Hello! Here are the School Nutrition Program (SNP) Items of Interest for the Week of June 22
This is the last Items of Interest for the 2025-2026 school year. Distribution will resume at the end of July to start the 2027-2028 school year. Have a safe, happy summer!
General School Meals Program Announcements and Guidance
DoD Fresh 2025-2026 Deadline: The last day to place orders using 2025-26 USDA Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable (USDA DoD Fresh) funds is Wednesday, June 24. Funding for the 2026-27 school year will start allocating into FFAVORS on Wednesday, July 1. A school food authority can begin placing USDA DoD Fresh orders for 2026-27 once the funds are in your FFAVORS account. Please remember to update delivery locations for 2026-27, if needed. Schools may contact the USDA DoD Fresh vendor for Ohio, Premier ProduceOne, with questions about products or deliveries.
Correction to 2026-2027 Income Eligibility Guidelines (IEG) Chart: A transcription error was identified on the IEG for 2026-2027. The corrected chart has been uploaded to the Claims Reimbursement and Reporting System (CRRS). Select Applications, Download Forms, Annual Application Forms section. The mistake was on Reduced, Household size of 1, every two weeks income listing $1,138, and it should have been $1,136. If the chart was downloaded prior to June 15, please download the new version before processing 2026-2027 applications.
June 30 Deadline to Apply for Community Eligibility Provision (CEP): Schools newly implementing CEP or establishing a new base year must apply by June 30.
- Complete the CEP Election Survey
- Complete the CEP Application Packet 2026-2027 located in CRRS, Applications, Download Forms, Community Eligibility Provision/Provision 2. The application must include:
- Enrollment as of April 1, 2026, and
- Direct Certification lists: July 1, 2025, to April 1, 2026.
Schools or districts that miss the June 30 election deadline must wait until the 2027-2028 school year to elect CEP per SP04-2026 Community Eligibility Provision: Election Deadline and Annual Notification and Publication Requirements.
Contact Sarina Wilks or Robin Carrasquillo with questions.
Federal and State Funding under the Community Eligibility Provision: The Office of Nutrition is not able to respond to inquiries regarding Title or Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid (DPIA). Schools seeking clarification on funding matters are encouraged to contact the respective offices listed below.
State Funding - DPIA Office of Budget and School Funding
Email: schoolfunding@education.ohio.gov
Title Funding Federal Programs | Ohio Department of Education and Workforce
Email: FederalPrograms@education.ohio.gov
Ohio Budget Continues Reduced Price Meal Reimbursement in Fiscal Year 2027: School year 2026-2027 is the last year of the biennial state budget approval to provide schools $0.30 for breakfast and $0.40 for lunch for each meal served to reduced-price eligible students. This provides reduced-eligible student meals at no cost. The reimbursement to schools is paid as part of the monthly claim. Please contact your Education Program Specialist with any questions.
- Reduced students must receive school meals at no cost and not charged for reimbursable meals.
- Reduced-eligible student meals must be claimed under the reduced eligibility category and not as free.
- For the 2026-2027 Program Application in CRRS, under Applications, Application Packet, Site Applications and select ‘Reduced Charge Waived’ for question #10.
Help shape the redesign of education.ohio.gov!
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce invites stakeholders to participate in upcoming online research sessions to provide feedback that will enhance the website.
Upcoming Trainings and Webinars
School Meals Program Summer Training: Join the Office of Nutrition to refresh your knowledge of the core elements that keep School Meal Programs running smoothly. Our nutrition team will walk you through the most common challenges in program integrity, operational requirements, meal counting and claiming, eligibility determinations, and meeting meal pattern standards. This streamlined session is designed to reinforce essentials and support confident, compliant program operation. Registration is available in CRRS Training Management.
July 22 - 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Hamilton County ESC
11083 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45231 - Mt. Storm Room
Space limited to 90
July 30 - 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Jefferson County ESC
2023 Sunset Boulevard, Steubenville, Ohio 43952
Space limited to 75
August 10 - 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., ESC of Northeast Ohio
6393 Oak Tree Boulevard, Independence, OH 44131
Space limited to 150
Online Child Nutrition Trainings: Schools can access a variety of trainings by visiting the Office online training webpage. Topics include program operations for National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), Civil Rights and Procurement. The training is intended for school food service directors seeking a refresher on program compliance. The password is buckeyes. Users wishing to obtain a certificate of course completion must create an account.
We appreciate all the work you do to support nutrition programs in Ohio!
Office of Nutrition
Ohio Department of Education and Workforce
614-466-2945
1-800-808-6325
Child.Nutrition@education.ohio.gov
In accordance with federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its agencies, offices, employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the state or local agency that administers the program or contact USDA through the Telecommunications Relay Service at 711 (voice and TTY). Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:
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Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Mail Stop 9410, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
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Fax: (202) 690-7442; or
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Email: program.intake@usda.gov.
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