CA CRUNCH Day, October Deadlines, SB 1058 & SB 133

Here’s what you need to know this week:

Happy CA CRUNCH Day!

National Farm to School Month is officially underway, and we’re celebrating CA CRUNCH Day today along with our partners, friends & clients across the state! 😍

Hello, October! 👻

This month is packed with deadlines and events! Here’s a quick scan of what’s going on:

• Farm to School Month
• Oct. 1: Verification begins for programs w/meal applications
• Oct. 1: Procurement Review Initial Documentation due to CDE
• Oct. 7: LCFF Census Day
• Oct. 7: CA CRUNCH Day
• Oct. 15: CDFA Farm to School Summit (say hi to Hannah & Camille at our table!)
• Oct. 15: New & Aspiring Directors Academy kick-off call (register here!)
• Oct. 15: Report excess net cash resources to CDE (if applicable and unless RMU gave an earlier deadline to your district)
• Oct. 12-16: NSLP Week
• Oct. 31: Deadline to receive meal apps/alt. income forms for LCFF purposes (note: Nov 2 CALPADS list can still be used!)

⬆️ Yep… that’s a lot! But you’re doing GREAT work feeding kids. Keep calm, and carrot on! 🥕

California Legislative Updates

In case you missed it, two recently passed bills are bringing key changes to school nutrition operations in California:

• SB 1058: Effective Jan. 15, 2027, using price as the primary scoring criteria will no longer be required for California RFPs, and potentially for Simplified Acquisitions (Small Purchases) as well! This aligns our state guidelines with the Code of Federal Regulations and will offer greater flexibility to choose optimal vendors for our programs. Read all about it in the Fall issue of CalSNA's Poppy Seeds magazine! We expect more implementation guidelines from CDE soon.
• SB 133: Amendments to EC 38100 signed into law last month will permit LEAs to fund cafeteria and kitchen infrastructure improvements using state-funded meal reimbursements! Facilities and cafeteria housing costs were previously mandatory charges to the General Fund per Ed Code. This will give us more flexibility to spend California Universal Meals reimbursement on infrastructure. Note: These expenditures will require prior approval from CDE, and we expect further state guidance soon.

✨ Register for NADA!

A friendly reminder that registration for LunchAssist’s New & Aspiring Directors Academy (NADA) closes Oct. 13! Mark your calendars for our kick-off call on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 2:00 pm PT. We hope to see you there! 😉

• Check out this digital flyer for more details on NADA!

⭐️ Resources

• NEW! October Checklist
• SNP Verification Checklist
• Farm to School Resources
• Net Cash Resources Calculator + Instructions
• Training Library Course Catalog
• ICYMI! The Lunch Break Oct. 1 Recording

📆 Upcoming Events

• Oct. 13-15: NFSN Partner Meeting - NFSN (in person!)
• Oct. 15: CA Farm to School Summit - CDFA (in person!)
• ✨ Oct. 15: Join our first call for the New & Aspiring Directors Academy (NADA) by LunchAssist!
• 🎉Oct. 12-16: National School Lunch Week
• 🎉Oct. 18-24: Farm to CACFP Week
• Oct. 19: Launching Farm to CACFP with Local Vegetables - NCA

LunchAssist is an allowable use of the Cafeteria Fund, KIT Funds, and R&R Grant. 🥳 Schedule a demo to learn more.