End of the Year Finance Reminder
Sponsors should be gathering financial documents to complete the program year (PY) 2023 Annual Financial Report (AFR). A few tips to keep in mind when closing out the year for the Nonprofit Food Service Account (NPFSA):
- The NPFSA must have a positive ending balance. If the ending balance for the 2022-2023 school year is negative, the sponsor is required to cover the difference with a transfer of non-federal funds.
- If the NPFSA is charged indirect costs, please ensure all costs are calculated and charged to the account within 90-days from the last day of operation. Indirect costs charged beyond 90-days after the last day of operation will be considered an unallowable cost. Please note the NPFSA can only be charged up to the approved percentage. This percentage is determined and approved annually by school finance. If a sponsor does not have an indirect cost rate approved, they may only charge up to 10%. Indirect costs cannot be assessed to or result in a negative balance.
- Verify the beginning and ending balances are correct compared to the general ledger. Documentation may be required for validating and approving the PY 2023 AFR. If the balance does not match the previous year, please email SCNFinance@doe.in.gov with a detailed explanation.
- Resources can be found here under the AFR drop down.
The AFR will open once the final claim for reimbursement has been filed and is due Friday, September 1. If you have any questions, please reach out to SCNFinance@doe.in.gov and include your sponsor number. AFR help sessions and webinars will be held throughout August.
Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Deadline Approaching
It’s not too late for schools to submit documentation to be approved for CEP for the 2023-2024 school year, but the Friday, June 30, deadline is approaching quickly. CEP is an alternative way to claim meals for reimbursement for USDA Child Nutrition Program schools. Instead of collecting, approving, and verifying household eligibility applications for free and reduced-price meals, high-poverty local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs are approved for federal reimbursement by using a claiming percentage determined from direct certification data. CEP percentages should not be confused with a school’s percentage of free and reduced students.
To be eligible to use CEP for school year 2023-2024, the school or group of schools within an LEA must have one or more schools having an identified student enrollment percentage of 40% or greater as determined based on April 1, 2023 data. Once approved, the LEA and school must agree to offer all students breakfast and lunch meals at no cost (free) and cover any cost above the federal reimbursement with non-federal funds. CEP is approved for four successive school years, with an option to return to traditional meal counting and claiming procedures on an annual basis.
Reimbursement for schools participating in CEP is based on claiming percentages (free and paid only) derived from the percentages of identified students multiplied by an USDA established factor. Applications and CEP worksheets are due to IDOE no later than Friday, June 30. A validation of the submitted application will take place prior to the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year. Interested schools should reach out to their assigned IDOE school nutrition field specialist. For more information, visit IDOE's Community Eligibility Provision webpage.
End-of-Year Reminders
As we approach the end of the school year, here are some end-of-year reminders, including important dates and deadlines school sponsors should follow for effective USDA Foods inventory management and use of Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruits and Vegetables allocations and entitlement funds.
USDA Foods Surplus is Available for Dilgard Frozen Foods, McFarling Foods, Stanz Foodservice, and Wabash Foodservice State-Assigned Warehouses
IDOE is in the process of clearing USDA Foods out state-assigned warehouses. USDA Foods surplus is available for school sponsors on the Food Distribution Program (FDP). If your school is interested in attempting to retrieve surplus items, please navigate to CNPweb under the FDP link, and click the Add Surplus button listed under the Allocations tab to see if surplus USDA Foods are still available. Delivery periods must still be available under the Orders tab to place orders. If no delivery periods are available, the warehouse has completed deliveries in your school’s area for the school year.
Direct Delivered USDA Foods and DoD Funds Will Be Lost After Friday, June 30
Now is the time to remove USDA Foods from the state-assigned warehouses and processors, as well as spend USDA DoD Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program funds before Friday, June 30. USDA Foods are intended to be utilized during the school year allocated. IDOE will sweep all Direct Delivered (Brown Box) USDA Foods from school inventories as of Friday, June 30.
Meal Benefit Application Walkthrough and New School Year Preparation
Join IDOE to review the new meal benefit prototype application and steps to take prior to the start of the new program year on Saturday, July 1.
Tuesday, June 20, at 10 a.m. ET - Register here!
Coming Soon: Free and Reduced Information Training Series
IDOE will host a Free and Reduced Information Training series starting in July. The series will include both application and direct certification presentations. More information and registration links will be released soon.
School Nutrition Program (SNP) Claim Errors
Due to non-pricing waivers for the past two years, the severe needs indicators in CNPweb were not functioning properly. As a result, some schools were receiving severe needs rates when not eligible, and vice versa. CNPweb developers recently corrected the error in the system and schools will see a change in their claims in the near future.
Contact SCNFinance@doe.in.gov with questions.
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) Site Finders
Please share the following links to SFSP site finders with households in your area:
Keep up-to-date on SFSP site information via the IDOE’s Meal Site Information webpage.
Agriculture in the Classroom Grant Funding
The disciplines of agriculture and education have been related for much of our nation's history. When most Americans lived on farms or in small towns, students often did farm chores before and after school. Old schoolbooks have numerous agricultural references. As the farming population began to decline, agricultural emphasis decreased in educational materials as well. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Agriculture in the Classroom Program (AITC) serves nearly five million students and 60,000 teachers annually through workshops, conferences, field trips, farm tours, and other educational activities. The AITC program works in partnership with state AITC organizations and support activities engaged in a variety of issues relating to agricultural literacy in rural and urban America.
The deadline for application is Thursday, July 6.
For more information, visit the National Institute of Food and Agriculture webpage.
No Kid Hungry (NKH) Center for Best Practices Website Refresh
NKH Center for Best Practices is proud to announce a new website. The website is easier to navigate and allows them to share resources, webinars, and events more easily. Check out the new website to explore and learn more.
Upcoming Dates |
|
 |
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
|
