Using Commodities in the Classroom
USDA allows school food authorities (SFAs) to provide commodities to family and consumer science (FACS) classes for educational purposes. USDA foods must, to the fullest extent, be used in the school lunch programs however, there is some flexibility. If money is made from the use of commodity items, the money must go back to the non-profit food service account.
From 7 CFR 250.59: The school food authority must use donated foods, as much as is practical, in the lunches served to schoolchildren, for which they receive an established per-meal value of donated food assistance each school year. However, the school food authority may also use donated foods in other activities of the nonprofit school food service. Revenues received from such activities must accrue to the school food authority's nonprofit school food service account. Some examples of such activities in which donated foods may be used include:
- School breakfasts or other meals served in child nutrition programs;
- A la carte foods sold to school children;
- Meals served to adults directly involved in the operation and administration of the nonprofit school food service, and to other school staff; and
- Training in nutrition, health, food service, or general home economics instruction for students.
Questions about the use of USDA foods can be directed to Cheryl Moore.
Request for Photos
IDOE would like to put together a National School Lunch Week 2023 Indiana scrapbook. Please submit your photos for this year’s compilation along with a description of location and any other special service information you’d like to include. Email photos to Gretchen Huntzer. Remember that photos of children’s faces cannot be submitted without media release information on file.
Run October Direct Certification (DC) Match
New matches have been loaded into the DC system. Please review the new matches provided. If a household that was selected for verification comes up as DC during the verification process, the process is complete. The verified household should then be notified that they can continue receiving their meal benefit. Make sure to document the student(s) as DC on the verification summary report. Click here for instructions on the verification summary report.
Round 4 Supply Chain Assistance (SCA) Attestation Statements are due by Friday, November 17
Round four SCA funds are now available for all sponsors in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and/or School Breakfast Program (SBP). SCA funds may only be used to purchase food for NSLP and SBP, including the Seamless Summer Option. Sponsors may not use SCA funds to purchase food items for other child nutrition programs such as the Special Milk Program, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program or the Summer Food Service Program. Additionally, SCA funds should be separate from any other grants or funding stream (i.e. the local foods purchasing program). Schools that previously declined funds in round one, two, or three are eligible to receive funds. Funds may be used for the purchase of unprocessed and minimally processed domestic food, such as fresh fruit, milk, cheese, frozen vegetables, and ground meat. Please note, SCA funds cannot be used to pay for labor, supplies, or administrative expenses. Funds will be allocated to sponsors based on student enrollment after a minimum, set amount of $5,000 per sponsor is allocated.
Next Steps:
- Complete the SCA Attestation for round four, either by accepting or refusing the SCA funds no later than Friday, November 17, at 5 p.m. ET.
- Sponsors that do not submit an attestation statement will be considered as refusing the additional funds.
- Distribution to sponsors that accept round four funds will occur no later than February 27, 2024.
- Any remaining funds will be calculated, and notification will be sent to sponsors interested in reallocation funds after the initial distribution.
Additional information is available via the documents linked below:
If you have any questions, please email scnfinance@doe.in.gov. Please include your sponsor number and SCA Funds in the subject line.
National Milk Carton Shortage
IDOE is aware of the nation-wide milk carton shortage. Communicate with parents and students that milk choices may vary depending on availability. Keep in mind that serving flavored milk is not a requirement. The meal pattern requirement for milk is to offer two different choices of milk from the following options: 1% flavored, 1% unflavored (white), fat-free flavored, and fat-free unflavored. Flavored milk is not required to be served when 1% unflavored and fat-free unflavored (white) milk choices are offered. However, if any type of flavored milk is offered, at least one type of white milk must be offered.
If you cannot meet these requirements due to product shortages or have additional questions, please contact your field specialist.
Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Farm to School Grant Application
The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant FY2024 Program is now open! This grant opportunity is designed to increase the availability of local food in schools and help connect students to the sources of their food through education, taste tests, school gardens, field trips, and local food sourcing for school meals. Grants can launch new farm to school or farm to early care and education programs or expand existing efforts!
The FY 2024 Farm to School Grant awards projects of 24 months in length for funding up to $500,000. Applicants are required to provide matching support of at least 25% of the total project budget in the form of cash or in-kind contributions. The RFA offers three tracks, implementation, state agency, and turnkey, to support a variety of projects and implementation stages. Click here for more information and to apply.
Contact f2s@doe.in.gov with any questions.
USDA Foods Recipes
Looking for a way to use those USDA Foods? The Institute of Child Nutrition’s Child Nutrition Recipe Box has some recipes. USDA Foods can be used in all school meals.
State Assigned Warehouse Deliveries
State assigned warehouses, Dilgard Frozen Foods, Stanz-Troyers Foodservice, McFarling Foods and Wabash Foodservice are contracted by IDOE to deliver to schools between the hours of 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. local time. School staff must be present to inspect, verify and accept all USDA Foods orders placed. Missed deliveries will result in charges to the SFA. These charges will include fees for transportation, handling and restocking of USDA Foods. SFA orders must meet the 10 cases per site minimum in order to avoid an under case minimum delivery fee.
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.
October STAR Webinar from the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN): Strategies for Marketing School Nutrition Programs
In the school nutrition program’s landscape of marketing, it's essential to establish innovative strategies that impact the health and well-being of students, as well as captivate their attention. This webinar will provide practical techniques and strategies for effectively engaging students, parents, teachers, and the community at large. Join us to hear proven strategies designed to elevate your school nutrition program's visibility, impact, and participation. Thursday, October 26, from 3 to 4 p.m. ET. Register here.
USDA Farm to School Census Reminder
We have been contacted by several sponsors about the Farm to School census email sent at the beginning of the month. Just as a reminder, USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has contracted with Decision Information Resources (DIR) and Mathematica to conduct the 2023 Farm to School Census with all sponsors that participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) nationwide. An email was sent on Monday, October 2, from Farm2SchoolCensus@dir-online.com with a link to the census and instructions. When completing the census, provide information about your SFA for school year 2022-2023. The census will be open through December 2023. It is important that all SFAs participate, regardless of their participation in farm to school activities.
If you have any questions, please contact the project team toll-free at 866-986-2230 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET, or e-mail Farm2SchoolCensus@dir-online.com.
Indiana Grown for Schools Harvest of the Month
The Indiana Grown for Schools Network is excited to share updated resources and activities to support Harvest of the Month in your community! Harvest of the Month provides lessons and activities for students, families, and communities to engage in hands-on learning opportunities to explore, taste, and understand the importance of eating fresh local produce! The Indiana Grown for Schools Network has lessons and activities that have been aligned with Indiana Academic Standards for a variety of different products. You will also find updated videos, fact posters, and more to support student engagement! All materials are free and can be downloaded by visiting the Indiana Grown for Schools Network Harvest of the Month Database.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please email the Indiana Grown for Schools Network’s Farm to School Coordinator, Brianna Goode.
Grant Opportunity from the Partnerships for Local Agriculture & Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS)
PLANTS has a grant opportunity opening on Monday, November 27. This grant is a part of the USDA Food & Nutrition Service Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative and is administered by Chef Ann Foundation in partnership with Kitchen Sync Strategies Collaborative, Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition, and National Farm to School Network. Eight projects will be awarded grants between $500,000 and $600,000 to help build and strengthen relationships in community-based food systems, improve food supply chain coordination with local food producers, and expand scratch cooking in schools.
Get prepared for applying for the grant by joining a PLANTS Sneak Peek Webinar on Monday, October 30, at noon ET. Click here to register. Questions? Visit the PLANTS webpage here.
Grants from the American Dairy Association Indiana (ADAI)
ADAI has two fantastic opportunities planned to help schools increase daily participation at breakfast or lunch! “Build Your Own” bars are trending along with the continued popularity of nutrient packed yogurt smoothies. Choose between a mobile yogurt parfait bar or a commercial blender kit to help your program stay on trend. There is also an opportunity for extracurricular program leads or in school programs after which students need to refuel and rehydrate. Feel free to share the link with marching band directors, athletic directors, coaches, advanced PE teachers, etc. Click here for more information and to begin the application.
New Reimbursable Meal Posters
ADAI strives to help Indiana school nutrition program operators as they work to provide delicious and nutritious meals for youth across the state. Did you know that ADAI has a website page dedicated to school programs? It’s true! They’ve recently added fresh new reimbursable meal posters to take the guesswork out of communicating meal options to your students. Feel free to download the pdfs and use as needed. ADAI is providing laminated copies to our IDOE partners to distribute at the ISNA Annual Conference. Click here for resources.
Upcoming Dates |
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Thursday, October 26, from 3 to 4 p.m. ET
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October STAR webinar from ICN: Strategies for Marketing School Nutrition Programs. 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 15
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Verification due date: all final notification letters should be sent to verified households.
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Friday, November 17
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SCA Round 4 Attestation Statement due
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This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
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