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Child Nutrition Services seeks School Meal Programs Advisory Council members.
The School Meals Advisory Council is a voluntary group, comprised of a diverse group of sponsors from different geographic regions, size representation, and meal production methods. The purpose of this advisory council is to provide a forum for collaboration and understanding between OSPI and sponsors of the School Meal Programs.
While not a decision making authority, the advisory council will serve a critical role by:
- Providing input on and sharing of best practices;
- Providing input on training and resource needs;
- Engaging in peer-to-peer learning and peer support.
Interested? Complete this interest form by Friday, October 18, 2024.
Member Selection
OSPI will select members based on size, geographical location, meal production method, and sponsor type, to best represent sponsors in Washington. Sponsors may volunteer and/or be invited by OSPI. Advisory Council members agree to be honest, transparent, and respectful while participating in and representing the Advisory Council.
Questions? Please email the School Meals inbox.
The following guidance is for local education agencies (LEAs) receiving new meal applications from households experiencing temporary financial hardships, such as an employer strike or furlough.
Households of affected employees may be eligible for free or reduced-price meal benefits. A strike or furlough is a unique situation where households may not have information on the duration or the ultimate impact on the household income. Applications may reflect the current household situation, and the eligibility determination would be for the entire school year. LEAs should encourage households approved for meal benefits to contact their nutrition services department if their economic hardship is remedied and they are no longer eligible. This change may be due to returning to work and/or restoration of pay.
In addition, households should be made aware that if they are selected for verification later in the school year, they will be required to produce documentation of actual income for the application month. School districts may choose to verify applications “for cause” if they have specific information indicating that the information on the application is not accurate
Questions? Please contact your School Meal Program Specialist.
Program operators offering the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) during the 2024-25 school year are encouraged to join us for monthly webinars!
OSPI will discuss annual program requirements, new policy guidance, important reminders, and provide an opportunity for you to ask questions. The next webinar is October 3!
Register for the School Meal Programs Monthly Webinars here!
Dates: Monthly, September 2024 – June 2025
Time: 2–3pm PT
Please note: You only have to register once and you will receive updates and reminders for each webinar.
Reminders
- Save these webinars on your calendar! When you register, there is an option to add the event to your calendar at the bottom of the confirmation email.
- A reminder email with the webinar link is sent 1 hour before the session starts.
- Webinar slides are sent to everyone registered for the session, even if they did not attend.
- We do not record monthly webinars.
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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Whether you attended Annual Training this year or not, we want to hear from you!
This short survey takes about 5–10 minutes to complete. We ask about what you liked about this year’s annual training and what we could improve.
Even if you didn’t attend, we want to know why and learn what we could offer next year that would be more useful to you.
This survey is very important for helping us design trainings that are useful and relevant to your work.
Please take a few minutes to complete this survey using this link or by following the QR code.
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If you were unable to attend the Basics of Operating School Meal Programs training at the School Meals Annual Training this year, we are hosting a second training opportunity.
REGISTER HERE
Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Time: 8am–5pm
Location: Northeast Washington Educational Services District (NEWESD) 101
Talbot Event Center
4202 Regal Street, Spokane WA 98223
This training is helpful for those who started working in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or School Breakfast Program (SBP) within the last five years. This 8-hour training is designed for food service directors or those in a managerial role. We will focus on the basics of operating a successful school meal program, including meal pattern, menu planning, USDA Foods, and accurate point-of-service meal counting.
This will be an interactive, action-packed training led by Doug Wordell. This training is limited to 25 people. Register soon to save your spot.
Questions? Please email CNSTraining@k12.wa.us
The Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) is offering Virtual Instructor-Led Trainings (VILTs) for Fall 2024. There are topics available for school nutrition professionals and Child and Adult Food Care Program (CACFP) operators. Many topics are scheduled for new child nutrition directors and the list also includes lessons from Introduction to School Nutrition Leadership (ISNL).
Register for the trainings at TheICN.org/vilt.
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We proudly announce that East Valley (Yakima) School District received a Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Award for making improvements to the nutritional quality of their district’s school meals.
Awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in collaboration with Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK), East Valley (Yakima) received the Small or Rural School Food Authority Lunch Trailblazer Award!
Find more information about these awardees: https://healthymealsincentives.org/awardee-spotlight
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Harvest of the Month
OSPI is excited to feature a 2024–2025 School year Harvest of the Month Calendar and resource sheets. Each month we highlight one local food that will be in season the following month. The resource sheets include fun facts, nutritional information, selection and storage tips, recipe ideas, and educational resources/activities. We are featuring Cauliflower for the month of October. If you don’t have access to cauliflower near you or want to feature another food item, check out our past Harvest of the Month resource pages on the OSPI Farm to School webpage under the Harvest of the Month drop down menu.
Celebrate National Farm to School Month in October!
October is National Farm to School Month! Join OSPI and thousands of schools, early care and education sites, farms, communities and organizations across the country as we celebrate food education, school gardens, and lunch trays filled with healthy, local ingredients. Consider planning to celebrate by doing one or more of the following activities:
Bring students out to the school garden for a lesson or activity.
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Educate students about your region's agricultural community.
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Organize a farm tour or trip to the local farmers’ market or invite a farmer to lunch.
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Highlight your farm to school activities in your newsletters and menus.
Invite media & policymakers to visit your school.
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Share and promote your activities on social media using the hashtags #F2SMonth, #farmtoschool, #WAfarmtoschool, and #TasteWADay.
The National Farm to School Network has created free resources for planning and promoting Farm to School month celebrations in your community. WSDA’s Farm to School Toolkit has resources to help you meet your farm to school month goals. OSPI Farm to Child Nutrition team can help support your district’s Farm to School month programing. Contact farmtocnp@k12.wa.us to request support.
Need help sourcing local Washington grown ingredients? Search for farms near you using the Washington Food and Farm Finder. WSDA Farm to School can help you connect with a Washington producer. Contact Annette Slonim at aslonim@agr.wa.gov or (206) 714-2757 for support.
NEWESD 101 and WSDA Culinary Training and Networking Events
Join Northeast Washington Education Service District (NEWESD) 101 and Chef Mataio Gillis for a culinary training focused on processing and cooking with local produce. The training will be followed by a producer/buyer networking event to help you make connections with regional vendors.
Register here
Date: October 9, 2024
Time: 9 am–3 pm
Location: Prosser, WA
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