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Participation in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) school meal programs requires program operators to meet certain annual requirements. These include:
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Direct Certification: Direct Certification is required by the USDA and must be conducted monthly by all Local Education Agencies (LEAs), including those operating CEP and Provision 2 district-wide, under Washington state law. Please review the Direct Certification and Direct Certification-Medicaid Reference Sheets for more information.
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Verification of Eligibility: Begins October 1 and ends November 15. The Verification Summary Report is due to Child Nutrition Services by February 1. The summary report will be submitted in WINS.
- All sponsors who collect school meal applications must complete the annual verification process for SY 2023–24.
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October Building Data (OBD): Data must be reported on the October claim for reimbursement by December 30.
- All School Meal Program sponsors, including those operating the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), or Special Milk Program (SMP), must report OBD. OBD documents the number of enrolled children eligible for free, reduced-price, and paid meals who traditionally have access to meals in the NSLP, SBP, or SMP.
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Onsite School Reviews: Complete by February 1. Use the On-Site Review form.
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Food Storage Evaluation: Complete by February 1. Review the Storage Facility Review Reference Sheet for additional details.
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Food Safety Inspections: Receive two food safety inspections for each site, each school year. If two inspections are unable to be received in the school year, document a written request to the local health department for two inspections.
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Annual Civil Rights Training: You must train all organization staff who help administer the nutrition program. Training must include your organization’s requirements and procedures as well as meet the training requirements outlined in this presentation.
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Professional Standards: All food service staff must complete annual training requirements according to their job role and responsibilities in one of the USDA’s Key Areas.
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Afterschool Snack Program (ASP) Reviews: Complete twice annually. The first review must occur within the first four weeks of program operation. Use the ASP On-Site Review Form.
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CACFP At-Risk Afterschool Meal Program Reviews: Complete twice annually. The first review must occur within the first four weeks the program is in operation. Use the At-Risk Review form.
Completed forms are not required to be submitted to OSPI; however, you must keep them on file for Administrative Reviews.
REMINDER
The school meal programs have other requirements that must be completed throughout the program year. The School Meal Programs Requirements Reference Sheet and School Meal Program Monthly Requirements Reference Sheet summarize program requirements.
Instructions, forms, and tools are available on the Child Nutrition Services website.
Questions? Please contact your School Meals Program Specialist.
USDA has announced a 4th Round of SCA funding. Child Nutrition Services recently released Bulletin 069-23: Additional Supply Chain Assistance Funding for Child Nutrition Programs. This bulletin details the distribution of a fourth round of SCA funds for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) operating the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Funds are scheduled to be distributed through the Washington Integrated Nutrition System (WINS) in January 2024.
Let Us Know If You’d Like SCA Funds
SCA funds are intended to support LEAs who continue to experience supply chain disruption and financial difficulties related to the operations of the School Meal Programs. LEAs must let us know if they would like to receive these funds by completing a brief survey.
Please complete the SCA Funds survey by December 4, 2023
This survey includes your response to one of the following options:
- Yes, we want to receive SCA funding.
- No, we do not want to receive SCA funding.
Questions? Please email CNSFiscalServices@k12.wa.us.
USDA Team Nutrition’s Offer Versus Serve Guidance for the NSLP and SBP Tip Sheet helps program operators improve their meal service and ensure districts are operating in compliance with program requirements.
Using Offer Versus Serve at School Lunch
Offer versus Serve (OVS) is a type of meal service that can be used in the USDA's National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP). Lunches offered through NSLP are intended to be a full meal for students, meeting approximately one-third of their nutritional needs for the day. School lunch is not meant to supplement meals brought from home or foods purchased outside of the NSLP program.
Offer versus Serve allows students to decline some of the food offered, which can help reduce food waste and give students more choices, while still providing well-balanced meals.
While OVS meal service allows students to decline some of the foods offered at lunch, USDA requires that all students must be offered a full meal that includes all five meal components.
Schools that wish to offer individual meal components (or a limited number of components and not the full meal) to students may do so outside of meal reimbursement through a la carte sales.
Additional resources and posters can be found on Team Nutrition’s Offer Versus Serve Materials webpage.
Questions? Reach out to your School Meals Program Specialist.
We have been notified by dairy processors and distributors within the state of potential milk shortages in the coming weeks. According to 7 CFR 210.10(d)(2)(i), “if a school cannot get a supply of fluid milk, it can still participate in the Program under the following conditions: if emergency conditions temporarily prevent a school that normally has a supply of fluid milk from obtaining delivery of such milk, the State agency may allow the school to serve meals during the emergency period with an alternate form of fluid milk or without fluid milk.” USDA also clarified these flexibilities in SP 01-2024, CACFP 01-2024, SFSP 01-2024: Clarification of Allowable Flexibilities for Child Nutrition Programs Experiencing Milk Supply Shortages.
If this is true, in order to receive reimbursement for the meals served without the required milk type or missing the milk variety, Local Education Agencies (LEAs) would need approval from OSPI CNS. LEAs would need to submit the following to OSPI:
- Documentation from vendor or distributor on the reason why milk was not available or delivered;
- What type of alternate fluid milk will be offered, or without milk;
- School sites affected by the milk shortage; and
- Dates of the anticipated shortage
Questions? Please contact your School Meals Program Specialist.
Program operators offering the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) during the 23–24 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.
The next webinar is scheduled for November 2 and will focus on October Building Data!
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Register for the School Meal Programs Monthly webinars here!
Dates: Monthly through June 2024
Time: 2–3pm 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 log into 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.
Have topic suggestions for a future monthly webinar? Email suggestions to SchoolMeals@k12.wa.us.
To celebrate Taste Washington Day on October 4, Port Angeles School District and Clallam Farm to School prepared carrots and bell peppers from the local Chi’s Farm for sampling and salad bar offerings with a homemade ranch dressing. They also joined WSU Clallam Community Health to glean apples from a local home to feature fresh, local apples during lunch at two Elementary Schools.
To learn more about the district’s Taste Washington Day celebrations, read WSU Extension’s full article.
Thank you Port Angeles School District for all you do to serve local produce to students in our state!
How did your schools celebrate Farm to School Month? Share your stories and pictures with us!
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The Waste Not Washington School Awards promote sustainability and reward school efforts to reduce waste, recycle, and teach environmental curriculum. Across the state, schools are finding ways to carry out their educational missions in a less wasteful manner. These awards celebrate Washington schools for their environmental efforts and help fund their waste reduction projects.
- Amount of funding available: $100,000 per year
- Award amount limit: Up to $5,000 per project
- No matching funds required
Applications are due by 5pm on October 31, 2023.
To apply or learn more, visit the Department of Ecology’s webpage.
The USDA Farm to School Grant is designed to increase the availability of local foods in schools and help connect students to the sources of their food through education, taste tests, school gardens, field trips, and local food sourcing for school meals. Grants can launch new farm to school programs or expand existing efforts.
The Farm to School Grant awards up to $500,000 with no minimum award amount. The funding support projects over 24 months. Applicants are required to provide matching support of at least 25 percent of the total project budget in the form of cash or in-kind contributions. Applications are due Friday, January 12, 2023.
The following entities are eligible to apply:
- Schools, including nonprofit private and charter schools, which operate the NSLP and/or SBP
- Childcare institutions, including non-school based institutions that have an agreement with the state agency to operate CACFP
- Summer sponsors, including non-school based institutions that have an agreement with the state agency to operate SFSP
- State and Local agencies
- Indian Tribal Organizations
- Non-profit entities
Attend the following two webinars to learn more about the Farm to School Grant:
This webinar will provide an overview of the FY 2024 Farm to School Grant Program RFA.
This webinar will review the required components and provide technical assistance on how to submit a complete application.
For additional information please see the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program website.
OSPI will feature a Harvest of the Month section highlighting one local food that will be in season the following month.
November – Delicata Squash
Fun Facts:
- The word squash comes from the Narragansett Native American word askutasquash, which means “eaten raw or uncooked”.
- Delicata squash is also called peanut squash, Bohemian squash, or sweet potato squash
- Delicatas are a winter squash that have a hard, but edible, skin.
- Squash is one of the earliest plants domesticated in the Americas. Archeologists have found squash rinds and seeds in cliff dwellings that date back to 1500 B.C.
Nutrition Information:
- Contains high levels of alpha-carotene and beta-carotene, which converts to Vitamin A
- Good source of Vitamin C
- Healthy source of fiber
- Contains polysaccharides that help regulate and/or control blood sugar
Selection and Storage:
- Select a squash that is firm, heavy for its size and has an even cream color.
- Ripe delicata squash are yellow with green striations and unripe delicata squashes are light green.
- Avoid squashes that have soft spots, dull and wrinkled skin or that are extremely light for their size.
- Because of its edible skin and uniform shape, the delicata squash requires little preparation.
Recipes:
Educational Resources:
For more ideas about what items you could feature as a Harvest of the month, visit WSDA’s Washington Grown Food & Recipe Kit and USDA’s Seasonal Produce Guide.
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OSPI Food Distribution Program has released an update Storage Handling and Delivery Fee Schedule reference sheet for School Year 2023–24.
 Product Availability Updates
Local Foods for Schools
Diversion Forms
FDP Calendar
Questions? Please email the Food Distribution Office or call 360-725-6204
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October 30
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August 60-Day Claim Deadline— if you haven't already, submit your claim
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November 15
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October Claim Due in WINS by 5pm
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