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Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) sponsors must annually renew their Application with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) by September 1. Sponsors who submit their application for approval past the September 1 deadline may not be approved in time to receive reimbursement for meals served during October 2024.
For more information on the renewal process, renewal bulletins and resources, please review our August 19th CACFP Update.
The new Fiscal Year (FY) starts October 1. To prepare for FY 25, please review these program changes to ensure program compliance.
State Agency — Program Updates
New/Updated Forms:
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Enrollment & Income Eligibility Form (EIEA)
- It is expected Sponsors will use this form for their FY 25 study month, or begin using the new EIEA as their FY 24 forms expire during the year.
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Menu templates
- OSPI is requiring all sponsors to use the OSPI menu template for FY 25 to eliminate menu errors and reduce fiscal action.
- If Sponsors have a menu template they would prefer to use, they may submit their template to OSPI for review and approval.
- New templates now available in spreadsheet format!
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Monitoring Form for School District At-Risk Sponsors
- An updated monitoring form is now available for school district sponsors who operate the At-Risk Afterschool Meals component of CACFP.
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Food Service Agreement for Vendors—New
- The new Vended Meal Contract has been combined with the Inter-Agency Agreement. This agreement may be renewed for up to 3 years.
Training
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Bright Track Trainings
- OSPI has contracted with Brighton Training Group to provide over 25 interactive recorded trainings to all Sponsors! Log in today and see what is available! Use the password "cacfp".
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Multi-Site Sponsor Training
- Sponsors of single sites who are interested in operating CACFP at more than one site must attend, The “Basics” of Becoming a Multi-site Sponsor training.
- This training will be held 3 times per year with virtual and in-person options. Contact your Program Specialist for more information.
WINS
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For Profit Sponsors-Free/Reduced Price Tracking in WINS
- If your sponsored site(s) do not meet the F/RP For Profit eligibility threshold, continue to submit claims for these sites during FY 25. Please note, claims will remain in error status.
Administrative Reviews (AR)
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Documentation must be provided on the day of review. If not provided, it will be considered a finding, and the AR will continue without the requested documentation. Fiscal action will result if meal counts or Free/Reduced-Price categorization are not supported.
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Meal counts must be consolidated for the review month for the AR.
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Consolidated attendance reports are required for the study month and the month of review.
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Fiscal Action (FA) Repayment
- OSPI will accept a check for the full amount of repayment within 30 days of the FA Letter. However,OSPI will no longer accept monthly checks for repayment of FA.
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Reminders:
- Program Specialists will coordinate and conduct visits with sponsor monitors.
- Program Specialists will also conduct unannounced visits without the monitor.
USDA Program Updates
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, on April 25,2024. This rule finalizes practical, science-based nutrition requirements, and includes minor updates to align USDA Child Nutrition Programs. This final rule:
- Explains in regulation that state licensed healthcare professionals and Registered Dietitians may submit medical statements in CACFP starting October 1, 2024.
- Allows sponsors, institutions, and facilities serving primarily American Indian or Alaska Native participants to substitute vegetables to meet the grains requirement. Effective July 1, 2024.
- Allows nuts and seeds to credit for the full meats/meat alternates component in all USDA Child Nutrition Programs. Effective July 1, 2024.
If you would like additional information on these changes, please watch the "FY 25 Annual Updates" webinar found in Canvas. You will need a free account to access this training. If you do not have a Canvas account, please create an account and join the course using this link.
New foods are now available in the Food Buying Guide(FBG) for Child Nutrition Programs. The FBG is available as an Interactive Web-based Tool and Mobile App! New yield data is available for the following, which are identified as traditional Indigenous foods in Tribal communities:
- Huckleberries
- Bison
- Canned steelhead trout
- Halibut
- Walleye
- White perch
- Whitefish
All Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Fiscal Year 25 (FY 25) required training modules are now available!
Please refer to the FY 25 Training Checklist to see which trainings are required for your Sponsor type and population served.
Who Must Attend Annual Training?
- All institutions participating in the CACFP.
- All institutions planning to participate in the CACFP in Fiscal Year 2024–25 (FY 25).
- At a minimum, the person responsible for oversight of the CACFP must attend. These training modules are intended for directors and administrators, not Program staff.
How Will Annual Training be Conducted for FY 25?
All required annual training modules may be accessed virtually through our Canvas training platform. You will need to create a free account to access these trainings. If you do not have a Canvas account, please create an account and join the course using this link.
Please note, during renewal, sponsors must attest to having completed OSPI-required annual training in the Sponsor Application. CACFP sponsors must complete OSPI’s required training annually to continue participation in the program.
OSPI hosted a webinar for sponsors and contractors with CACFP vended meal agreements on August 19. If you plan to continue vending meals in FY 25 and did not attend the live webinar, please view the recording in Canvas in the “FY 25 Optional Refresher Trainings” module. If you do not have a Canvas account, please create an account and join the course using this link.
During this webinar, we highlighted:
- Recent changes to the vended meal contract.
- Additional documentation required for FY 25 agreements/contracts.
- Contractual responsibilities for Program compliance—Contractor.
- Contractual responsibilities for Program compliance—Sponsor.
- Inter-agency agreements and circumstances of appropriate use.
View the new Foodservice Agreement for Vendors, found in the Vending Meals dropdown. All Sponsors are expected to use the new Foodservice Agreement for Vendors for FY 25. This agreement may be renewed for up to 3 years.
Please note, if you have a vended meal contract or Inter-Agency Agreement that was signed prior to August 19, you may submit the older version of the contract. However, you will need to upload the following items in addition to the agreement in WINS:
- Copy of vendor’s current food-service inspection report from the licensing agency.
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Vendor’s current license to operate a food service facility.
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Menu (1 month or cycle) for each type of meal service vended using the OSPI Menu Template
- Signed Debarment & Suspension Certification
Please contact your Program Specialist if you have changes.
OSPI has contracted with the Brighton Training Group to offer all CACFP Sponsors access to an assortment of CACFP trainings!
To access Bright Track trainings:
Note that this is separate from your user account password.
If you need assistance enrolling and creating an account, view this short video.
Available Bright Track Trainings:
- Civil Rights-Required for FY 25
- CACFP Annual Sponsor Training for Centers-Required for FY 25 for new Program administrators
- General Recordkeeping and At-Risk Afterschool Meals Program Recordkeeping
- Meal Counting, Claiming and Documentation
- Menu Building Basics: Utilizing CN Labels and USDA Recipes to Build a Cycle Menu
- Diversifying Meals in Child Nutrition Programs
- All Aboard the Whole Grain Express!
- Navigating Special Dietary Needs
- Build it Once; Serve it Time and Time Again: Using Cycle Menus and Standardized Recipes
- Sponsor Monitoring
- Successful Monitoring
- CACFP Basics: Orientation for New Staff
- Milk Substitutions: Serving Creditable Milk Alternatives in Child Nutrition Program
- Feeding Infants in Child Nutrition Programs
- Recordkeeping and Claims for Reimbursement in the CACFP
- CACFP Budgets
- Financial Viability
- Monitoring and Oversight
- Serious Deficiency
- Management Plans
- Internal Controls
- Corrective Action in the CACFP
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 CACFP webpage under the Harvest of the Month drop down menu.
National Farm to School Month/ Farm to CACFP Week
October is National Farm to School Month! Did you know Farm to School includes early childhood and care settings? Join OSPI and thousands of early care and education sites, farms, communities, and organizations across the country as we celebrate food education, school gardens and meals filled with healthy, local ingredients. Farm to CACFP helps kids enjoy and eat more fresh meals, while also fostering a lifelong appreciation for where their food comes from. These activities can boost the effectiveness of CACFP by increasing the intake of healthy foods served in childcare settings and supporting local farmers, ranchers, dairies, food processors, and distributors.
To recognize our CACFP sponsor’s Farm to Early-care and Education efforts, OSPI is celebrating Farm to CACFP Week September 30 to October 4, 2024! The week is all about connecting children with nutrition education, Washington-grown foods, and gardening opportunities. Your center can participate by doing one of the following:
Take the Pledge
It is that easy to participate in Farm to CACFP Week in 2024! We invite you to click here pledge to participate in Farm to CACFP and let us know why you’re joining in! Participating sponsors may be celebrated on OSPI’s social media.
Questions? Please email farmtocnp@k12.wa.us
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