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

Team Nutrition Trainings Available in Spanish and Hakha Chin 

Eight hours of virtual meal pattern training for front line staff is available in Spanish and Hakha Chin. These courses are eligible for the $100 monetary incentive from the 2022 USDA Team Nutrition Grant. Share this opportunity with frontline staff who may benefit from translated trainings. Learn more here and contact IDOE's TN Training Grant team with any questions. 

Important Updates

Indiana SUN Bucks - Summer EBT Many children lose free and reduced-price meals during the summer and their caregivers may need help putting meals on the table. Funded by USDA and the State of Indiana, Indiana SUN Bucks is a new and permanent benefit program that provides families $120 per eligible school-aged child to buy groceries while school is out for the summer. Student eligibility information will be collected from from National School Lunch Program (NSLP) operating schools through Data Exchange (DEX), but IDOE needs your help to communicate with families about this new program.  If you did not attend the Indiana SUN Bucks informational session last week, please plan to have someone from your school attend one of the remaining sessions.  Thursday, March 21, at 3 p.m. ET. Register here. Thursday, March 28, at 3 p.m. ET. Register here.

National School Breakfast Week Scrapbook

Thanks to everyone who submitted photos for the 2024 National School Breakfast Week Indiana scrapbook! View the photos here.

Farm to School

Farm to School Symposium Registration is Now Open

The Farm to School and Early Care and Education (ECE) Symposium registration is now open. Register here. The event will be held at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds on Tuesday, June 18, and Wednesday, June 19. Participants will learn about gardening, local procurement, and agriculture education. All teaching, food service, and school administrative staff are welcome to attend. If you would like to be a presenter or a panelist, please apply here. Contact Sophie Lindley with any questions.

Local Foods for Schools (LFS) Grant Program

There is still time to sign up for the LFS Grant program. LFS offers free local produce to schools with a 50% or higher free and reduced rate. These grant funds will only last for a limited time and are a great way to get free local produce and learn more about the local food market. Please contact Brianna Goode with any questions or to sign up.

USDA Foods

End of School Year Tasks

Schools should evaluate the volume of all USDA Foods currently at their state assigned warehouses (Dilgard Frozen Foods, Stanz-Troyers Food Service and Wabash Foods), at the processors and any Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program funds available in the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Order Receipt System (FFAVORS). USDA Foods allocations into school food authority (SFA) inventories in CNPweb will end on Tuesday, April 30. State assigned warehouse deliveries will end on or before Sunday, June 30. SFAs should remove all USDA Foods from their state assigned warehouse, processors and utilize DoD Fresh Program funds by Sunday, June 30. It is highly recommended that SFAs cross-reference their delivery periods under the "Orders" tab in CNPweb with school calendars. Any unordered direct delivery (brown box) USDA Foods will be swept from all SFA inventories after Sunday, June 30.

American Commodity Distribution Association Conference (ACDA)

School food service staff working with the USDA Foods in Schools Program are encouraged to participate in the upcoming ACDA Annual Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, from Sunday, April 21, through Wednesday, April 24. Members and non-members can access the $500 Member Early Bird Rate until Friday, March 22, by using code RA2024ACDA. Learn more here.

Total Solar Eclipse 2024

The 2024 eclipse will be on Monday, April 8. If your school places a USDA Foods order and will not be in session, will be on break, or has an e-learning day scheduled, please ensure school staff is onsite and available to inspect, verify and accept any USDA Foods deliveries. If school staff is unavailable and it results in a missed delivery, the school food authority (SFA) may be subject to missed delivery fees, which could include transportation, handling, fuel, and restocking fees. 

USDA Foods Recipes  Hash Brown Casserole uses USDA frozen diced ham 100188 and shredded cheddar cheese 100012, and can be a delicious breakfast or lunch. Mexican Street Corn is a quick and easy way to use USDA frozen 100348 or 100313 canned corn. These recipes must be adjusted to meet serving sizes and meal patterns.

Reminders

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) Application is Now Open

The school year 2024-2025 FFVP application is now open to all schools that wish to apply. FFVP is available as a reimbursable grant for K-6 grade students only. While preference is given to those with the highest free and reduced rate, all schools are welcome to apply. To learn more about program requirements, please see this presentation. Applications are due by Sunday, March 31, and each building must be submitted as a separate application. Apply here.

Updates from Our Partners

No Kid Hungry Breakfast After the Bell Series

The No Kid Hungry Center for Best Practices offered a five day video series, entitled Breakfast After the Bell (BAB), that focused on building support for, beginning, and sustaining an alternative meal service model. The recorded sessions can be accessed here. Each session is approximately 15 minutes long and topics are below:

• Day 1: How and why to start a BAB program
• Day 2: Menu planning - setting the stage for the rest of BAB program planning
• Day 3: Equipment and meal delivery
• Day 4: Training staff and the school community, and promoting your program
• Day 5: Launching and sustaining your program

Upcoming Dates

Additional Resources

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

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