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

On-Site Reviews

Sponsors with more than one site must conduct on-site reviews by Thursday, February 1. All sites operating the lunch program must be reviewed annually. At least 50% of all breakfast sites must be reviewed each year, and the other 50% of breakfast sites reviewed the following year, ensuring all breakfast sites are reviewed at least every other year. Find the monitoring forms here.

Important Updates

CNPweb Access

Each sponsor has a designated employee who serves as the local CNPweb administrator. This administrator can create accounts and provide CNPweb access to required staff. The administrator can also deactivate accounts for employees who no longer need access to CNPweb.

A few important reminders:

1. The list of all local CNPweb administrators can be found here.
2. Each sponsor must have a local CNPweb administrator. If this designation must be changed, the sponsor must assign a new local administrator. Sponsors will complete this form to change the CNPweb administrator designation. Field specialists can’t make changes in CNPweb on behalf of the sponsor.
3. Local administrators may submit a CNPweb help request for a staff member who requires access to a program in addition to the School Nutrition Programs.
4. The deactivate icon can be selected by the local administrator. It should only be used when the user no longer needs access to CNPweb as it removes the user’s access to all programs in CNPweb.

Buy American Provision 

Buy American compliance is a regulatory requirement that should be evaluated for purchases on a case-by-case basis. There are no blanket approvals or foods exempt from this requirement for the entire year for domestic products. For example, a school food authority (SFA) cannot determine that they will purchase broccoli from Mexico for the entire school year due to cost. As explained to state agency staff during the fall 2023 USDA Management Evaluation, Buy American procedures should be practiced on a regular basis, as seasonal production and pricing can vary throughout the year. Menus should be planned around domestic seasonal production. Each site should have procedures for staff checking in orders to confirm that items meeting the Buy American provision were ordered or if there was a justification for a non-American purchase prior to accepting the delivery for a non-domestic product.

Meal Service Expectations During Religious Fasting 

USDA has confirmed the requirement that meals be offered at the approved CNPweb mealtimes, even if there is a religious holiday that calls for fasting. Approved SFAs should have meals available for those students choosing not to fast. As an additional reminder, all Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools are required to offer breakfast and lunch as a part of their CEP agreement. The only time a meal does not have to be offered is when the school is operating with a morning delay or an early dismissal that affects all students.  

Think Ahead: Indiana Food Day 2024

The Indiana Food Day 2024 item will be pumpkins. Food Day is celebrated each year in October during Farm to School Month. Recipes, activity ideas, and classroom lessons are in development. If you already procure from a local farmer, ask now if they can supply pumpkins in October.

USDA Foods

Annual Pre-Order Forecast Survey

The Annual Pre-Order Forecast Survey is open through Friday, March 1. This survey is mandatory for all schools that will receive USDA Foods for the 2024-2025 school year. Annual Pre-Order Forecast Survey training will be held on Wednesday, February 7, from 10 to 11 a.m. ET. Refer to the following information to join this training:

• Join the Microsoft Teams Meeting:
• Meeting ID: 279-767-622-757
• Passcode: APBDnl
• Join the training via phone at (317) 552-1674:
• Passcode: 8261172#

Expire Dates and Close Dates

As a reminder, SFAs that participate in the Food Distribution Program (FDP) should regularly check "expire" and "close" dates in the FDP link in CNPweb under the Inventory tab. The "expire" date is not the USDA Food expiration date, rather it is the latest date USDA Foods can remain at the state assigned warehouse (Dilgard Frozen Foods, Stanz-Troyers Foodservice or Wabash Foods) before excess storage fees are assessed. There is a 45-day grace period for school districts to place an order in CNPweb to have USDA Foods delivered to the school and removed from the state-assigned warehouse. The "close" date is the latest date a USDA Food can remain in a school’s inventory before it is swept and redistributed to other schools. This is approximately six months after the USDA Food has been allocated into the SFA’s inventory. Learn more here.

USDA Foods Recipes  The Institute of Child Nutrition’s Recipe Box Tuscan Grilled Cheese Sandwich recipe is a fun, easy way to add veggies into your menu, and a good way to use up some of your USDA mozzarella cheese.

Holidays and E-Learning Day: 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 e-learning days, school breaks, and holidays. State-assigned warehouses Dilgard Frozen 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.

Training and Webinar Opportunities

February Information Sessions Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Info Session - Learn the ins and outs of operating under CEP. Monday, February 5, at 10 a.m. ET. Summer Meal Program Options - Learn about meal service options when school is out, and decide which program would be best for your school. Wednesday, February 7, at 2 p.m. ET.

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) Info Session - Learn what FFVP is and how to operate the program before the application for school year 2024-2025 opens in March. Tuesday, February 13, at 2 p.m. ET.

After School Snack and Meal Options - Learn what programs can be offered to your students after school. The webinar will discuss the After School Snack Program and At-Risk Snacks and Meals through CACFP. Thursday, February 15, at 10 a.m. ET.

Reminders

State Match Funds

June 2023 state match funds have been disbursed. Federal regulations require State Agencies to contribute state matching funds to SFAs on the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). USDA determines the amount states must distribute and each state chooses how to distribute the funds among schools. Indiana distributes the money based on the amount of paid meals served. This is a fair share based on the number of paid meals at each SFA, compared to all paid meals in the state. Sponsors should treat state match funds like other school nutrition federal funds, but SFAs can decide how they distribute the funds among their programs. Learn more here.

Team Nutrition (TN) Grant Training Update

Frontline staff members who have completed eight hours of TN grant training in Moodle should submit their information via the 2023 TN Training Completion Form. An email from teamnutritionin@doe.in.gov will be sent following form submission with information regarding additional requirements to receive your monetary incentive. The Central Indiana Education Services Center (CIESC) will distribute payments to individuals. Note that it may take a month to receive the payment. As a reminder, managers, directors, and assistant directors should be taking the courses in the Director and Manager tile on Moodle. This includes 40 hours of training resulting in a $500 monetary incentive to the first 250 managers and 250 directors. Please keep in mind that all 40 hours of courses have not been released for managers and directors. This means that only frontline staff should be submitting the training completion form to IDOE at this time. Five and a half hours of Components and Dietary Specifications training were released this week. Read through the frequently-asked questions (FAQs) and contact the TN Training Grant team with any questions. 

Upcoming Dates

Additional Resources

• School Nutrition Programs Calendar
• IDOE's Nutrition webpage
• CNPweb

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