Happy National School Lunch Week 2023!
Thank you for all you do to feed the children of Indiana.
In celebration of National School Lunch Week, USDA Team Nutrition will present a Meal Talk webinar to highlight the many ways to offer school lunch with inspiration from across the country. The webinar is Thursday, October 12, at 3 p.m. ET. Register here.
Spanish Offer Versus Serve (OVS) Resources
The Spanish versions of the OVS materials for school nutrition programs are now available online. The OVS materials include five posters and two tip sheets. These tools help students quickly select reimbursable meals in the breakfast and lunch lines and provide guidance for school nutrition professionals for breakfast and lunch meal service.
Access the Spanish-translated OVS materials here.
Migrant Education Status and Categorical Eligibility for Free Lunch
Migratory students identified through the Title I, Part C Migrant Education Program (MEP) are categorically eligible for free meals and textbooks. School food authorities (SFA) and local educational agencies (LEA) should work directly with their Regional Migrant Education Program Coordinators to identify migrant children and to document their eligibility for free school meals. The SFA and LEA must accept documentation that the children are migrant children from the MEP coordinator; this documentation is in lieu of a free or reduced-price meal application and should be sought prior to a household completing an application. More information and frequently asked questions about Indiana’s MEP can be found on the MEP webpage. Questions about acceptable documentation for migrant children as it relates to the school meals programs can be directed to Gretchen Huntzer.
On-site Reviews
Sponsors with more than one site must conduct on-site reviews of each kitchen by February 1 each school year. Sponsors should consider conducting onsite reviews well before the due date to ensure kitchen operations are running smoothly all year long! Sponsors must review all sites' lunch operations each year. For those operating breakfast, only half of the sites must be reviewed. The following year, the remaining sites must be reviewed, meaning each site is reviewed at least every other year. Access the IDOE monitoring forms here.
Field Trip Meals
Meal Pattern
Meals sent on field trips must meet the meal pattern requirements. Each component, including milk, must be provided in the daily minimum serving size. Field trip meals must be documented on the daily production record.
Meal Counting and Claiming
Meals must be counted at the point of service. Students can go through the line before the regular meal service time to pick up their meal and be counted. If students do not pick up the meal before leaving, complete meals must be sent and a meal count sheet must be completed by field trip staff.
- Field trip staff counting meals should be trained on correct meal count procedures, including civil rights.
- If not operating OVS, all components must be taken before the meal is counted for reimbursement.
Questions about field trip meal procedures should be directed to your assigned field specialist.
USDA Foods Allocations and Ordering
Direct Delivered USDA foods have begun being shipped to the state assigned warehouses, Dilgard Frozen Foods, Stanz-Troyers Foodservice, McFarling Foods and Wabash Foodservice. SFAs should be monitoring their Food Distribution Program inventory regularly in CNPweb and placing orders under the Orders tab. SFA orders must meet the 10 cases per site minimum in order to avoid an under case minimum delivery fee. Please remember that school staff must be available to inspect, verify and accept all USDA Foods orders. For a refresher on the steps for ordering direct delivered USDA Foods, click here. Any missed deliveries will result in missed delivery charges to the SFA. These charges will include fees for transportation, handling and restocking of USDA Foods. Please be sure to monitor and utilize your SFA’s bulk pounds diverted to processors and Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruits and Vegetables funds, if applicable.
Forecasting for the Future Webinar
The USDA Foods: Forecasting for the Future webinar experienced technical issues and participants were unable to attend. IDOE is in the process of preparing the recording and PowerPoint presentations for viewing. It should be available on the CNPweb Food Distribution Program Update and Message screen in the coming days.
DoD Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Live Webinar
IDOE will host a DoD Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program live webinar on Wednesday, November 1, from 10 to 11 a.m. ET. This webinar will explain what DoD is, provide tips on determining allocations, eAuthetication and vendor information. Registration is not required for this webinar.
Introducing Food Distribution Program (FDP) 2.0
What is it? FDP 2.0 is new program that will replace FDP software in CNPweb.
Who will use it? Schools, warehouses, and IDOE will use for the 2024-2025 school year.
When? The first phase of FDP 2.0 will be rolled out in December 2023 for school sponsors to complete the annual pre-order (forecast) survey in early 2024.
Why? The current FDP system will be retired for a more user friendly and updated system.
There will be more information forthcoming on access, logins, training and rollout phases in future newsletters.
Farm to School 101
IDOE will host a webinar titled Farm to School 101: How to Get Started on Thursday, October 19, at 2 p.m. ET. Join Sophie Lindley, Farm to School Coordinator for IDOE, along with Brianna Goode, Farm to School Coordinator for the Indiana Department of Health, as they discuss what Farm to School means, how to get started, and what resources and support are available for schools. They also will have time to answer any Farm to School related questions. To register for the event, click here.
Questions? Contact f2s@doe.in.gov.
Now Available: Recorded Trainings
- Miss the Back to School Reminders webinar? IDOE's Back to School training session has been recorded and can be found here.
- The DC Basics and Processing Possible Matches training modules are now available on Moodle. Find these sessions under the Direct Certification tile.
Traditional Verification Period Has Begun
The traditional verification period begins next week. Verification samples are based on the number of approved applications on file as of October 1 each year. Sponsors with a 20% or higher non-response rate in the previous year are required to conduct Standard (Error-Prone) verification. If you are unsure if you are required to do so, review the verification method spreadsheet and find your school. Sponsors that can choose any method can choose any of the three options including error-prone.
If you missed the webinars regarding verification last week, you can find the slides for the Verification Methods presentation here, the Verification Preparation webinar here, and the Direct Verification here.
For additional tools and resources, review the Verification webpage.
*Sponsors that operate CEP corporation-wide and Residential Child Care Institutions that do not have day students are exempt from verification.
Indiana School Nutrition Association (ISNA) Annual Conference
ISNA is excited to host the 2023 fall conference from Wednesday, November 8, through Friday, November 10, at the French Lick Resort in French Lick, IN. This year's conference will feature a great lineup of engaging speakers to equip you with the tools and knowledge to excel in school food service.
Registration is open for members and non-members. Find more information here.
ISNA Certificate Program
ISNA and IDOE have joined forces to create a program that will add value to the School Nutrition Profession in the state of Indiana and qualify as a state recognized certificate as defined by USDA. ISNA is actively marketing this program to superintendents and school business officials as the criteria to look for when hiring. The program is designed to be completed within two years and is comprised of 17 targeted courses specifically designed for Indiana.
Even if you are just getting started, continuing the certificate path, or almost to the finish line, we would love to see you in these courses. Click here for more information on the program. Upcoming training is happening on Wednesday, December 6. Topics include Advanced Menu Planning and Production Strategies (morning) and Creating and Implementing Your HACCP Plan (afternoon).
Upcoming Dates |
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Monday, October 9, through Friday, October 13
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National School Lunch Week
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Thursday, October 12, at 3 p.m. ET
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Meal Talk webinar. Register here.
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Thursday, October 19, at 2 p.m. ET
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Farm to School 101 webinar. Register here.
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Monday, October 30
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August claims due
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Wednesday, November 1, from 10 to 11 a.m. ET
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DoD Fresh Fruits and Vegetables live webinar
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Wednesday, November 8, through Friday, November 10
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ISNA Annual Conference in French Lick, IN.
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Wednesday, November 15
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Verification due date: all final notification letters should be sent to verified households.
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This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
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