Weekly School Nutrition Newsletter

Indiana Department of Education sent this bulletin at 11/29/2018 08:30 AM EST

11/29/2018

Dear Food Service Contact,

This email provides news for schools concerning the Child Nutrition Programs from USDA and the state. If you are the food service contact for your school or corporation, it is your responsibility to relay important information provided to you about the Child Nutrition Programs to other staff members.

Last Chance! Orientation to School Nutrition Management Training

  • There are a few spots left to register for the Orientation to School Nutrition Management Training! 
  • The target audience includes school nutrition program staff with fewer than 5 years of experience as a director or those who may aspire to be a director.
  • The training will provide insight on different components of the School Nutrition Programs.
  • This five-day training will be held next week, Monday, December 3, through Thursday, December 6, from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Friday, December 7 from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET.
  • Attendees will receive credit toward their annual Professional Standards requirements.
  • All materials will be provided. For more information, click here.
  • To register, click here.
  • Questions? Contact Maggie Schabel at mschabel@doe.in.gov.

Start Prepping for USDA Foods for School Year (SY) 2019-2020

  • SY 2019-2020 may seem far away but planning for next year is already beginning!
  • Now is the time to start preparing for the SY 2019-2020 pre-order survey which opens in January and closes in March 2019. 
  • The pre-order survey is a grocery wish list of USDA Foods products that you want to add to your school’s inventory and menus for the upcoming school year.
    • It consists of both direct delivered (aka brown box) and direct diverted (aka bulk product sent to a processor) items. A list of these items, as well as, training and information is available on the Food Distribution Program webpage.
  • There are three important USDA Foods areas to monitor regularly which will help you prepare to complete the survey:
    • Ensure that the product on hand, at your facility, is six months of inventory or less.
    • Monitor the direct delivered product sitting at the warehouse by checking the inventory and surveys tabs under green puzzle piece in CNPweb regularly to see what items you have coming and what is already available.
    • Regularly monitor all product sent to processors via the commodity tracking companies, K12 Foodservice and ProcessorLink and/or contact the processing company’s broker using the Brokers and Companies list on the Food Distribution program webpage.
  • Your feedback is key!
    • The Indiana Department Of Education Food Distribution Team is requesting your participation in a short survey regarding the upcoming pre-order survey.
    • The survey will close on December 21.
    • Please click here to provide your input.
  • Questions? Contact Cheryl Moore at cmoore@doe.in.gov.

Farm to School Action Committee

  • Is your school or community group interested in Farm to School?
  • Are you part of a school advocacy group promoting local foods, healthy eating, school gardens, or agricultural and STEAM education?
  • Then apply to become a farm to school action committee HERE!
  • Please note! Applications are due January 15, 2019.
  • Questions? Contact John Hawley, with Purdue Extension, at hawley4@purdue.edu.

Online Training

  • Don't forget about our online training on inTEAM's Blackboard.
    • Training topics available include civil rights, special dietary needs, meal pattern, and more!
  • *Please Note* inTEAM is currently experiencing some issues with Safari and Chrome internet browsers. 
    • inTEAM is working to resolve this issue, however, in the meantime, all courses do work in Internet Explorer.
  • Click here for the User Guide.
  • Questions? Contact Ashley Heller at aheller@doe.in.gov.

Fall 2018 Indiana Nutrition Newsletter

  • The Indiana Fall 2018 Newsletter is now available!
  • Read about how rad Food Day was, impressive events local schools have been undertaking, the 2018 School Food Service Employee of the Year, and more!
  • Click here to access the newsletter. 

Missed a Weekly School Nutrition Newsletter? Click here to access previous newsletters!

Please do not reply directly to this email. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this email, please contact Allie Caito-Sipe at acaito@doe.in.gov, call (317) 232-0849, or toll-free at 1-800-537-1142 ext. 20849. You can also contact Sarah Kenworthy at skenworthy@doe.in.gov, call (317) 232-0857, or toll-free at 1-800-537-1142 ext. 20857.