You may have heard or read information about the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in recent weeks. COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that can spread from person-to-person and the number of cases detected in the U.S. is growing. As the situation with the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to evolve, districts should be developing response plans and establishing mechanisms for ongoing communication with staff, students, families, and communities.
Please review the OSPI Bulletin released Friday for district-wide information. We encourage districts to consider students who rely on school meals when assessing the need for school closures. Many students rely on school meals to meet their basic nutritional needs.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) child nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program, operate through group feeding sites. During major outbreaks, USDA may allow waivers to certain requirements. We will continue to monitor and await further guidance from USDA.
The 2019-20 Washington Public School Data for Area Eligibility Report is now available.
This report may be used to establish area eligibility for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO). Area eligibility may be assigned if school data indicates that the proposed meal site is located in an attendance area of a public school where at least 50% of the children are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.
The Area Eligibility in Child Nutrition Programs Reference Sheet provides more details on area eligibility.
Questions? Please contact your program specialist.
April orders open Wednesday, March 4, and will close Wednesday, March 11, at 4pm.
Surplus orders will open Thursday, March 12, at 1pm for groups 1 - 3, and 2pm for all other groups. Surplus closes Friday, March 13, at 4pm.
Ordering
- To place an order - log-in to CNP Web.
- Your Food Distribution Application must be completed (including certified and submitted) before you can place an order.
- Ordering Instructions
- Reminder:
The Ordering and Receiving webpage has multiple resources to assist you in placing your order including; instructions, order and distribution schedule.
Questions? Please email the Food Distribution Office or call 360-725-6204.
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OSPI CNS has developed a summary of the proposed rule changes for school meal programs for your convenience.
We encourage all sponsors to review the proposed rule changes, as these are changes that affect the work that you do. If you have any comments or concerns you would like to communicate to the USDA, please submit your public comments by March 23.
For more information on how to comment, please review the 2/24 School Meals and FDP Newsletter .
CNS is applying for a 2020 Team Nutrition Grant, which will focus on the standardization of recipes that feature one or more Washington-grown agricultural products (fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, fish, etc.). Pending our award of grant funds, sub-grant funds will be provided to school food authorities (SFAs) to support the completion of all the following activities:
- The collection of recipe ideas from their school community
- Recipe standardization
- Student taste testing of standardized recipes
- The provision of nutrition education about the local agricultural products featured in the recipes.
Grant funds are to be spent by selected SFAs to build capacity with existing recipe standardization efforts. Sub-grants would be provided to selected SFAs in October 2020 and would need to be spent by August 2022.
For the full description of this grant opportunity, see the 2020 Team Nutrition Grant Request for Applications. This is a competitive selection process. If you are interested in participating in this effort, this interest form must be completed by SFAs by March 4 at 5:00pm PST to be considered for this opportunity.
Please contact Bianca Smith if you have any questions.
Thank you to those who attended the PrimeroEdge Menu Planning Nutrient Analysis (MPNA) software training over this past year! We are looking forward to continuing to offer this software and training, at no cost to districts.
The MPNA software is USDA-approved for nutrient analysis to meet the school meal program requirements and will help you manage ingredients, create recipes, create cycle menus, and more!
Get Started in 2020!
Over the next year, we have several in-person trainings located across the state and would like to invite you to participate in whichever training works best for you.
- March 26, 2020 Renton, WA | Renton School District
- April 24, 2020 Longview, WA | Lower Columbia College
- May 12, 2020 Yakima, WA | ESD 105
Training registration is required before access can be provided to the software.
To see how this software works, or to sign-up for an upcoming training, please visit our PrimeroEdge MPNA software website.
National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) starts today! Are you heading Out of this World?
Now is the time to get the word out about the amazing things you do in your program!
Promote National School Breakfast Week on your Program’s social media pages: Download our Facebook cover photo (jpg) and add it to your program’s page to increase awareness of #NSBW20! Download our Instagram meme (jpg) and use it to spread the word about #NSBW20!
Visit the School Nutrition Association and USDA webpages for ideas and resources.
Other Ways to Participate
Send Us Your NSBW Celebrations!
We want to see all the activities, celebrations, and fun you have for #NSBW2020! Send Your photos to samantha.brueske@k12.wa.us and your district could be featured in our highlights.
Organizations earn entitlement dollars based on the number of meals served during the previous years’ SFSP operation. Sponsors that earned at least $50 in USDA Foods entitlements based on their 2019 operation are eligible to participate this year.
This years’ items may include:
•Individual fruit cups •Pre-cooked beef patties •Canned beans •Canned fruit •For a complete list of USDA foods that may be offered, please view the WA Food Items Available List.
How to Participate:
- The ordering period is March 25-27, 2020.
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School Districts currently receiving USDA Foods will receive their SFSP orders with their NSLP May order, if applicable.
NOTE: By completing an interest form and accepting USDA foods, you and your organization agree to apply for, and operate, a Summer Food Service Program during summer 2020.
Questions? Please email the Food Distribution team or call 360-725-6204.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has great options for you to fulfill your staff training requirements.
Did You Know?
You can go to https://professionalstandards.fns.usda.gov/ and find over 450 different free trainings?! Here are some great reasons to use this tool:
- All trainings are organized by the key area, training topic, and the specific learning objective according to USDA professional standards requirements.
- Trainings come in different formats to meet the needs of you and your staff - online, printed, recorded webinars.
- Trainings are from reliable sources.
Highlighted Trainings
Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN)
In addition to this resource, the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) is a federally-funded center dedicated to child nutrition education and training. You can use their e-learning resources for free!
#NationalNutritionMonth is all about eating right for your lifestyle. Celebrate lifelong, healthy living with #OSPIChildNutrition and your family!
Learn more about what you can do to Eat Right with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
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