School lunch hero day was Friday, May 5! Thank you to all school food service staff for your dedication and hard work to provide nutritious meals to the children in Washington state!
Between preparing healthy meals for America’s students, adhering to strict nutrition standards, navigating student food allergies, and offering service with a smile, school nutrition professionals are true heroes.
Share Your Celebrations with Us!
We know school nutrition professionals make a difference for every child who comes through the cafeteria. Email the School Meals team with your celebrations.
|
OSPI Child Nutrition Service (CNS) was awarded a Local Food for Schools (LFS) cooperative agreement from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)! This agreement allows CNS to purchase locally grown and produced products for aggregation and distribution through the CNS Food Distribution Program (FDP).
Let Us Know What You'd Like!
CNS previously released an RFP solicitation and is currently reviewing bids from local producers. We need your input to determine how much of each local product to order.
Please complete the survey by Wednesday, May 10
Those who have responsibility for ordering food for school meals should complete this survey.
The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) Application for School Year 2023–24 is open in WINS!
The FFVP provides a fresh fruit or vegetable snack to elementary school students and is an effective and creative way to introduce fresh produce as a healthy snack option. Funds are awarded to the highest free and reduced-price (FRP) percentage elementary schools. We invite all schools that meet the eligibility requirements to apply for this program.
There are two requirements for eligibility:
- 50% or more of the students enrolled in the school must be eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
- The school must meet the definition of an elementary school; Pre-K/Kindergarten through grade 5 or a variation or, Pre-K/Kindergarten through grade 8.
The application deadline for participation for school year 2023–24 is May 15, 2023.
Please review B023-23 Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Application School Year 2023–24 for more details on the application process.
Application Process
Your application will be submitted using the Washington Integrated Nutrition System (WINS).
Questions? Please email Rachel Floyd or call 360-742-4155
|
Whether your Local Education Agency (LEA) operates a summer meal program or not, it’s time to start thinking about summer program requirements!
Who must provide summer meals?
Schools in the district offering summer programs of academic, enrichment, or remedial services and have 50% or more of the children enrolled in the school qualify for free or reduced-price lunch must operate a summer meal program that is open to the community (RCW 28A.235.160). Exemptions are provided by OSPI on a case-by-case basis and must be approved in advance.
What options does our district have when offering summer meals?
LEAs can operate the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), Seamless Summer Option (SSO), or extend NSLP/SBP. The resources below can help you decide which option is best for your school or district:
When are summer applications due?
Applications for SFSP and SSO are due by June 15, 2023. Reference the resources below for information on the application process:
Who is required to provide outreach on summer meals?
All public school districts and private schools must conduct outreach for summer meals each school year as required by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) even if your LEA is not operating a summer meal program.
The outreach is to advertise the availability of summer meals before the end of the school year. Outreach includes distributing locations, meal times, and contact information through your regular communication channels.
There are a number of resources, in both English and Spanish, to raise awareness in your community.
- 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
-
The OSPI Communication Toolkit located on the SFSP Requirements & Materials webpage, under the ‘Promotional Materials’ dropdown. There you'll find:
- Social Media Graphics and Sample Social Media Posts
- Marketing Materials such as flyers, banner imagery you can use to print materials, and more!
Questions? Please contact your School Meals Program Specialist.
Do you have a question about what purchases are allowable using Supply Chain Assistance (SCA) funding? Unsure how to use your SCA funds when contracting with a Food Service Management Company (FSMC) or Vendor?
Join us for Office Hours!
Join OSPI CNS to discuss all things SCA funds! May’s Guest Speaker will be Meredith Arseneau from ESD 113 who will discuss allowable options for using SCA Funds while contracting with a Food Service Management Company (FSMC). The agenda for each meeting is as follows:
- 3:00 – 3:05 PM: Introductions
- 3:05 – 3:10 PM: SCA Funds Overview
- 3:10 – 3:30 PM: Open forum Q & A
- 3:30 – 3:50 PM: Guest Speaker
- 3:50 – 4:00 PM: Guest Speaker Q & A
Register for the SCA Funds Office Hours Here
Date: Wednesday, May 10
Time: 3–4pm PT
Questions? Please contact your School Meals Program Specialist.
House Bill 1878 requires schools with an Identified Student Percentage (ISP) of 40% or greater to operate the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). The SY 2023–24 CEP Eligibility Report was recently posted and estimates the ISP for schools and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) based off information in the Comprehensive Education Data and Research System (CEDARS) as of April 1, 2023. To receive approval, LEAs must calculate their actual ISP and submit source documentation representative of April 1, 2023. ISPs must be validated by OSPI CNS. CEP Applications are due in WINS by June 30, 2023.
If you attempted to edit or submit a CEP application prior to May 4, 2023 and were unable to proceed, please note that the WINS issue has now been resolved. CEP Applications may now be submitted. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we worked through the issue!
Join us for a Webinar!
The CEP webinar will review the requirements, application process, and include guest speakers from LEAs currently implementing CEP.
Register for the CEP Webinar
Date: Thursday, May 18
Time: 1–2 pm PT
Resources
Questions? Please contact your School Meal Programs Specialist.
School Meal Programs Annual Training will be held August 9 & 10 at Central Washington University in
Ellensburg, WA.
OSPI Child Nutrition Services hosts an annual training for the upcoming school year. This training is meant to enhance your knowledge about the School Meal Programs and allow time for you to connect to other School Food Service Directors around the state. Training is free to attend; however, participants must pay for meals, parking, and any overnight stays.
How to Register
Registration information for all training options is planned later this month. Registrants will need a pdEnroller account to register for this training, create your account early so you can register as soon as it’s available!
Available Workshops
We are hosting multiple workshops to provide a more in-depth overview of program requirements and hot topics. All workshops will be offered on both August 9 & 10. We will post a draft agenda including session descriptions to the NSLP Training webpage as soon as it is finalized.
- New Director Training – 8hr
- Procurement & Farm to School – 4hr
- Managing Your FSMC Contract – 4hr
- Scratch Cooking – 4hr
- Culturally Inclusive Menu Planning – 4hr
- Marketing & Promotion – 4hr
- USDA Foods – 4hr
Questions? Please email Sam Brueske, Training and Communications Specialist.
OSPI CNS annually compiles data on aspects of food service operations and the accounting of federal funds. The 1800 report is a compilation of reports and statistics for public school districts. These reports are available to assist school districts in evaluating the performance of their food service operations.
The Report 1800 for SY 2021–22 and the updated Report 1800 Reference Sheet are posted to the OSPI Child Nutrition Program Reports webpage.
Report 1800 includes:
1800 A Revenues and Expenditures (in whole dollars)
1800 B Expenditures as a Percent of Revenue
Questions? Please email Hydie Kidd, Assistant Director, Child Nutrition Fiscal and Claims.
OSPI and the United Way of King County will be hosting Office Hours from the end of April throughout the month of May to discuss Breakfast After the Bell (BAB) Implementation Plans! Each week will be focused on a specific topic and will include opportunity for questions, resource sharing, and networking.
Register for Office Hours here
Time: 2–3 pm PT
Dates
|
May 10
|
BAB Operations Training
|
|
May 24
|
Meal Counting
|
|
May 31
|
Promotion & Communication
|
Unable to attend the BAB webinar last week? The BAB Webinar Recording is now available.
To support sponsors in integrating local foods into your meals, OSPI CNS is excited to feature a new Harvest of the Month section in our newsletter. Each newsletter will highlight one local food that will be in season the following month. The highlight will include recipe ideas, educational resources, and more!
Strawberries
There are more than 600 unique varieties of strawberries in varying shapes, sizes, and flavors. This accessory fruit is part of the rose family and usually the first commercial berry to start ripening in our state.
Did you know that Washington state grows approximately 1% of the country's strawberries, with most being produced in Skagit and Whatcom counties? This is one of the many reasons to highlight strawberries in your menus!
The USDA SNAP-Ed Strawberries webpage has some amazing resources including tips on selection and storing these fruits and preparation tips.
|
WA Farm to School Network Gathering
Is your school district engaged in Farm to Child Nutrition programing or interested in starting? The Washington State Farm to School Network invites you to the first in-person gathering since 2018! The goal of the gathering is to reconnect and reinvigorate the network and those involved in all aspects of Farm to School and Farm to Early Childhood Education activities.
What is Farm to School?
Farm to School looks different in every community but is typically comprised of one or more of the following activities:
- Serving local food as part of a school meal or snack.
- Providing food and agriculture related education opportunities.
- Offering garden-based hands-on learning.
Who is the Washington Farm to School Network?
The network is compiled of School Districts, Early Care Centers, Farmers, Chefs, State Agencies, Non-profits, and anyone who is passionate about Farm to Child Nutrition. The network exists to advance Farm to School (F2S) and Farm to Early Childhood Education (F2ECE) activities in WA state, increasing equitable access to healthy nutritious foods and connecting youth to their food sources, and instilling lifelong healthy habits.
Register to attend the Gathering by May 22!
Location: Wenatchee Confluence Technology Center
Date: Friday, June 9
Time: 8 am – 3 pm
Cost: Free
|
|
