Celebrate School Lunch Hero Day with the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Sugar Land Space Cowboys on April 29. School nutrition professionals can get a free ticket to the April 29 baseball game at Constellation Field in Sugar Land using the link below. When you get to checkout, a promo will be activated for one free ticket with the option to purchase an additional ticket at a discounted price. School Lunch Heroes will be recognized at the ballpark as the Sugar Land Space Cowboys play the Round Rock Express. School Lunch Hero Day is May 2, and this special event will help everyone in your area get ready to say thank you to the hard workers in Texas school nutrition. School Lunch Hero

May 1, 2025 is the last day to submit application packets for renewing CEs for SFSP.

To support outreach for the Summer Meals Program, Food & Nutrition Division at the Texas Department of Agriculture is providing your site with one yard sign and two posters (English & Spanish) to help promote the summer meal program in your community.
Promotional Material Distribution Details:
· Pickup Option: Materials will be available for pickup at ESC 6 in mid-May. The actual date will be determined based on delivery of materials. If you are unable to pick up your promotional material just let us know and we will get it to you before your summer feeding program begins.

Additionally, TDA offers a variety of other summer outreach materials that you can download and use to promote your site. These resources are available at SquareMeals.com.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Cindy Scott or Dina Herrick at 936-435-8234 or 936-435-8244.
Thank you for your participation in the Summer Meals Program!

The updated Summer Outreach Materials have been updated and posted to www.Squaremeals.org.

https://squaremeals.org/Programs/Summer-Meal-Programs/Resources

You are invited to participate in the Texas Department of Agriculture’s (TDA) Summer 2025 WIC Pilot. Through the WIC Pilot, CEs partner with local WIC clinics to distribute summer meals to their clients.

• CEs are responsible for contacting the eligible WIC clinic(s) they can support as meal sites this summer.

• WIC clinics should be contacted by April 30, 2025, to allow time for summer planning.

Please visit the WIC Pilot page for more information about how to participate and helpful resources!

TDA is excited to announce there will be a Round 2 to order direct delivery for school year 2026, anticipated to open at the beginning of May!

We've attached a list of materials that will be offered, with the average price per case, and steps to allow you to plan and fully maximize your planned assistance level.

You should have received an invite to our "Next Steps" Webinar where we will announce when the catalogs will be open and dive deeper into how to plan for successful ordering in Round 2.

Please plan to attend today, April 23rd at 2:00pm.

Zoom Link:

Round 2 One Pager

List of Material-Direct Delivery

Get ready to make a splash! Region 6 is excited to invite you to our Child Nutrition Summer Workshop, happening July 8–10. This year’s theme is Under the Sea, and we’re bringing you a sea of knowledge, hands-on learning, and fun!

🗓 Workshop Dates:

• July 8–9: National School Lunch Program (NSLP)

• July 10: Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

Explore session topics, schedule details, and more in our digital catalog:
👉 View the Workshop Catalog & Register Here

Spaces fill up fast, so secure your spot today! We can’t wait to sea you there! 🌊🐠

TDA is anticipating opening applications for 4 programs in August of this year: FDP, TFAP, CSFP & Farmers Market. These are the smallest group of program sponsors and will allow them to make sure the programs are working and get some hands on feedback.

In April 2026 they are looking to open SNP Applications which will include NSLP, SBP, ASCP and FFVP. After that they will incorporate Claims and Compliance in July & August and FFVP Claims in October.

You can watch the most recent recording HERE.