  Issue 3.3, March 2023
The Integrated Food Management System (IFMS) replaces the legacy Automated Inventory System (AIS) to support the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). FNS plans to retire AIS in 2023, and Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) who currently use AIS should prepare to transition to IFMS or another system such as Sygnal. For more information, please refer to the Technology Synopsis in the January 2023 FDPIR Connection e-letter.
Best If Used By Date Functionality:
Users can now capture or edit "Best If Used By" (BIUB) dates for materials inventory. The Audit/Edit BIUB Date transaction went live in the February 2023 release.
Full instructions can be found in the FDPIR Inventory Training Materials in the IFMS Learning Academy (login required) or in the Audit/Edit BIUB Date tutorial video (no login required).
Certification Module:
The Certification Module launched on February 3, 2023. This new tool allows ITO users to determine FDPIR participant eligibility by:
- Conducting calculations with earned and unearned income
- Calculating net income (income minus deductions)
- Generating certification notices
- Assigning certification statuses such as expedited, pending, and categorically eligible
During the launch of the Certification Module and BIUB functionality, the IFMS Transition Team conducted 13 ITO training sessions to ensure users were prepared to use the new features. The Team also hosted two weeks of open phone line sessions to promptly address issues or concerns.
To request additional training on these new features, please see the IFMS Training Requests section below.
Some ITO users have shared their initial thoughts on the new Certification Module:
- Angela Hogan, Household Certifier for the Crow Tribe of Montana, noted that the Certification Module is “really a much better process to sit with a client to complete the application and not have to deal with literacy issues.” Angela also said that it is “easier to calculate income and [the module] takes away question of what to do next.”
- Justina Jones, Household Certifier for the Colorado River Tribe in Arizona, says that the Certification Module is “very detailed about what to do.” She also noted that the recertification feature is particularly helpful.
The Transition Team congratulates the following ITOs on their recent transition to IFMS:
- Eastern Shoshone Tribe, WY
- Kickapoo Tribe, KS
- Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation (Three Affiliated Tribes), ND
- Rosebud Sioux Tribe, SD
- Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, CA
The Team is working with seven ITOS to transition through August. Interested in learning more about how IFMS can support your program? Contact the Transition Manager today.
IFMS Activity At-a-Glance
There are 98 ITOs using IFMS to conduct food distribution transactions for their communities and manage inventory and household records for FDPIR. To date, nearly 26 million food items have been issued through IFMS.
 Fig 1 - IFMS was being used by 98 ITOs at 136 Sites in March 2023.
As of March 20, 2023, IFMS activity since launch included:
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98 ITOs deployed IFMS with 494 active users
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67,911 individuals in 34,605 households received food
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25,834,614 items issued through 333,605 order transactions
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45,465,777 items updated through 135,686 inventory transactions
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58,292 household certifications updated
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10,923 new households created
Certification Module Dashboard
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Since the launch of the Certification Module in February 2023, over 4,900 applications have been processed, including 1,683 new certifications and 2,905 re-certifications.
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Release 2.1.1 Highlights
Release 2.1.1 went live on March 17, 2023. The following enhancements were included:
Household Certification
- ITO users can now check for duplicate members.
- ITO users can see new help text for self-employment income and self-employment tax statement to enter data for the correct time period.
- ITO users can now view an updated layout of the Self-Employment Tax Form to enter the income details efficiently.
- ITO users can now print an application summary with signature and date line, view the application’s certification start and end dates, and print a completed form more than once.
Detailed release notes can be found in the IFMS Learning Academy (login required).
Household Recertification
ITO users can recertify a household from the Households tab. Household information and data from the most recent certified application will pre-populate on the recertification intake screen.
NOTE: Existing households in IFMS with an active certification do NOT need to be recertified in order to be issued food. Households only need to be recertified for reasons outlined in FDPIR policy such as a change to household membership or income.
To begin the recertification transaction, select the Households tab on the navigation bar within the Household Certification app.
 Fig 3 - The Households tab on the navigation bar
Select the Households link at the top of the page to view the complete list of households.
 Fig 4 - The Households link
Click on the name of the household to be recertified, then select the Recertification button on the household overview screen. Follow the prompts to open and complete a new application for recertification.
 Fig 5 - The Recertification button
For detailed instructions on recertification, please refer to the FDPIR Household Certification Training Materials in the IFMS Learning Academy (login required).
New Training Materials
The IFMS Transition Team is pleased to share four new quick reference guides (QRGs):
- Recertification QRG
- Application Exception QRG
- Generate Notifications QRG
- Edit Household Member Information QRG
These training materials can be found under the Related tab of the FDPIR Household Certification Training Materials in the IFMS Learning Academy (login required).
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:
Training Requests
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.
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