School Nutrition Programs Newsletter from the Indiana Department of Education

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School Nutrition Programs

This weekly newsletter from the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) is dedicated to providing education, training, and technical assistance opportunities to school nutrition professionals, helping to ensure seamless operations for those participating in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA's) Child Nutrition Programs. If you are the food service contact for your school or facility, please be certain that everyone on your team has access to this important information.

Tip of the Week

Verification Summary Report (VSR) Now Available

All sponsors must complete the VSR, even if they are not required to conduct verification. The October claim for reimbursement must be completed before the report will open. Sponsors can find instructions for the report based on operating type on the verification webpage under the VSR drop down menu. Sponsors who prefer live training can attend the VSR training session Thursday, December 7, from 2 to 3 p.m. ET. Register here.

Important Updates

Recall Notice

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a notice to advise parents and caregivers not to buy or feed certain cinnamon apple puree and applesauce products to toddlers or young children because the products may contain elevated levels of lead. The company also initiated a voluntary recall of these products. These products are sold nationally and are available through multiple retailers, including Sam’s Club, Amazon, and Dollar Tree. Consumers should stop using the product and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Please remove recalled items from circulation if they are in your food inventory.  Consumers can email questions directly to the company.


Training Needs Survey

IDOE wants to provide the training that you seek! Please take a moment to complete the training needs survey to tell us what training you would like to see from our office. This survey will take about 10 minutes to complete and will help IDOE plan future training programs.


National School Lunch Week Scrapbook

Thanks to those who sent in images of their local National School Lunch Week celebrations. View pictures from around the state here


Farm to School Office Hours

Starting this month, IDOE will host Farm to School Office Hours each month! Brianna Goode, Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) Farm to School Coordinator, and Sophie Lindley, IDOE Farm to School Coordinator will answer any questions you have about getting started, share specific details for existing programs, and offer support for expanding initiatives. Office hours are on the third Wednesday of the month from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. ET. Click here to join. 

USDA Foods

Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program

It’s time to submit your school’s DoD Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program allocation request for school year (SY) 2024-2025. Schools must complete the form that applies to your School Food Authority. The deadline for submission is Friday, December 15, at 5 p.m. ET. DoD allocations are deducted from your school’s USDA Foods entitlement before the annual pre-order survey opens.The implementation of the new FDP 2.0 software may change the way allocations are entered into the system. 

Click here if your school is on the DoD program for SY 2023-2024.

Click here if your school is not on the DoD program for SY 2023-2024.

For more information on the DoD Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program, please visit the IDOE DoD Fresh Website or view IDOE’s 3-part DoD series in Moodle. Contact Cheryl Moore with questions. 


Holiday USDA Foods Orders

Please remember that it is mandatory to have school staff available to inspect, verify and accept all USDA Foods orders that are placed. This is especially important for orders placed during school breaks and holidays. State-assigned warehouses Dilgard Frozen Foods, McFarling Foods, Stanz Foodservice and Wabash Foods are contracted to deliver Direct Delivered (Brown Box) USDA Foods to schools between the hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. local school time. 


Introducing FDP 2.0

What is it? FDP 2.0 is a new program that will replace the Food Distribution Program (FDP) software in CNPweb.

Who will use it? Schools, warehouses and IDOE will use for school year 2024-2025.

When? We will rollout the first phase of FDP 2.0 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. 

Upcoming Dates

Calendar Icon

Monday, November 27

PLANTS Grant Application opens

Wednesday, November 29

September Claim Due Date

Thursday, December 7, 2 to 3 p.m. ET

VSR Training

Friday, December 15, at 5 p.m. ET

SY 2024-2025 DoD Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program allocation request due

 

Additional Resources

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