Brown Box to Bulk
Indiana Department of Education 2020 Spring Edition
What is IDOE’s Food Distribution Program (FDP)?
It is a program administered through the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) for eligible institutions to receive entitlement dollars to purchase food from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). These foods are USDA Foods (formerly known as commodities), and can be used within the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), School Breakfast Program (SBP) and After School Snack Program (ASSP). To learn more about FDP, please visit: https://www.doe.in.gov/nutrition/usda-foods-distribution-program.
What's New?
2020 Procuring USDA Foods Training
IDOE is hosting an in-person training called Procuring USDA Foods. The training will be held on two different dates in two different locations. Please see additional training information below.
This training will provide USDA Foods recipient agencies with an in-depth look at USDA Foods procurement. We will highlight eight key areas involved with the pre-ordering, entitlement value, vendor selection and ordering of USDA Foods. In addition, inventory management, DoD Fresh Fruit and Vegetable program and navigating the CNPweb will be covered. Attendees will take away a better understanding of how procurement and USDA Foods comingle.
New State Contracted Warehouse Contracts and Regions
IDOE has completed the bid process and has selected the warehouses for the new contract period. Dilgard will now have regions 3 and 5, Stanz will have regions 1, 2, and 4, and Wabash will have region 6. McFarling will no longer serve as an assigned, state contracted warehouse for the contract period beginning July 1. More information is forthcoming on how these changes will impact your school corporation’s USDA Foods.
We Want You to C.O.O.K!
C - Check your school corporation’s inventory, and USDA Foods tracking websites, K12 Foodservice and ProcessorLink regularly.
O - Order USDA Foods when they are allocated into your school’s inventory as soon as possible.
O - Open, observe, inspect, verify and accept USDA Foods cases at time of delivery.
K - Keep accurate records by reviewing surveys, inventory levels and food waste.
Annual Pre-Order Survey
The Annual Pre-Order survey closed on Friday, February 28. The next opportunity to request USDA Foods for your school will be in late January 2021.
USDA Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program
More schools are opting to allocate a portion of their Planned Assistance Level (PAL), also known as entitlement dollars to the USDA DoD Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. Over the past few years, there has been significant interest in providing fresh fruits and vegetables to students during school meals. The chart below depicts how participation in the USDA DoD Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program in Indiana has grown over the past four years. Participation in the program has gone from approximately 42 school sponsors in 2018 to approximately 138 schools sponsors for 2021. To learn more about the program click here.
USDA DoD Fresh Complaint Reminder: Report all USDA DoD Fresh issues, (product quality, product availability, nondomestic produce, and delivery issues) to DLA Representative, and vendor.
For recurring issues contact: USDADoDFresh@usda.gov.
· FFAVORS Help Desk: For questions about FFAVORS, the e-Authentication process, or login issues for existing sites and existing users in FFAVORS, please contact the FFAVORS Help Desk at FFAVORS@fns.usda.gov.
How to Handle Quality Issues for USDA DoD Fresh Program Products
Please follow these steps:
· Please do NOT discard it until the vendor, Creation Gardens, instructs you to do so.
· Please hold onto the product.
· Please report the issue to the DLA Representative, Vendor, and the State Distributing Agency.
· Provide a picture, if possible.
· The vendor may opt to pick up the items in some situations.
Got Feedback?
Bonus USDA Foods Survey
In December, we asked for your feedback on two bonus items offered by USDA. Here are the results of the Bonus USDA Foods survey. Thank you to everyone who participated. We appreciate your responses.
Question 1: Did your school accept and/or use the bonus IQF Sweet Cherries 110872 (pictured above) or Pulled Pork 110730 products offered by USDA this school year?
Response: 56 Yes, 3 No
Question 2: Which bonus items did you use?
Response: Cherries – 11 school corporations, Pulled Pork – 7: and 37 school corporations used both products.
Question 3: How satisfied were your students with the Sweet Cherries?
Response: 36 school corporations were satisfied, 6 unsatisfied, and 16 did not try them.
Question 4: How satisfied were your students with the Pulled Pork?
Response: 34 school corporations were satisfied, 0 were unsatisfied and 23 did not try them.
Question 5: If this product is offered on the annual pre-order survey, would you request them?
Response: Cherries only – 3, Pulled Pork only – 12, both items 34 and neither item - 8
Dishin’ Nutrition
In this section, we would like to showcase your unique ideas and recipes using USDA Foods. Please email Cheryl Moore at cmoore@doe.in.gov to submit your ideas.
Chic’ Penne
Makes: 50 Servings
Did You Know?
Always Remember
- Inspect, verify, and accept USDA Foods for every delivery
- Have school staff available to receive all deliveries.
- Check product dates and use the first-in first-out method of product rotation for USDA Foods.
- Plan, Plan, Plan
Upcoming Events
USDA FOODS Resources
Questions?
Contact Us
Cheryl Moore, FDP Specialist (Brown Box, Annual Pre-Order Survey, SFSP USDA Foods, USDA DoD Fresh Program)
Email: cmoore@doe.in.gov
Phone: 317-234-2516
Linda Smith, FDP Specialist (Raw/Bulk Products/Pounds)
Email: lrsmith@doe.in.gov
Phone: 317-232-0859