Region 6 will be closed on Monday, May 29th in observance of Memorial Day. Have a safe and blessed holiday!

May is recognized as Older Americans Month. Here are some useful resources for you if you serve, or plan to serve, adults in your care.

· USDA Resource: Serving Adult Participants in the CACFP (English/Spanish)

· USDA Webinar: Serving Adult Participants

· On-Demand Webinar: Serving Adults in the CACFP: Meal Patterns, Nutrition and Resources

Nominations are now OPEN for the 2023-2025 year!
Click here to fill out the application, which must be completed and submitted in one sitting. Or you can download the form here and email the filled out application to Nutrition@TexasAgriculture.gov. We will not accept printed applications. Please reach out to Nutrition@TexasAgriculture.gov for assistance if you are unable to complete the application via online survey or PDF.
All completed applications are due by Friday, May 19, 2023 11:59PM CST.

TDA's Farm Fresh Challenge runs from October 1-31 and is open to both NSLP and CACFP operators during the same month! Learn more about the Challenge to Eat Local, Teach Local, and Be Social at SquareMeals.org/FarmFreshChallenge and begin planning for your participation in October!

The Turnip the Beet award recognizes outstanding Summer Meal Programs across the nation who work hard to offer high quality meals to children that are appetizing, appealing, and nutritious! Visit SquareMeals.org/turnipthebeet for more information, the 2023 nomination form, Turnip the Beet Best Practices and Resource Guide!

https://squaremeals.org/Programs/Summer-Meal-Programs/Turnip-the-Beet

In November 2022, FNS began disseminating $4M in administrative funds provided annually for nutrition education to Tribes interested in expanding and enhancing their nutrition education activities. To date, over 80 Tribes have received over $2.5M in funding. Over $1.5M in administrative funds for nutrition education are still remaining this year. Tribes interested in receiving additional funding are encouraged to submit their request for funds to their FNS Regional Office by May 15, 2023.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is conducting a congressionally mandated study called the Erroneous Payments in Child Care Centers Study (EPICCS). The goal of the study is to estimate erroneous payments in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which will help maximize the efficiency of meal tracking and reporting.

Your center (or one or more of your sponsored centers) may be part of the 450 CACFP centers from across the country that have been randomly selected for participation in this study, which will be collected on behalf of the USDA by a research organization named Westat. This information is necessary to produce accurate estimates of erroneous payments.

Organizations like yours may be asked to provide information about the methods used for calculating reimbursements, such as meals claimed on a per-child basis or using a percentage.If selected, this survey takes less than 20 minutes and can be accessed using a unique link provided to you in the survey notification letter and email.

Your voluntary participation is important for USDA to ensure accurate results in EPICCS and comply with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Results from this study will help inform future legislation and regulations for the child care center component of the CACFP.

If selected, all your information will be used for research purposes only and kept confidential to the full extent of the law. Your participation will not affect meal reimbursements or meal program benefits for Texas Department of Agriculture, your organization and child care centers, or any households participating at your centers.
If you have any questions, please contact KaTysha Sirleaf at 1-855-391-3379 or EPICCS@westat.com. You may also refer to this website for more information:www.epiccs.org
Thank you for your help and cooperation.

The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) is requesting a waiver of the new SFSP regulation requiring experienced sponsors not already participating in another Child Nutrition Program to submit a full Viability, Capability, and Accountability Checklist every three years at the time of SFSP application renewal.

The proposed waiver would extend through Summer 2023 TDA’s current SFSP application renewal process that does not require returning sponsors to submit a completed checklist. This waiver is being requested to allow time for requested TX-UNPS enhancements to the SFSP application to be implemented prior to Summer 2024.

A first week site visit waiver is no longer required, as site visit flexibilities have been written into regulation per the SFSP Final Rule 2022, which modified previous flexibilities so that any new sites or sites with previous operational issues must be reviewed within the first two weeks of operation.

However, the TX-UNPS update removing the question about the first week site visit (#44) will not be implemented prior to Summer 2023. Therefore, for any existing sites or sites with no operational issues, CEs should enter Yes on Question 44 if you are not conducting a site visit within the first two weeks of operation. If you intend to review any of those sites within the first two weeks, select No.

If a CE selects Yes for a new site or a site with operational issues, TDA will return the application with an explanation that (1) there is no longer a first week site visit waiver and (2) because the sites are new or have significant issues, the CE is required to conduct a site visit within the first two weeks of operation.

The SFSP Final Rule 2022 states that CEs wishing to close their usual sites during a field trip (for example, if there is limited staff coverage), must receive State Agency approval from TDA prior to the field trip. However, because TDA has a waiver to delay implementation of the Final Rule until January 1, 2024, this requirement will not be in effect for Summer 2023. CEs that plan to close a site during a field trip are still encouraged to notify the community of the change in meal service, provide information about alternative open sites that are likely to be accessible to community children, and maintain documentation proving that this notification was provided to the community. These requirements will be enforced in Summer 2024. The field trip module in TX-UNPS must be completed in any case.

The SFSP Final Rule 2022 added to regulation that sponsors of camps and all closed enrolled summer sites are required to notify participants or enrolled children of the availability of free meals and if a free meal application is needed (for example, at closed enrolled sites in non-eligible areas where 50% of the children enrolled must qualify for free or reduced price meals).

If an application is required at a closed enrolled site or camp, income eligibility guidelines must be included with the notification. All notices to participants and enrollees must include the Civil Rights nondiscrimination statement.

TDA is developing notification templates for camps and closed enrolled sites and will be publishing those to the Summer Meals Administration/Forms page soon.

Try out these #CACFPCreditable snack combinations when you plan your next grocery trip:

Shredded chicken and tortilla

WGR pasta and vegetables

Red pepper sticks and grapes

Edamame and Melba toast

Mixed greens and grapefruit

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Email: dherrick@esc6.net
Website: www.esc6.net
Location: 3332 Montgomery Road, Huntsville, TX, USA
Phone: 936-435-8244

This guidance is not considered all inclusive.

Please see www.squaremeals.org for further guidance.

Note: If TDA makes changes to the website, direct links in this announcement may become void.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider. This program is funded by USDA.