The Weekly Update · Sep. 23, 2026

California CACFP AR List, Grant Opportunities & National School Lunch Week

Here’s what you need to know this week:

California CACFP AR List

Yesterday, CDSS published the list of sponsors scheduled for a CACFP AR this school year. If you are a client, we’ve got your back! If you’d like to learn more about how we support on CACFP ARs, please schedule a call with Mike. 🤓

Grant Opportunities

⭐️ DEPEND is a new $23 M grant opportunity funded in part by the NIH and focusing on improving the quality of school meals. Schools can request up to $2.5 M and up to 50 projects will be awarded. Read the official announcement for more details. Apply by Oct. 13.

Bulk Milk Equipment Grant provides bulk milk dispensers to schools, plus technical assistance and marketing materials. Apply by Oct. 9.

Get Schools Cooking is a 3-year assessment & strategic planning program to help school districts transition from a heat-and-serve to a scratch-cooking operational model. Apply by Sep. 30.

National School Lunch Week

#NSLPWeek2026 is coming up Oct. 12-16! SNA has a fun celebration toolkit to support with all your marketing needs. Shareable social media graphics are also available now on Canva!

⭐️ Resources

📆 Upcoming Events

Sep. 24: Shared Purpose: CACFP & School Meals 101 - NCA
Sep. 24: CA F2S Network Call - CDFA
Sep. 25: Making the Lunchline Local: School-Food Hub Partnerships - CAFF
✨ Oct. 1: We're discussing Financial Management on The Lunch Break!
Oct. 7: The Secret Ingredient: Building the School Food Workforce - CAF
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!

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

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