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This award recognizes sponsors that go above and beyond in delivering exceptional breakfast service.
- Culturally Inclusive Meals
This award honors sponsors that increase the cultural diversity of their meal offerings.
This award celebrates sponsors maximizing their Farm to School program and use of local foods.
This award recognizes sponsors that develop and serve scratch-made menu items.
Nurturing Navigator Award Track
The Nurturing Navigator awards recognize SFAs that demonstrate excellence in promoting their programs through innovative marketing, delivering impactful nutrition education, developing strong partnerships, and engaging their community.
This award recognizes sponsors that have worked to promote their program and inform families and the community of the great work they are doing.
This award recognizes sponsors that have created or expanded nutrition education opportunities for students or families.
- Partnerships and Engagement
This award recognizes sponsors that have strengthened partnerships and/or community engagement to improve school nutrition and/or wellness.
Media Tool Kit for Award Recipients
Winners receive a certificate, digital badge, press release template, public recognition, and more!
Resources
To learn more and apply online, visit the Rooted in Excellence webpage.
Questions? Contact CNStraining@k12.wa.us.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Team Nutrition recently released new and updated resources that support school menu planning and foster a healthy school environment.
🍍 Explore: New Food Yields in the Food Buying Guide
The Food Buying Guide now includes updated yields for:
- Crushed pineapple, pineapple chunks, pineapple tidbits
- Dried mango, açai puree, dragon fruit (pitaya)
- Chopped romaine lettuce
🧑🍳 Join: Free ICN Training Webinars
The Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) offers free webinars for school nutrition professionals. Upcoming sessions include:
📚 Order: Free Team Nutrition Print Materials
State agencies and USDA Child Nutrition Programs operators can request free printed materials, including:
The Washington School Nutrition Association (WSNA) is hosting a virtual fall workshop. This virtual professional development day will run as two tracks; one for directors and supervisors and one for kitchen managers. Topics range from managing food allergies and scratch cooking to farm-to-school resources, merchandising strategies and the Buy American Provision. There’s something for everyone.
WSNA Virtual Fall Workshop – Register Here
Date: November 15, 2025
Time: 8 am –1:30 pm
Registration closes November 13.
Review the agenda, register and see pricing information on the WSNA website.
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The total funding for the Healthy Kids-Healthy Schools Grant is $13 million, and each district can receive up to $200,000 in grant funds! Funds for this grant are available in two categories: physical education/physical activity and nutrition. Applicants can choose to apply for one or both grant categories.
Nutrition category includes:
- Renovations or repairs
- Improvements to cafeteria and kitchen equipment, and spaces
- Water bottle filling stations
- Garden-related structures
Physical education and physical activity category includes:
- Physical education renovation
- Indoor or outdoor physical education equipment
- Playground equipment
- Covered play areas
Grant applications are due by January 7, 2026. Districts may apply for this grant in the Education Grants Management System (EGMS), Form Package 505.
Need Support with EGMS? Review the OSPI EGMS resources or contact Emme Williamson at emme.williamson@k12.wa.us.
Questions? Please contact Morgan Powell at morgan.powell@k12.wa.us.
Apply Now for a USDA Farm to School Grant
This grant is designed to increase the availability of local foods in Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs) and connect students to the sources of their food through education, taste tests, school gardens, field trips, and local food sourcing for CNP meals. Grants can be used to launch new farm to CNP programs or expand existing efforts.
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Application Deadline: December 5, 2025
Competitive Grants from $100,000 to $500,000 (25% matching funds required)
Objective: To improve access to local foods in eligible CNP sites through comprehensive farm to CNP programming that includes local sourcing and agricultural education efforts.
Schools must apply in a partnership with at least two other organizations.
For more information: FY 2026 Farm to School Grant Program | Food and Nutrition Service
For USDA Grant Office Hours: USDA Farm to School Grant Team Office Hours
*Note: Child Nutrition grants are no longer completed in iGrants. Submission instructions are within the application and in the application guide below.
Focus Areas
This grant offers funding to start a School Breakfast Program (SBP) or other school meal program, increase participation and/or quality in an existing program, and improve the equipment and facilities used in an existing program.
Application and Grant Funding Resources
Questions? Contact CNSGrants@k12.wa.us.
Farmer + School Buyer Networking and Panel Session
As part of the annual Tilth Alliance conference, school food buyers are invited to a special farm to school networking session with local producers and distributors from across Washington on Friday, November 14 in Spokane Valley. The facilitated networking will be followed by a panel session featuring Central Valley School District and Valley School District’s successful farm to school partnerships. School buyers can register for free to participate in the Farmer / Buyer Networking session and are invited to stay for the panel session.
Date: Friday, November 14, 2025
Times: 1:15 – 2:15 pm | Farmer/Buyer Networking
2:30 – 3:45 pm | Successful Farm to School Pathways Panel Session
Where: CenterPlace Regional Event Center, 2426 N Discovery Pl, Spokane Valley, WA
School Buyers Register For Free: Visit the conference webpage and select the option “Friday – Producer/Buyer Networking Event (hidden)- $0.00.” Registration closes Tuesday, October 28.
Harvest of the Month
OSPI’s Harvest of the Month resource sheets help districts feature seasonal, Washington-grown foods. For November, we’re spotlighting broccoli. Each sheet includes fun facts, nutrition highlights, selection and storage tips, recipe ideas, and classroom and cafeteria activities you can use to promote tasting and participation.
Access the broccoli resource sheet on the Farm to School webpage under “Harvest of the Month.” If you don’t have access to broccoli near you or want to feature another local 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.
For support sourcing Harvest of the Month items, email farmtocnp@k12.wa.us.
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Juliana Fisher and Hannah Phillips joined Power Up Your Program with a shared commitment to building strong school and community partnerships and enhancing nutrition education for Northshore students. They saw an opportunity to advance both goals by collaborating with community partners and the principal at Moorland’s Elementary to host an engaging student wellness fair. In the fall, they will convene a planning committee with students and representatives from the school administration, the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), Food and Nutrition Services, and community partners. Together, they will lay the groundwork for a fair during school year 2025–26.
Along with planning the wellness fair, Juliana and Hannah worked with the district’s Nutrition and Fitness Advisory Council to create a professional development session for certificated staff. The session, “Fuel for Learning: Power Standards & the Everyday Nutrition Environment,” was selected for presentation at the district’s Teaching and Learning Conference in August 2025. The session highlighted connections between Northshore’s Nutrition Education Power Standards and core content areas like science and health. It emphasized practical strategies and resources to enhance the nutrition environment and incorporate nutrition education throughout the school day.
Taste Washington Day
Every year on a day in October, schools shine a spotlight on farm to school connections and serve meals featuring the bounty of Washington’s harvest. Students learn about the farmers, fishers, and producers who grow, harvest, catch, and make local foods and the importance of agriculture in their community and across Washington state. Check out these Taste Washington Day celebrations across the state!
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Dieringer
North Tapps Middle School celebrated farm-to-school connections at the TWD event, bringing together producers, agencies, and community partners to highlight local food in school meals. Students participated through student-led programs and CTE connections in the middle school area, including the garden program and garden-to-cafeteria connections.
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The menu featured Colvin Ranch beef burgers, DeGoede Farms lettuce, Bellewood apples, Four Elements Farm seasonal veggies, and Rowley and Hawkins dried cherries, showcasing the variety and quality of Washington-grown ingredients. |
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Walla Walla
Walla Walla Public Schools focused on farm to school connections, serving up samples of local salmon from the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, wheat from Tortilla Con Madre, and cabbage from Welcome Table Farms in Walla Walla.
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Students participated in a taste test and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive!
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Please visit WSDA's website to view a full list of schools that participated in Taste Washington Day throughout the state.
Yakima
Yakima School District Director of Child Nutrition Cassie Davidson reported that over 16,000 Gala apples from Borton Fruit of Yakima were distributed across 21 schools for the big apple crunch! Check out their social media post highlighting the apple crunch!
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Apple Crunch
The crunch heard around the state. On October 8 at 12 noon, OSPI staff participated in the Washington Apple Crunch with a variety of Washington-grown apples to support local produce in our state. Did you know that Washington state grows more apples than any other state? More than half of all apples in the US for fresh eating come from orchards in Washington state.
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