Summer Food Service Program Annual Updates

The California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division (NSD) is pleased to announce that the SFSP 2025 Program Year is now open. Application packets must be complete and submitted for approval by Thursday, May 15, 2025.

• Please submit your complete application through the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS) no later than 30 calendar days prior to the start of SFSP meal service, or by May 15, whichever comes first, to ensure that the CDE can review, provide technical assistance, and approve your applications prior to your service start date.
  
  
• For further information on application deadlines, please see the SFSP 03-2019 Application Deadlines Management Bulletin.

A timely submission will ensure your site information is available on the CDE Summer Meal Sites web page and the CDE California Meals for Kids Mobile Application for families to identify your summer meal sites before school closes!

Application Updates

To update your application, please visit the CNIPS website and have your user ID and password ready.

Instructions on how to complete your application are available in the CNIPS - SFSP Application tab - Download Forms section - Form ID SFSP Job Aid 2 Application Packet.

Operators should note that the CNIPS Application Packet has recently been updated and to review each section carefully before completing. Also, some application packet components auto-populate certain information that is entered in other application sections. Therefore, the NSD recommends that operators complete sections and steps in full, in the following order.

1. Complete the Sponsor Application
   
   
2. Complete the Management Plan – recently updated
   
   
3. Complete the Food Production Facility
   
   
4. Complete ALL site applications in full – recently updated
   
   
5. Complete the Budget Details
   
   
6. Complete the Checklist Summary – recently updated
   
   
7. Submit the Application Packet by selecting the Red Submit for Approval button on the sponsor application main screen

If the Red Submit for Approval button is not visible, revisit each section to ensure completeness and that there are no warnings displayed.

SFSP Annual Mandatory Training

Title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, sections 225.7(a) and 225.15(d)(1), requires all participating operators to annually attend state agency training and to train all administrative staff and site staff before they undertake their responsibilities. This training requirement must be met by all current, new, or returning SFSP operators. The CDE cannot issue approval of SFSP Sponsor Applications until this training requirement is met. 

The CDE SFSP Mandatory Training has been recently updated for Program Year 2025 and is available now on the NSD Learning Site.

Instructions on how to register on the NSD Learning Site and access the 2025 SFSP Mandatory Training are available in the CNIPS - SFSP Application tab - Download Forms section - Form ID LMS 01.

In addition to the mandatory training, operators are required to review and follow all program regulations and policies pertaining to their program operations, which are located in the SFSP Administration Guide and on the following web pages:

• CDE SFSP web page 
• CDE Summer Food Management Bulletin
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Policy Memorandum

Program operators eligible for rural non-congregate meal service are encouraged to review the following guidance at the Non-congregate Meal Service Options in Rural Areas web page, before completing their application packet.

Contact Information

If you have questions regarding any of these subjects, please reach out to the Summer Nutrition Programs and Grants Unit by email at SFSP@cde.ca.gov.