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Nutritious meals for children start with healthy ingredients.
Check out the November Mealtime Memo all about healthy cooking methods that help retain the nutritional benefits of food such as blanching, broiling, poaching, steaming, roasting, and more.
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Meal Pattern Minute: Plant-based Meat/Meat Alternates
Whether it's tofu, tempeh, chickpeas, it's easy to please with meat alternates.
Check out this Meal Pattern Minute to learn about crediting meat/meat alternates in the CACFP, including some great recipes.
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Meal Pattern Minute: Serving Cranberry Sauce
Cran you believe it, the holidays are nearly here! A holiday season staple, cranberry sauce might make an appearance on your menus this fall. Learn how to credit cranberry sauce in the CACFP with this Meal Pattern Minute.
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The National Child Nutrition Conference (NCNC) brings together professionals from child care center, home providers, sponsoring organizations, school districts, afterschool programs, Head Start programs, Food Banks, tribal organizations and state agencies.
Apply for a scholarship to attend NCNC. Applications are due by January 12, 2026.
Register here
Date: April 13–17, 2026
Location: Las Vegas, NV
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 ICN CACFP 101 Webinar
Guiding Families: Recognizing Infant Readiness for Solid Foods
Date: November 18
Time: 12 pm PT
Register here
National Farm to School Conference
Date: December 1–4, 2025
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Register here
Date: November 18
Time: 11–11:30 am PT
Date: November 20
Time: 11–11:30 am PT
Date: December 18
Time: 11–11:30 am PT
Some webinars may require membership to attend.
National CACFP Association provides webinars with subtitles in several languages.
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Harvest of the Month
OSPI’s Harvest of the Month resource sheets help sponsors feature seasonal, Washington-grown foods. For December, we’re spotlighting mushrooms. Each sheet includes fun facts, nutrition highlights, selection and storage tips, recipe ideas, and activities you can use to promote tasting and participation.
Access the mushroom resource sheet on the Farm to CACFP webpage under “Harvest of the Month.” If you don’t have access to mushrooms near you or want to feature another local food item, check out 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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Upcoming Events
National Farm to School Conference
Join food service professionals, educators, and community leaders from across the nation to share ideas and best practices for connecting children to local food, including a Farm to ECE Deep Dive Intensive on December 4. Learn more
Date: December 1–4, 2025
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Register here
New & Featured Resources
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Alabama "Foods A-Z" Toolkit contains adaptable lessons and activities for a variety of early childhood settings. Lessons cover how foods are grown, nutrition facts, and an activity using the food item.
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North Carolina Farm to ECE Resources - Explore the Farm to Early Childhood Education (ECE) resources North Carolina has featured. From classroom curriculums, books, toolkits, garden resources and more, there's something to help grow your Farm to ECE efforts.
Funding Corner
Award: $100k- $500k to support local food sourcing and agricultural education in Child Nutrition Programs, to start or expand programs.
Application Deadline: December 5, 2025
Eligibility: Ensure your organization is eligible under the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program. Eligibility information is available on the USDA grant webpage.
Award: In-kind orchard installation, fruit trees, orchard design expertise, planting day support, training, and optional curriculum/workshops.
Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
Eligibility: Schools, nonprofits, or government entities that have long-term access to the planting site and can maintain the trees.
Application Deadline: December 12, 2025
Competitive Grant Awarding $750 plus gardening hand tools and seeds. KidsGardening is now accepting applications for the 2026 Youth Garden Grant. This program supports youth garden projects that engage children in hands-on learning, environmental stewardship, and community building. Up to 50 programs will be awarded.
Eligibility: Any organization in the United States or US territories planning a new or improving an existing garden program that serves at least 15 youth between the ages of 0 and 18 years old and received less than $10,000 in grants for the garden program in 2025 so far.
Questions? Need help finding local foods or adapting resources? Contact farmtocnp@k12.wa.us.
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December 1-4
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National Farm to School Conference
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ALL STUDENTS PREPARED FOR POST-SECONDARY PATHWAYS, CAREERS, AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.
Led by State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, OSPI oversees K-12 public education in Washington state. Our mission is to provide funding, resources, tools, data and technical assistance that enable educators to ensure students succeed in our public schools, are prepared to access post-secondary training and education, and are equipped to thrive in their careers and lives.
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ADA NOTIFICATION FOR OSPI CHILD NUTRITION SERVICES EVENTS
To arrange accommodations for persons with disabilities for OSPI Child Nutrition Services events, please contact the Child Nutrition Services Team at 360-725-6200, TTY 360-664-3631, or by email, child.nutrition@k12.wa.us at least three business days before the event. Please note that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not require OSPI to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services, or impose an undue financial or administrative burden.
This Institution is an Equal Opportunity Provider.
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