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Application Reminders
- All costs, including food, require prior approval before the cost is incurred. Sponsoring Organizations must submit their budget and get it approved before September 30. It takes up to 30 days to process and approve a complete application.
- Sponsors that submit their application for approval past the September 1 deadline may not be approved in time to receive reimbursement for meals served during October 2026.
- Sponsors with a gap in CACFP operation of a year or longer must reapply to operate CACFP.
Required in WINS
- Update sponsor profile
- Complete and submit the sponsor application
- Complete and submit the site application(s)
- Complete and submit the site calendar(s)
- Complete and submit the budget
- Complete and submit the management plan (multi-site sponsors)
- Upload Contract Fact Sheet (for sponsors using a Food Service Management Company (FSMC) or vendor agreements)
Resources
Recorded trainings and tutorials are posted in Canvas.
- CACFP Renewal in WINS recorded training
- Recorded tutorials for each renewal component
WINS Renewal Instructions - Child and Adult Care
WINS Information Sheets are located in WINS. To locate these resources, log into WINS and select the “Info” tab, then click on the “WINS Documentation and Job Aids” option. Information Sheets that may help with renewal include:
- Completing Sponsor Applications
- Updating Sponsor Contacts In WINS
- Completing Site Applications
- Entering Management Plans
- Entering Site Calendars
- Submitting Budgets
- Completing Contract Fact Sheets in WINS
- Application Renewal Bulletin—Coming Soon!
- Application Renewal Checklist—Coming Soon!
- Application Renewal Instructions—Coming Soon!
Questions? Contact your CACFP Specialist!
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) sponsors must certify completion of all training requirements when submitting the sponsor application in the Washington Integrated Nutrition System (WINS) during program renewal. Fiscal Year 2026-27 (FY 27) renewal applications will not be approved until the appropriate person has attended all required trainings.
All FY 27 required trainings will be available in a virtual, self-paced format. Use the CACFP FY 27 Annual Training Checklist as a guide to complete training requirements. Depending on sponsor type, two to three courses may be required. Please plan accordingly, as some courses may take up to four hours to complete.
Who must attend annual training?
- All institutions participating in the CACFP.
- All institutions planning to participate in the CACFP in FY27.
- At a minimum, the person responsible for oversight of the CACFP must attend. Trainings are intended for directors and administrators.
How to Participate:
All required annual training courses will be available in the Bright Track learning platform except for the additional trainings assigned to Local Education Agency (LEA) sponsors, which are available in the Canvas learning platform. All trainings will be available starting July 15.
Login Information:
Bright Track trainings:
A maximum of two Bright Track accounts are allowed per Sponsoring Organization.
Canvas trainings:
Certificates:
For Bright Track courses, certificates will populate for completed courses at the top of the course content overview page. If the completion percent is not 100%, but all courses have been completed, ensure all topics have the “Mark Complete” button selected. Save training certificates with CACFP records. You do not need to submit these to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).
For the LEA Canvas modules, a completion certificate will be available to download after completing the module.
Watch this video for a quick glance inside Bright Track!
Changes are coming to the WINS login process! Starting fall 2026, all users will be required to have a free Microsoft account to access WINS.
Why are we making this change?
Using a free Microsoft account makes signing into WINS safer and easier. It helps protect your information and keeps unauthorized people out. By switching to Microsoft accounts, everyone will have a more secure login and a smoother experience.
In the next few months, lookout for more information on how to create and connect your account.
Questions? Contact the CACFP Team at cacfp@k12.wa.us.
Eligibility to Add New CACFP Sites
To be eligible to add sites, CACFP sponsors must have an approved renewal application by the end of the open renewal period (March 31). Additionally, sponsors must demonstrate successful CACFP operation, financial viability, administrative capability and program accountability (VCA), and be in good standing with OSPI. "Good Standing" is based on the following criteria:
- Sponsor is in good standing with all Child Nutrition Program operated.
- Sponsor has paid all fiscal action. If not paid in full, the sponsor must be up to date with the arranged payment plan.
- The most recent administrative review demonstrates successful CACFP operation with no significant management problems (SMP).
- Sponsor is not currently in SMP/Seriously Deficient (SD) status.
- Revised budget and management plan in WINS illustrates VCA.
Sponsor eligibility to add new sites is paused under the following circumstances:
- Sponsor is in an active appeal.
- Site(s) may be added after a final determination has been made by the administrative law judge.
- Sponsor is currently in an open administrative review.
- Site(s) may be added when the review is complete and any Corrective Action Plan is approved by the specialist.
To add affiliated sites, sponsors must submit the online Request to Add New CACFP Sites. OSPI will review these requests and, if eligible, add the new sites in WINS.
For more information about the process and requirements to add new CACFP sites, refer to the Adding or Removing CACFP Site(s) Reference Sheet.
Institutions participating in the CACFP are required to report participant eligibility for Free and Reduced-Price meals monthly while submitting claims for reimbursement. Program reimbursement for each institution is based on the income levels of the families they serve. Providing this information monthly establishes accurate reimbursement rates with each claim.
*Note: At-Risk Programs, Emergency Shelters and ECEAP or Head Start only programs are exempt from this requirement.
Get Ready to Distribute Information!
To prepare for monthly participant eligibility reporting in the new fiscal year, please print and have ready for distribution the Enrollment Income Eligibility Applications (EIEAs), Enrollment Forms and Sample Income Eligibility Parent Letters.
Revision dates are provided on these forms. Always print the most current versions from the OSPI website. If there were no changes to these forms for the upcoming fiscal year, the date they were last revised appears as the revision date.
Visit the "Monthly Participant Eligibility" dropdown on the CACFP Requirements and Materials webpage for these documents, translated versions and additional participant eligibility resources.
For more information on collecting and evaluating EIEAs and tracking monthly participant eligibility, please take the Monthly Participant Eligibility Training in the Bright Track Training Platform.
USDA published the final rule, Expanding Fluid Milk Options in Child Nutrition Programs (91 FR 25073) that goes into effect on June 8, 2026.
Program operators may offer whole and 2% reduced-fat milk to participants two years and older; however, sponsors may choose to continue serving only fat-free and low-fat milk to these participants.
OSPI is working on updated resources, reference sheets and OSPI Approved Menu templates to reflect the final rule changes.
If you have a menu template that was created by your organization and approved by OSPI for use, and you plan to extend your milk options in alignment with the final rule, you must submit your revised menu template to OSPI for approval by September 1. This will allow time for approval prior to the beginning of the new fiscal year.
Review the CNS Special Update for details.
Sponsor Self-Termination or Sponsoring Organization Transfer
CACFP sponsors may choose to terminate their Child Nutrition Programs permanent agreement with the OSPI for convenience. This means termination of the permanent agreement is due to considerations unrelated to either party's performance of program responsibilities under the agreement and does not result in ineligibility for any USDA Child Nutrition Program (7 CFR 226.2).
Examples of when a sponsor must terminate their Child Nutrition Program permanent agreement include ownership changes, business closure, issuance of new Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), or transfer of CACFP operation under oversight of a Sponsoring Organization.
When terminating for convenience, sponsors may choose to self-terminate their agreement with OSPI and do one of the following:
- Cease CACFP operation, or
- Continue CACFP operation as an unaffiliated site under a current CACFP Sponsoring Organization
Sponsors who terminate their CACFP permanent agreement for convenience must complete the CACFP Change Form to notify OSPI of self-termination or transfer. Completed forms must be submitted to assigned program specialists for review and processing.
Please note, to remain in “good standing” with OSPI, all assigned corrective action items must be approved by OSPI, and all pending fiscal action must be paid in full prior to agreement termination. Institutions, and their responsible principals, who self-terminate and are not in “good standing” will be added to USDA’s National Disqualified List 7 CFR 226.6(c)(2)(iii)(A) (6). These Institutions and responsible principals will be ineligible to operate any Child Nutrition Program in Washington and will not be able to operate CACFP or the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in any state.
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