🥗Foods Updates
📦November Orders
The November orders are now closed. Schools should log in to ND Foods to view their orders.
🚚Delivery Shortages and Product Updates
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Ground Beef – The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) was unable to purchase 2,000 cases of ground beef due to no vendor responses to bids. This caused an interruption in ground beef shipments. Bids are currently being solicited for delivery by Jan. 15, 2025. If successful, schools will receive ground beef with their February orders. There was a small amount of beef remaining in inventory that was allocated for November orders; schools should not expect ground beef on December or January orders.
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Apple Slices – The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) was unable to purchase apple slices for October delivery. They are attempting to secure trucks for the January–March 2026 quarter. If successful, deliveries will arrive by Jan. 15, 2026, and products will be available on the February surveys.
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String Cheese – Land O’Lakes issued a temporary hold on #59703 Light String Cheese. #59701 Mozzarella String Cheese will be available as an alternate option.
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Land O Lakes – Most Land O’Lakes cheese products were cut from November orders because minimum shipping weights were not met to place an order. A limited amount of inventory from the previous month was allocated to select schools.
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Dried Cranberries – Schools that included dried cranberries on their annual food survey for November, December, and January will receive product. Shipments for March and April will be shorted.
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Tyson – All the corn dogs were removed from November orders due to the recall.
📊 Food Availability
Refer to The Food Availability Sheet for the 2025 – 2026 school year USDA Foods list.
If an item from a school’s survey was not purchased, processed or surplus foods may be substituted. Schools are expected to adhere to the quantities specified in
🥕USDA DoD Fresh
Please continue to monitor your entitlement balances in FFAVORS.
The Produce Report on the FFAVORS website is a valuable tool for schools to monitor produce. The report provides a weekly snapshot of current produce markets — highlighting availability, pricing trends, and peak-season items offered through the USDA DoD Fresh Program.
Please read the credit request policy from Cash-Wa.
Contacts:
If you have issues with produce, questions on orders, delivery issues, etc., please email all four contacts listed.
🚚USDA Food Orders
November orders are closed. Please review your food orders in ND Foods. If needed, refer to the how to look up customer orders document or contact Tara Koster at tkoster@nd.gov for assistance.
Your school will receive an email from Booth Delivery one to two days before your delivery day. Please verify your route and delivery week here. There have been changes to some delivery weeks.
When your delivery arrives, please conduct a product/case count. If there are any shortages, be sure to note them on the signature sheet. If you're unable to count the items while the driver is present, please do the count afterward, and report any discrepancies to me within 24 hours.
📅Upcoming Food Survey Dates
➡️ January 2026 survey - open Oct. 27 through Nov. 9
➡️ February 2026 survey - open Nov. 24 through Dec. 7
All surveys close at 11:00 am Central time on the closing date.
📃Net off Invoicing (NOI)
State/NOI Touchpoint Meetings
The touchpoint meetings are an opportunity to discuss anything related to the Net Off Invoice program. Attendance is optional.
Thank you to those who attended the touchpoint meeting on October 6th. A couple key items discussed were:
- Michael Eggs Pounds: There were concerns about being able to draw down the Michael eggs pounds before the end of the school year.
- Product Disposal (Recall): Schools should ensure that any product pounds are properly credited in their Tyson account. For example, if 50 cases of Tyson corndogs are disposed of, you should receive 350.50 pounds back (50 x 7.01 = 350.50).
Overall, things are going well, and there are currently no concerns with product availability.
Upcoming Meetings:
- Monday, Dec. 8, at 2:00 p.m. CST
- Monday, Feb. 9, at 2:00 p.m. CST
- Monday, April 6, at 2:00 p.m. CST
🍔 USDA Foods Processed Foods Survey
Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the Processed Foods Survey!
Your feedback helps guide which USDA Foods processed products we keep, improve, or replace for future years.
The results are now being reviewed by the Processed Foods Advisory Council. Their recommendations will help shape upcoming specifications and future solicitations.
As a reminder, the state will be rebidding bulk beef and bulk mozzarella (pizza products) for the 2025–2026 school year.
📢 Tyson Corn Dog Recall
Thank you to all schools that have submitted their disposition forms. Schools that returned forms will receive a refund for any processed fees. The payment date will be shared in next month’s newsletter.
On September 27, 2025, The Hillshire Brands Company issued a voluntary recall for approximately 58 million pounds of State Fair® (Tyson) Corn Dogs due to the possible presence of wooden fragments within the batter portion. The affected item purchased by North Dakota schools is Tyson #10363650928.
Schools were instructed to:
- Dispose of all corndog items #10363650928 with the following batch numbers: 1575HHT02, 1295HHT01, 1575HHT01, 1995HHT01, 1995HHT02, 2275HHT01, 2275HHT02
- Fill out the disposition form and return it to the state to receive your processed fee refund.
- Submit all disposition forms to Tara Koster by end of day on October 17, 2025.
For all USDA Food Distribution inquiries, please contact:
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
- mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
- fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
- email: program.intake@usda.gov
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