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Course Description: The Hearing Officer training course responds to USDA's recommendation to train all administrative review (Hearing) officers on appeal processes for the CACFP. For agencies not able to provide direct training, this course will assist with training hearing officers through testimony or documents submitted for review. 
Course Description: CACFP Regulations require that all new and participating CACFP institutions meet and maintain compliance with the three Performance Standards; Financial Management and Viability, Administrative Capability, and Program Accountability. This course is designed to guide CACFP institutions to better understand the importance of the Performance Standards, the reason that they were developed, and the criteria used to determine compliance.
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Available courses
Sponsors that are New, Skipped a Year, or Sponsors with New Administrative Staff
must complete this Training as one of the mandatory PY 2025 training
requirements prior to the application approval in the CNPweb and retain
the training completion certificate on file.
DISCLAIMER:
This training does not cover any Non-congregate (NC) Meal Service
operations or requirements. Sponsors that are eligible and plan to
operate NC Meal Service (meal pick-up or home delivery model), must
complete additional training as specified by the state agency.
If you have any questions, please contact the IDOE Office of School and Community Nutrition.
Helping children get the nutrition they need for health and growth is what summer meals are all about. Creating appealing menus can help kids fuel up, have fun, and get the nutrition they need for growth and good health. This course will explore many ways sponsors can plan menus that kids will enjoy such as using local fruits and vegetables, adding variety and color, and making healthy meals fun!
Sponsors participating in the SFSP agree to maintain the storage, preparation, and service of food with proper sanitation and health standards in ordinance with all state and local health laws and regulations. Understanding the proper food safety practices is essential to a successful summer meals site to ensure that the food children consume is safe and to eliminate the risk of a foodborne illness. This course will promote important food safety practices including good personal hygiene, food temperature and storage, and proper cleaning and sanitizing of foods and surfaces. Help keep kids safe and food fresh during the summer months!
Offering meals for the SFSP is a great way to ensure that children have access to meals in the summer months. But how do sponsors make sure that people are aware of SFSP sites? How do sponsors attract children and parents to summer meal sites? There are many forms of promotion and marketing that can help sponsors gain exposure. This course will discuss different ways to reach children and families by exploring forms of marketing and creative programming to build awareness and increase participation in the SFSP.
The budget is the key to understanding the financial side of the SFSP. The SFSP budget helps sponsors establish goals, make decisions, and understand how program funds are generated and spent. Participants will explore the biggest expenses and sources of revenue in the SFSP and evaluate those against their budget to measure the effectiveness of their program operations. Stay on track and build a successful summer meals program!
SFSP sponsors who administer the SFSP have a strong commitment to the wellbeing of the children in their community. They want to serve meals to not only increase quality but to attract children to summer food sites. However, the purchasing of food, goods, and supplies can sometimes be a challenging process. This course will explore the options for buying meals in the SFSP, procurement methods, and the purchasing of local foods to maximize SFSP operations.
Sponsors must keep full and accurate records so that they can substantiate the number of program meals that they have submitted at each claim for reimbursement. And, that SFSP funds are used only for allowable SFSP costs. This course will discuss recordkeeping requirements for sponsors including meal counts, program costs, monitoring, and training. Participants will learn and appreciate the importance of complete, well organized, and accurate records in the SFSP.
Program institutions and facilities receiving federal financial assistance are required to comply with federal civil rights laws to ensure all Child Nutrition participants have equal access to all benefits and services. This course will review Civil Rights regulations, and provide all information necessary to ensure that your program is in compliance with these requirements.
A winning meal is the key to getting great attendance and keeping kids coming to your site all summer long. While SFSP has its special challenges, in this hour our course, participants will explore exciting menu options for cold meals and hot meals. Participants will learn the SFSP meal pattern and then discover how much creativity and flexibility it has to build the best meal pattern for their needs.
Course Description: All CACFP operators must procure all goods and services using the procurement regulations found in 7 CFR 226.22 and 2 CFR Part 200.318-326. This course will define procurement and will provide an overview of the types of procurement methods, strategies for local purchasing, and purchasing from a Food Service Management Company. Lastly, participants will understand the requirements regarding written procurement policies and procedures and codes of conduct.
Course Description: The Hearing Officer training course responds to USDA's recommendation to train all administrative review (Hearing) officers on appeal processes for the CACFP. For agencies not able to provide direct training, this course will assist with training hearing officers through testimony or documents submitted for review. Course Description: CACFP Regulations require that all new and participating CACFP institutions meet and maintain compliance with the three Performance Standards; Financial Management and Viability, Administrative Capability, and Program Accountability. This course is designed to guide CACFP institutions to better understand the importance of the Performance Standards, the reason that they were developed, and the criteria used to determine compliance.
Course Description: The CACFP New Sponsor Training is designed to provide initial training for those who are new to the CACFP or for participating sponsors with new staff. The training includes important topics such as Civil Rights, Meal Service Planning, Recordkeeping, Financial Management, Documentation, and Responsibilities, Maintaining a Nonprofit Food Service Program and Program Oversight.
Hours: 4
Course Description:The CACFP Annual Sponsor Training is a 4 hour comprehensive online course designed to provide annual required training for returning CACFP sponsors. The training includes important topics such as Civil Rights, Meal Service Planning, Recordkeeping, Financial Management,Documentation, and Responsibilities, Maintaining a Nonprofit Food Service Program and Program Oversight.
Are your meals lackluster? Want to increase flavor, decrease plate waste, and increase meal consumption without making a huge impact to your budget? Step into the world of flavor, spices and seasonings! Take a trip through the herb garden and around the seasoning world while learning how to incorporate herbs and spices into your CACFP menus.
How important is menu planning to a meal program? The menu plan influences every aspect of the meal program – including purchasing and preparing foods, ensuring that your meals are CACFP creditable, providing adequate nutritional value, accounting for dietary restrictions, and satisfying the tastebuds of the children in your care. In this one hour session, participants will learn about standardized recipes, cycle menus and
What an exciting opportunity to impact children’s nutrition and health by being able to incorporate meat and meat alternates into your breakfast menu. Throughout this interactive one-hour course, participants will explore meat/meat alterations, their health benefits, and learn best practices to incorporate them into their CACFP breakfast menus.
Want to serve CACFP Snacks, but you are limited on preparation space? Want to learn what snacks you can serve in a pinch when you are short on staff? In this one hour session, participants will learn how to provide variety in a CACFP menu, while still striving for optimal nutrition with a snack meal that requires little to no preparation.
Explore how to enhance your CACFP meals and decrease food waste by planning and preparing meals that appeal to all 5 senses. In this one hour session, participants will learn how to examine menus and prepare meals that not only taste great, but look, smell, feel and even sound great!
Wanting to learn how to optimize your CACFP Snack Menu, inventory, and labor? Through this one hour session, participants will learn how to use pre-planning methods to optimize their labor hours, kitchen space and equipment, and inventory to build a CACFP Snack Menu from semi-scratch cooking methods while being mindful of budget and nutrition.
With Fruit and Vegetables now separate components, there are endless possibilities in incorporating great nutrition into your CACFP menus. Discover the great nutrition fruits and vegetables provide, which are the best sources of Vitamin C and A, and how often you should plan to serve them in your menus. Learn new and exciting best practices for introducing new fruits and vegetables on your menus across all meal services, as well as innovative preparation techniques.
A CACFP Infant Meal Pattern Guide is a 1 hour online course designed to provide applicable meal service training for providers participating in the CACFP.
Nutrition Basics for Better CACFP Menu Planning is a 1 hour online course designed to provide applicable meal service training for providers participating in the CACFP.
A CACFP Meal Pattern Guide is a 1 hour online course designed to provide applicable meal service training for providers participating in the CACFP.
Having excess inventory on hand can be costly, but not having enough inventory on hand can result in not serving enough food, and ultimately non-compliance and findings. In this one-hour session, learn how to calculate adequate inventory needs, while also learning how often inventory needs to be completed and best practices for stock rotation.
All Aboard the Whole Grain Express is a 1 hour online course designed to provide applicable meal service training for providers participating in the CACFP.
Healthy Food Preparation Techniques and CACFP Menu Planning is a 1 hour online course designed to provide applicable meal service training for providers participating in the CACFP.
Embracing Culture and Expanding Your CACFP Menu (IDE-509) is a 1 hour online course designed to provide applicable meal service training for providers participating in the CACFP.
How can you make an impact to your budget and your menu in one change?
Plan your menus according to the seasons. In this one hour session,
participants will learn about growing seasons for different regions of
the US, how to plan menus with built in flexibility for seasonality, and
maintain CACFP meal pattern compliance.