Reminder: Update Websites Regularly
School Food Authorities (SFAs) should review information on the local website regularly. This includes making sure contact information is up to date, the civil rights statement is current, communicating changes in claiming type such as moving to Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for some or all buildings, ensuring the link to the charging and wellness policies (and supporting documentation) are up to date, updating links to online applications, etc.
Last Chance! National School Lunch Week 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.
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.
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.
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. Also, 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.
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.
Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program
Cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon have been removed from the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Order Receipt System (FFAVORS) catalog due to no domestic availability in the United States.
Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition (CICN)
Live Demo: New School Breakfast Recipes
The Georgia Department of Education's team of expert school nutrition chefs will showcase innovative and nutritious breakfast recipes designed specifically for school cafeterias. Discover creative ways to revitalize morning meals for students, elevate your school breakfast program, and ensure students start their day with delicious and wholesome options. Thursday, November 2 from 3 to 4 p.m. ET. Register here.
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 the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Programs, 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 childhood education (ECE) 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 request for applications (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.
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. Questions? Visit the PLANTS webpage here.
American Dairy Association Indiana (ADAI)
Grants from 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 will be distributed at the ISNA Annual Conference. (While supplies last!) Hope to see you there! Click here for resources.
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