Join us for the next California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division (NSD) Tuesday @ 2 Town Hall, scheduled for Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at 2 p.m. During the Town Hall we will share an overview of federal and state policies, funding and training opportunities, and best practices for operating Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs).
This month’s Town Hall will feature Nick Dramis, Supervisor of Culinary Operations at Marysville Joint Unified School District, who will share his insights into providing rural non-congregate meal services during the summer. This will include an overview of their rural non-congregate service model, how and where meals were served, and best practices to ensure program integrity.
Draft webinar slides will be available by 10 a.m. on the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS) web page on the date of the Town Hall.
Important Operational Dates: Next 30 to 90 days April 22, 2025
- May 1, 2025: Expend all Department of Defense (DoD) entitlement in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Order Receipt System (FFAVORS).
- Prior to the start of Seamless Summer Option (SSO) operations: Submit and receive CDE approval of your summer 2025 SSO applications.
- May 15, 2025, or 30 days prior to the start of Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) operations, whichever comes first: Submit your summer 2025 SFSP applications.
- June 30, 2025: Deadline for new Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) applications.
Town Hall Webinar PowerPoint
Use the following steps to access slides on the CNIPS web page after 10 a.m. on the morning of the Town Hall:
- For School Food Authorities (SFA): Select Applications and Download Forms.
- For SFSP operators: In the SFSP Module, select Applications and Download Forms.
The Town Hall slides in CNIPS are marked “Draft” and are subject to change. If updates are needed, the CDE will upload the revised slides in the same location following the Town Hall.
After the Town Hall, the CDE posts the final Town Hall PowerPoint slides on the CDE Food Service Staff Education and Training web page under the Town Halls tab.
Background
The Tuesday @ 2 Virtual Town Hall events typically occur on the fourth Tuesday of each month, unless otherwise noted. The Town Halls provide an opportunity for schools to learn about policy guidance, program requirements, and best practices for operating CNPs. The desired audience includes CNP Operators and Food Service Directors.
Participation Information
Tuesday @ 2 School Nutrition Town Hall
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Registration and Cost
This town hall is free to attend. Register in advance for this webinar
.
After registering, you will see a screen that says Webinar Registration Approved with a link to the webinar. You will also receive several emails with information about joining the webinar: First, you will receive confirmation the day you register and then you will receive two reminder emails one day and one hour prior to the webinar. If you cannot find the email confirmation, or do not receive the reminders, you can always reregister.
Tip for Attendees
To save time before the meeting, check your system to make sure it is ready to use Zoom.
- Visit the Zoom test link
.
- If you experience issues, visit
Zoom Help Center web page
for assistance.
If you receive an error message that the host has declined your webinar registration, try using an alternate email address. While not ideal, you may also join by phone if you have technical issues logging in from your computer.
Professional Standards Crediting Information
- Key Area: Administration (3000)
- Training Topic: Program Management (3200)
- Learning Objective: Manage Staff Work Including Scheduling (3210)
- Instructional Hours: 1.5 hours
Reasonable Accommodation
Pursuant to state and federal statutes, individuals with a disability may request reasonable accommodation to attend or participate in the Tuesday @ 2 School Nutrition Town Hall. Send direct requests for reasonable accommodations to the CDE by email at NSDTownHalls@cde.ca.gov no later than seven days prior to the event. Live captioning will be available during the webinar.
Town Hall Informational Links and Resources Provided on March 25, 2025
The following resources were shared in the chat during the recent town hall:
- A current list of School Nutrition Program (SNP) Specialists is available on the CDE School Nutrition Programs Specialist Directory - School Nutrition web page or SNP staff can be reached via email at SNPInfo@cde.ca.gov.
- Find your assigned Child Nutrition Assistant or Consultant information by visiting the CNIPS web page in the Applications Download Forms section and using the Form ID Caseload.
- For more information on CDE’s Ramadan waiver visit the CDE Waiver for Non-congregate Meals During Ramadan web page.
- For more information about the Powered by School Food Professionals Awards Winners programs visit the Powered by School Food Professionals Awards
web page.
- View March’s featured standardized recipes on CDE’S Taste of CA Standardized Recipe Challenge Grant web page under the Recipes tab.
- The 2025–26 Income Eligibility Guidelines can be found on the CDE's Rates, Eligibility Scales, & Funding web page.
- Any questions regarding the Termination of Local Food for Schools and Child Care Cooperative Agreement, please email our Local Food for Schools Team at LFSGrant@cde.ca.gov.
- Find SUN Bucks resources on the following web pages:
- CDE SUN Bucks web page
- California Department of Social Services (CDSS) SUN Bucks web page
- CDE Universal Benefits Application on the CDE Universal Benefits Application Now Available web page
- Send your SUN Bucks questions to the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) team at SummerEBT@cde.ca.gov.
- Access the School’s Out & Summer Meals are Available (PDF) flyer on the CDE website.
- Find School Lunch Hero Day resources
on the School Nutrition Association website.
- Send your celebration photos to NSDTownHalls@cde.ca.gov to share during a future Town Hall.
- Take the CDE’s electronic Farm to School Needs Assessment.
- Find CDE Child Nutrition Advisory Council (CNAC) Recruitment Opportunities available on the CNAC web page.
- For any questions about CNAC recruitment, reach out the CNAC team at CNAC@cde.ca.gov.
- Email your U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foods and/or the Food Distribution Program (FDP) feedback to the FDP team at FoodDistribution@cde.ca.gov.
- Complete the voluntary USDA Product Information Sheets & USDA Foods Database Survey Foods in Schools Survey
electronically by April 18, 2025.
- For any survey questions, reach out to the USDA Foods team at USDAFoods@usda.gov.
- Take the California Local School Wellness Policy Collaborative 2025 Survey
electronically by April 8, 2025.
- Find the Learning Management System self-registration instructions in CNIPS: In the Application> Download Forms section> Forms LMS Reg 001 and LMS Reg 002.
- For learning site questions or support, contact the team at NSDLearning@cde.ca.gov.
- Registration and information for the April 23, 2025, CDE Updates to School Nutrition Standards training is available on the CDE Nutrition What’s New web page under the training tab, Webinar: Updates to School Nutrition Standards listserv.
- Subscribe to the Institute of Child Nutrition’s (ICN) news and updates to receive information on training resources on the ICN website
.
Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding this subject, email NSDTownHalls@cde.ca.gov.