Action Needed to Encourage States and School Districts to Take Advantage of New Waiver Options to Expand the Summer Food Servic

Action Needed to Encourage States and School Districts to Take Advantage of New Waiver Options to Expand the Summer Food Service Program

The USDA waiver option first piloted at Alisal SD in California is now open to school districts nationwide. The waiver allows the district to operate the SFSP under the National School Lunch Program. Reduced paperwork results in cost savings to school districts even though the waiver schools use the NSLP reimbursement rate for summer meals instead of the higher SFSP rate.

At the December USDA meeting in San Francisco, Western states were asked to create a Management and Action Plan (MAP) before leaving the meeting which outlined specific outreach and marketing strategies to increase SFSP participation, particularly by promoting the Alisal waiver model.

Step One in working to insure that your state is taking best advantage of this new opportunity is to check in with your Child Nutrition Director and ask to see their MAP. We may all need to be engaged in encouraging our states to work closely with districts to join in the waiver process.

Key in this initial contact is to determine the state's plan for conducting outreach on the waiver opportunity, including the method they plan to use to solicit interest in participation in a waiver from SDs. For instance, states should be encouraged to send out letters to SDs, and to include a form that districts can use to request participation in the waiver. (Click here for a sample form drafted by California Food Policy Advocate.) Clearly, a process should be established quickly by each state so that districts can initiate applications for a waiver in time for it to be effective this summer.

Step Two in advocacy on this issue is making sure your state is moving forward quickly to establish this process.

Beyond insuring that your state is on top of this issue, there's work for our advocacy organizations to do to encourage districts to participate. CFPA is targeting their outreach on school districts that have run the program, have potential to expand to community sites, and/or used to run the program and dropped out due to program barriers. They plan to work with 15-20 districts over the next two months. (Click here for a list of tips to use in encouraging school districts to participate.)

CFPA also plans to ask the CA food bank network to identify community sites with potential for SFSP expansion so that they can pursue districts in these areas as well. They will also present information on the waiver at state agency SFSP training workshops in the coming months.

In conclusion, here are the step to take to promote the waiver opportunities in your state:

Contact your state agency and request a copy of the plan they developed for SFSP expansion; discuss plans for outreach on the waiver.
Determine what procedure your state has established (if any) for districts to use to request a waiver. There should be a form districts can use and we'll send you CFPA's prototype when we receive it. The form should include a section on what the district will do to promote participation.
Establish a target list of school districts you want to make sure are reached about the waiver. Potential criteria will be sent in a future mailing.
Contact community agencies for ideas for SFSP sites needed in unserved areas and connect with districts about this potential for expansion.
Ask your state agency if you can attend their SFSP training workshops and discuss the waiver.

Let WRAHC know what kind of reaction you're receiving from school districts. We can provide help.

For sample information provided by states in the Western region to school districts, visit the following website:

Oregon:

http://www.ode.state.or.us/supportservices/memos/2001_02/136-02.htm

Washington:

http://www.k12.wa.us/bulletinsmemos/bulletins2002/b015-02.pdf.

For more information, contact Linda Stone at linda@wrahc.org.