Weekly School Nutrition Newsletter

06/27/2019

Dear Food Service Contact,

This email provides news for schools concerning the Child Nutrition Programs from the USDA and the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). 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.


Food Distribution Program

Brown Box to Bulk Newsletter

  • Click here to view the latest edition of the Brown Box to Bulk newsletter.
    • This newsletter has a lot of valuable information for sponsors including information on
      • forecasting,
      • DoD Fresh,
      • USDA Foods recipes, 
      • and more!

DoD Fresh

  • Entitlement for SY 2020 has been entered in FFAVORS.
  • This means schools can place orders for their DoD Fresh Produce any time after Monday, July 1, 2019.
  • In order to have access to the FFAVORS ordering screen and other information within that site, schools must be set up in FFAVORS with an eAuthentication Login ID and Password.

USDA Foods Brown Box Product

  • There is still USDA Foods brown box product that has been allocated to schools but continues to reside at the state contracted warehouses.
  • These items will incur excess storage fees during the summer and the beginning of SY 2020 until they are able to be delivered.
  • Per the contract with IDOE, deliveries from the state contracted warehouses will end for SY 2019 on Sunday, June 30.
  • Schools will be informed in the fall of SY 2020 when deliveries will resume.

Test Your Knowledge!

  • See if you can answer the questions below. Find the correct answer at the bottom of the newsletter!
    • If you receive a non-domestic (not from the U.S.) fruit or vegetable through the USDA Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program you should:

a) Reject it.

b) Happily accept it.

c) Accept it, then throw it away.


Turnip the Beet Award Recipients

  • USDA grants the Turnip the Beet Award to sponsors that serve summer meals that have distinguished themselves with high quality meals that are appetizing, appealing, and wholesome.
  • USDA has presented the Turnip the Beet Award to the following sponsors: 
    • City of Indianapolis, Department of Parks and Recreation – Gold Award
    • SON Ministries – Silver Award
    • School City of Hammond – Silver Award
    • Wabash Valley Youth for Christ AKA Camp Navigate – Silver Award
    • Ray Bird Ministries Camp Ray Bird – Silver Award
    • TRIO Upward Bound Summer Academy – Silver Award
    • South Spencer County School Corporation – Silver Award
    • DeKalb County Central United School District – Bronze Award
    • Clark Road Genesis Family Center, Inc – Bronze Award
    • The Salvation Army Eagle Creek – Bronze Award
    • St. Joseph School – Bronze Award
  • For more information on this award, click here.

NEW! New Research Supports Recess Before Lunch

  • Historically, school administrators schedule recess immediately after lunch.
  • Recent research, however, suggests a plethora of benefits if recess is scheduled before lunch including:
    • decreased plate waste,
    • increased consumption of nutrients, and
    • decreased discipline problems on the playground and in the lunchroom.
  • School nutrition professionals can use this information to encourage school administration to consider adopting a recess before lunch policy.
  • To read the full article published by the School Nutrition Association, click here.  

Answer to the Question from the Food Distribution Program Section - a. For more information, click here.


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

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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, or contact Ashley Heller at aheller@doe.in.gov, call (317) 232-0544, or toll-free at 1-800-537-1142 ext. 20544.