Food Authority: SFA with an enrollment of less than or equal to 5,000 students.
Rural School Food Authority: The majority of students within the SFA are enrolled in a rural school as defined by a locality code of 41, 42, or 43, according to the National Center for Education Statistics online tool. You must apply as a school food authority for this grant; individual schools are not eligible entities.
Want to learn more?
Register for the pre-launch webinar
Date: Wednesday, March 29
Time: 12:30 - 1:30 pm PT
Questions? Send an email to support@healthymealsincentives.org
About the Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative
The Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative seeks to improve the nutritional quality of school meals through food systems transformation, school food authority recognition and technical assistance, the generation and sharing of innovative ideas and tested practices, and grants.
Action for Healthy Kids will facilitate the sharing of best practices across the country and provide grants to help small and/or rural SFAs innovate and advance their efforts. AFHK will work in partnership with RMC Health to design, lead and manage the overall training and technical assistance strategy. In addition, AFHK will partner with Chef Ann Foundation to provide in-depth individualized technical assistance to support and guide SFAs in implementing key strategies to improve school meal quality, meet the Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Award, and mitigate any potential roadblocks to success. Learn More
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The proposed rule Child Nutrition Programs: Community Eligibility Provision – Increasing Options for Schools was published to the Federal Register on March 23, 2023.
The rule proposes to expand access to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) by lowering the minimum Identified Student Percentage (ISP) participation threshold from 40% to 25%. This proposed change would give States and schools greater flexibility to choose to invest non-Federal funds to offer no-cost meals to all enrolled students. As a result, more students, families, and schools would have an opportunity to experience the benefits of CEP, including access to meals at no cost, eliminating unpaid meal charges, minimizing stigma, reducing paperwork for staff and families, and streamlining meal service operations.
Comments on the Proposed Rule can be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal through May 8, 2023. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Instructions are also included for mail-in comments
Register for the Propose Rule Webinar for School Food Authority (SFA) Staff
Date: March 30, 2023
Time: 12:00 pm PT
Resources:
Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) has been extended through Summer 2023. Local Education Agencies (LEAs) operating the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) will be required to upload student eligibility data to the P-EBT Portal prior to the end of SY 22-23. Additional information on Summer 2023 P-EBT will be shared on the April 13 Monthly Webinar from 3-4pm.
What is Summer P-EBT?
Qualifying children under age 6 as well as school-aged children will receive a one-time lump sum of $120 per child to cover the summer period through July and August 2023. School-aged children enrolled in Washington state schools that operate the NSLP who are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals and all students enrolled in a school operating the Community Eligibility Program (CEP) are eligible for Summer 2023 P-EBT benefits. Children under 6 will receive benefits under this plan if they receive Basic Food assistance during July and August.
How to Prepare for Summer 2023 P-EBT
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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.
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Collect current addresses for households.
Encourage households to update their address on file prior to the end of the school year.
Questions? Please contact your School Meals Program Specialist.
Program operators offering the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) during the 22–23 School Year are encouraged to join us for monthly webinars! OSPI CNS will discuss annual program requirements, new policy guidance, important reminders, and provide an opportunity for you to ask questions every month.
April's webinar will focus on Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), and Summer 2023 P-EBT! Please note the time change for April's webinar.
Register for the School Meal Programs Monthly Webinars Here!
Date: April 13, 2023
Time: 3–4 pm PT
Please note: You only have to register once and you will receive updates and reminders for each webinar.
Reminders
- Save us on your calendar! When you register, there is an option to add us to your calendar at the bottom of the confirmation email.
- A reminder email with your link to login to the webinar is sent 1 hour before the session starts.
- Follow up emails with a copy of the slides are sent to everyone registered for the session, even if they did not attend.
- We do not post recordings to the CNS webpages.
- Please keep an eye out in your inbox for these emails. If you do not see them in your inbox please check your SPAM box.
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The ACP provides eligible households a discount of up to $30 per month off their internet bills (or $75 per month for households living on Tribal lands), as well as a one-time $100 discount off an eligible connected device.
How This Impacts Your Programs
All households with a child who was approved to receive free or reduced price meals under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or the School Breakfast Program (SBP) within the last 12 months, including children who attend schools participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), are eligible for ACP benefits.
Spread the Word about ACP!
Spread awareness of ACP benefits and increase enrollment by:
- Telling Families About the Program
- The ACP Outreach Toolkit has flyers, infographics, social media posts, and other resources available in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language.
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GetInternet.gov is the one-stop shop to check eligibility, enroll, and learn which providers offer fully covered plans.
- The website is also available in Spanish at AccedeAInternet.gov.
- Households can also call 877-384-2575 to learn how to apply.
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Contacting eligible or likely-eligible households directly.
- The federal government will conduct a Back-To-School campaign with information about ACP.
- Text messages and mail campaigns sent directly to eligible (or likely eligible) populations have the highest response rates and are recommended. Where possible, please reach out to these eligible or likely-eligible households directly.
ACP Eligibility
Households are also independently eligible if:
- Their income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level ($60,000 for a family of four); or
- A member of the household participates in certain other Federal benefit programs—including, among others, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Medicaid, and Federal Public Housing Assistance; or
- Child attends a school operating CEP.
Households also gain ACP eligibility if one member of the household participates in one of these programs:
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI),
- Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit,
- Federal Pell Grant (received in the current award year),
- Lifeline,
- Certain Tribal assistance programs—including Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Head Start (only households meeting the income qualifying standard), Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (Tribal TANF), and Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)
- Households that are eligible for a broadband provider’s existing low-income internet program also qualify.
USDA released SP 10-2023: Updated Title I Guidance for Making Within-District Allocations on March 17. This memo shares updated guidance from the U.S. Department of Education for making within-district Title 1 allocations
Breakfast After the Bell (BAB) is required in high-need schools per House Bill 1508: The Washington Kids Ready to Learn Act. High-need schools are defined as any public school where at least 70% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals; or, if operating the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), the school has a free claiming percentage of 70% or more.
All Local Education Agencies (LEAs) required to implement BAB in SY23-24 must submit a BAB Implementation Plan by May 10, 2023. Implementation plans must include the planned meal service models and point-of-service meal counting systems.
OSPI offers exemptions to BAB requirements for:
- Schools with free and reduced-price Breakfast participation that is at least 70% of their free and reduced-price Lunch participation based off October 2022 data
- Alternative schools where implementing BAB would create an undue hardship
Exemption requests for SY 23-24 must be submitted by May 10, 2023.
Join us for a Webinar!
The Breakfast After the Bell webinar will review the requirements, BAB implementation plans, reminders, and next steps.
Register for the Breakfast After the Bell webinar
Date: Wednesday, April 19
Time: 1–2 pm PT
Resources
Questions? Please contact your Program Specialist.
The Proposed Rule Child Nutrition Programs: Revision to Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans has been published in the Federal Register.
Based on the latest nutrition science and feedback from school meal partners across the nation, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service is proposing updates to the school nutrition standards. The proposed updates reflect the goals of the most recent Dietary Guidelines, as required by law, and build in time for planning and implementation to ensure the school meals community and the children they serve are set up for success.
Comments on the Proposed Rule can be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal through April 10, 2023. Section 16 of the proposed rule provides a summary of the rule and a list of specific questions for which USDA is seeking public comments. For more information on submitting comments, please see Tips for Submitting Effective Comments.
Resources:
Ellensburg School District celebrated National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) on March 7 by serving Huckleberry Coffee Cake. The huckleberries were purchased locally for a special one-time feature. They also promoted the celebration on their social media by sharing historical information:
Huckleberry coffee cake for National School Breakfast Week! Huckleberries are an important traditional food of PNW tribes. The Handshake Agreement of 1932 between the Yakama Tribe and Forest Service reserved a portion of the berry fields west of Mt Adams for exclusive Indian use. The annual berry feast is still an important part of Native tradition.”
Thank you Ellensburg School District for providing nutritious breakfasts to students!
Did your Local Education Agency (LEA) celebrate NSBW? Share your stories and pictures with us by emailing schoolmeals@k12.wa.us.
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March 27
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NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant Closes
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April 3
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January 60-day Claim Deadline
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April 5-12
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May USDA Foods Order Period in CNPWeb
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April 10
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USDA Proposed Rule Comment Period Closes
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April 13
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Monthly Webinar Series | 3–4 pm
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April 15
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March Claim Due in WINS
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April 19
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Breakfast After the Bell Webinar | 1–2 pm
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