  Issue 2.8, November 2022
The Transition Team congratulates Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council, Inc. (ENIPC, Inc.), Five Sandoval Indian Pueblos, Inc., the Nevada Department of Agriculture, and the White Mountain Apache Tribe on their transition to the Integrated Food Management System (IFMS). The Transition Team also wants to acknowledge the Nevada Department of Agriculture and ENIPC, Inc. for participating in the first USDA IFMS mobile app soft launch group.
There are two Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) scheduled to transition to IFMS in December.
IFMS Activity At-a-Glance
As of November 2022, there are 83 ITOs using IFMS to conduct food distribution transactions for their communities and manage inventory and household records for FDPIR. To date, over 20.4 million food items have been issued through IFMS.
 Fig 1 - As of November 2022, IFMS was being used by 83 ITOs at 113 Sites.
As of November 10, 2022, IFMS activity since launch included:
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83 ITOs deployed IFMS with 414 active users
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56,060 individuals in 28,717 households received food
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20,440,970 items issued through 263,227 order transactions
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36,034,445 items updated through 105,534 inventory transactions
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45,343 household certifications updated
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8,645 new households created
To ensure that IFMS meets the needs of the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), ITOs are encouraged to provide input and review the latest developments in monthly meetings along with their FNS partners.
To participate as a member of the IFMS User Group, please email Katie Clifford.
Mobile App:
This month, a volunteer group of ITOs is participating in a soft launch of the mobile app and will provide feedback to the Transition Team.
The USDA IFMS mobile app is a streamlined version of IFMS intended to efficiently conduct food distribution at ITO tailgate sites where there is no internet connection. Users transfer IFMS inventory from the main warehouse to the mobile app inventory before tailgating and transfer remaining inventory back to the main warehouse upon return.
The following devices are supported:
- iPad Air 2nd generation and above
- iPad 5th generation and above
- iPad Mini 4th generation and above
- iPad Pro 1st generation and above
A Direct Wi-Fi printer is required to print issuances at tailgate sites.
Other recommended equipment includes Bluetooth keyboard, mouse, and protective case.
Certification Module:
The Certification Module is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of calendar year 2023.
With this tool, ITO users will be able to determine FDPIR participant eligibility by:
- Conducting income calculations by income type (earned and unearned)
- Calculating net income (income minus deductions)
- Generating certification notices
- Assigning certification statuses such as expedited/pending
Transition Support
Learn more about IFMS in this overview video.
The IFMS Transition Team is available to provide assistance to ITOs who are preparing for IFMS and to answer questions about the transition process. The transition program is designed to support ITOs, considering their unique needs, from initial planning through the Go Live event at a pace that minimizes disruption to daily operations.
The transition program includes:
- Support Specialists assigned to each ITO for the duration of the transition process
- Self-Paced e-Learning Introductory Course
- Flexible virtual training sessions
- Manuals, quick reference guides, and exercises for each functional area
- Access to the IFMS training environment to reinforce and build upon training sessions
- Discussion of ITO data needs and guidance on using IFMS reporting tools
- Post-transition support with timely response to questions or issues
- Feedback sessions for continuous improvement of transition program and system features
The IFMS Transition Team is actively recruiting ITOs. Contact the Transition Manager to discuss IFMS opportunities and begin planning today.
Update to Internet Speed Requirements
Required internet speeds for IFMS have been reduced from 10 MB/s to 0.5 MB/s. For reference, a YouTube video plays at a speed of about 4 MB/s.
The purchase of a hot spot and/or cellular plan would be an allowable use of FDPIR administrative funds. Please reach out to the FNS Regional Office to discuss internet or cell phone data plan options.
Need IFMS Training? The ITO IFMS Support Program offers training opportunities for the IFMS user community in the form of new staff member training, refresher training, release enhancement updates, and advanced topics.
ITOs can request a range of topic-specific user trainings for their ITO staff using the IFMS Training Request Form. Training is available for existing as well as new users or those switching roles. Completed forms should be submitted to the IFMS Transition Team.
Wait for issuance transaction to complete before exiting.
ITO users need to ensure that the issuance success message (Fig 3) has been displayed before exiting a household’s page. Even when a receipt has been printed, if an ITO user exits a household's issuance before IFMS has processed the transaction, the issuance data will not be saved.
An Issuance Processing window displays and automatically closes when background processing is complete.
 Fig 2 - Issuance Processing Window
Upon completion, the Issuance Successful message displays. The completed transaction will now be available under the Daily Issuance Transactions list view, and the last issuance date for the household will be updated.
 Fig 3 - Issuance Success Message
Detailed information can be found in the FDPIR Issuance Manual in the IFMS Learning Academy (login required).
IFMS is under continuous improvement with regular release enhancements. Additional information about these updates can be found on the IFMS webpage and in the published release notes in the IFMS Learning Academy (login required).
All IFMS enhancements will be applied automatically; no user actions are required to access the latest version of IFMS.
IFMS Public Webpage
The IFMS webpage provides announcements, general information about IFMS, and a variety of other resources for the user community and other interested parties. These include:
IFMS Learning Academy
The IFMS Learning Academy (login required) contains a variety of self-service resources for IFMS. User manuals and quick reference guides (QRGs) provide helpful instructions for a variety of common business tasks and functions as well as tips for using additional system features when needed. Other resources include release notes and guide rate information.
After selecting a topic, refer to the Details tab for a description of available materials and links to external resources, as applicable. The Related tab provides all files available to view or download.
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