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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).
If the LEA is not able to meet the requirements of the RCW, they could submit a SFSP/SSO Exemption Request. Exemption requests are approved on a case-by-case basis and must be submitted by May 15, 2024.
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 1, 2024. 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 the 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, mealtimes, and contact information through your regular communication channels.
There are 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
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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.
The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Application for School Year 2024–25 is available April 1!
The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) provides funds to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to offer a fresh fruit or vegetable snack to elementary school students during the school day. FFVP is not a snack program, but rather a tool to offer new tasting opportunities and experiences to students. Participating schools must offer nutrition education throughout the school year to complement students tasting fruits and vegetables.
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.
OSPI will be releasing an application bulletin in the coming weeks. The application deadline for participation for school year 2023–24 is April 30, 2024. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.
Application Process
Your application will be submitted using the Washington Integrated Nutrition System (WINS).
Questions? Please email Rachel Floyd or call 360-742-4155
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The Washington state legislature passed House Bill (HB) 1238 during the 2023 legislative session. House Bill 1238 requires Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to provide meals at no cost to students enrolled at elementary schools where 30% or more of enrolled children are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. This requirement is based off October 2023 Building data. Elementary schools are defined as schools consisting of any of the K–4 grade levels.
The HB 1238 webinar will review the impacts and requirements for offering meals at no cost under House Bill 1238. One representative from each LEA with qualifying schools will be required to take HB 1238 training prior to the start of the 2024–25 school year.
Register for the HB 1238 Webinar
Date: Thursday, March 28, 2024
Time: 2–3 pm PT
Additional information, resources, and the 2024–25 HB 1238 Eligible Schools Report can be found on the Meals for Washington Students webpage.
Questions? Please contact your School Meals Program Specialist or email SchoolMeals@k12.wa.us.
The 2024 National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) theme was "Surf’s Up with School Breakfast” and was celebrated March 4–8, 2024. How did you ride the wave of success with healthy breakfast options at school?
We want to see all the activities, celebrations, and fun you had for #NSBW24! Send your photos to the School Meals team — we will highlight districts in upcoming CNS Newsletters and Webinars!
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Roaring for School Breakfast
Kirkwood Elementary School staff in Toppenish School District were challenged to find ways to encourage students to eat breakfast, so staff dressed up to promote breakfast participation. Kirkwood Elementary saw participation increase by 35%!
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Breakfast Benefits
Anacortes School District featured multiple scratch-made breakfast items in honor of National School Breakfast Week, including a blueberry-banana-raspberry smoothie!
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Smooth Operator
Ellensburg School District featured a Build-Your-Own Smoothie Bowl at breakfast!
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The Berry Best
West Valley School District - Yakima celebrated by offering a strawberry-pineapple parfait!
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Thank you to all the school nutrition professionals for their work on improving the nutritional quality of school breakfast and for providing students a healthy start to their school day!
Congratulations to the following LEAs!
Auburn School District
Chimacum School District
Federal Way School District
Ferndale School District
Lopez Island School District
Pinnacles Prep Charter School
Toppenish School District
Shoreline School District
West Valley School District-Spokane
About the Plant Based School Meals Grant
The Washington State Legislature provided funds for school districts seeking to implement more plant-based meals in school year 2023–24. This competitive grant may be spent on food supplies, delivery costs, equipment purchases, education, and other expenditures to increase access to plant-based school meals that meet the meal pattern requirements. Preference was given to applicants whose projects incorporate scratch cooking, Farm to School strategies, and/or supports for culturally appropriate school meals.
Please visit the CNS Grants webpage for more information and other grant opportunities!
Washougal School Districts finds success with their student-run food truck, the Shoug Shack, serving up meals at Washougal High School.
Check out their success story in the Camas-Washougal Post-Record and Clark County Today!
Grant Opportunities
WSDA Farm to School Purchasing Grant
The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) Farm to School Purchasing Grant is a competitive reimbursement grant available to school districts, childcare centers, and summer meals providers for the purchase and use of Washington-grown foods in child nutrition programs.
Applications close Monday, April 15, 2024 at 5:00pm PT.
For more information, visit the WSDA Farm to School Purchasing Grant webpage or contact the Farm to School Purchasing Grant Program at farmtoschool@agr.wa.gov.
National Garden Bureau Growing for Futures Therapeutic Garden Grant
The National Garden Bureau's Growing for Futures Garden Grant supports the building and growth of therapeutic gardens,
Applications open April 1, 2024.
April is National Garden Month
Gardening at school is a common and very effective activity for students to engage in as part of their school’s Farm to School program. Studies show that when students are engaged in growing their food, they are more likely to eat it. Engaging students in hands-on projects in a school garden, combined with taste tests of recipes featuring local foods can help introduce students to new foods and empower them to make healthy food choices that last a lifetime.
Find resources below to help your district add school gardening to your Farm to School programing:
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2024 Northwest Youth Garden Network Gathering
The Northwest Youth Garden Network is comprised of garden/farm programs in the Pacific Northwest that serve youth ages 14–21. Their 2024 Network Gathering, located at GRuB in Olympia, will be full of networking, relationship-building, learning, and inspiration with peers. Registration is $35 with lunch, snacks and beverages provided.
Learn more and register for the event here.
WSNA's Spring Workshop – Farm to School and Scratch Cooking
Join WSNA in Leavenworth, WA on April 13 at Cascade High School from 8 AM – 12:30 PM for the annual Spring workshop.
Educational topics will include:
- an opening session with Matt Upton
- chef-driven scratch-cooking concepts
- equipment innovations and recommendations for scratch cooking with vendors
- state and federal updates including Local Food for Schools
- a panel of district directors discussing creative Farm to School and scratch cooking initiatives in their schools.
Click here for the agenda. Click here to register.
Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) – Visiting Your School/Warehouse
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is the public health agency in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) responsible for ensuring the nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, and processed egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.
In the course of fulfilling their responsibilities, FSIS could visit your facility with no advanced notice. Inspection visits could include ensuring meat, poultry and egg products are sourced from a federally inspected facility and properly labeled and stored. In addition, FSIS will review things like food defense and pest control procedures.
For more information on FSIS, review the White Paper: Food Safety Enforcement and Inspection Actions and Terminology.
Ludfords Orange Juice on Hold
USDA has put product #100277 (Ludfords brand only) on hold at our state warehouse until further notice. Product packaging may have failed causing leaking and spoilage. If you have cases from Ludfords remaining, please check for quality prior to serving. Because of this you may see shortages on your recent and upcoming USDA foods order. Note the hold is only for the Ludfords brand not Gregory Packaging.
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