Join us for the next California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division (NSD) Tuesday at 2 Town Hall, scheduled for Tuesday, September 23, 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 Program (CNPs).
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.
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 Summer Food Service Program (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 at 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 Services Directors.
Participation Information
Date and Time
Tuesday at 2 School Nutrition Town Hall
Tuesday, September 23, 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 on the day you register and then you will receive two reminders 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 the
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 it is 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 at 2 School Nutrition Town Hall. Send direct requests for reasonable accommodation 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 Guest Speaker Message
The Conscious Kitchen Team provided helpful tips and insights into organic purchasing in School Nutrition Programs (SNP) during the August Town Hall and has requested to share the following message:
Dear Friends,
Thank you for joining the Back-to-School Nutrition Town Hall and for your commitment to nourishing students with fresh and nutritious school meals. Let’s keep the momentum going — start with one organic item this year, share a favorite recipe to shift to organic, and join us at a regional gathering to connect with peers. Contact us at info@consciouskitchen.org if you’d like to connect further and continue building this movement together.
– The Conscious Kitchen Team
Town Hall Information Links and Resources Provided on August 26, 2025
The following resources were shared in the chat during the recent town hall:
- A current list of SNP Specialists is available on the CDE School Nutrition Program 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 Application Download Forms section and using the Form ID Caseload.
- For more information on how you can schedule Institute of Child Nutrition trainings in your district check out their Face-To-Face Training - Institute of Child Nutrition web page
.
- Find these recipes under the Appendix section of the Menus of Flavor: Mediterranean Training Manual
available on the Institute of Child Nutrition Training web page
.
- For a complete list of the Turnip the Beet award winners and the award program overview, visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Summer Food Service Program Turnip the Beet web page
.
- Review the Guidance on Fees for Electronic Payment Services in the School Meals Programs
on the USDA Food and Nutrition Service website.
- Check out the CDE Cafeteria Fund Guidance web page under the Frequently Asked Questions tab, Allowable Uses section for questions regarding fees for electronic payment services.
- A document detailing the SNP reimbursement rates for July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, is available in the Download Forms section of the CNIPS, Form ID: SNP Reimbursement Rates.
- 2025–26 CNP reimbursement rates can also be found on the CDE 2025–26 Child Nutrition Program Reimbursement Rates web page.
- The Management Bulletin (MB) SNP-09-2025; SFSP-01-2025: Updates to School Nutrition Program Standards is now available on the CDE School Nutrition Programs MBs web page and the Summer Food MBs web page.
- Find the three new Competitive Food Management Bulletins on CDE’s School Nutrition Programs Management Bulletins web page.
- Find the Competitive Food and Beverage Quick Reference Cards under the Resources tab on the CDE Competitive Foods and Beverages web page.
- For questions about competitive foods, contact the Competitive Foods team at CompetitiveFoods@cde.ca.gov.
- Find SUN Bucks Verification Guidance on the CDE SUN Bucks (Summer EBT) web page under the Verification tab.
- Find the following 2025 SUN Bucks verification guidance resources available on the CDE SUN Bucks (Summer EBT) web page under the Resources tab:
- California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System or CALPADS Flash #297 - Revised
- A Guide to Conducting Rolling Verification for 2025 SUN Bucks (PDF)
- California SUN Bucks 2025 Verification Fact Sheet (PDF)
- Notification of Household Selection for Verification (DOCX)
- Acceptable Verification Documentation (DOCX)
- Notification of Verification Results (DOCX)
- Access the CDE Supplemental SUN Bucks Data Collection (SSBC) Education Data Collection System Instructions on the CDE SSBC Data Collection Instructions web page.
- If you have questions about what should be included or excluded in your net cash resource calculation, please reach out to SNPBA@cde.ca.gov.
- If you need help or have question about Buy American or the Buy American accommodation, please reach out to NSDBuyAmericanProvision@cde.ca.gov.
- Access the CDE Buy American Accommodation Request form directly through the CDE web link.
- Find instructions for accessing and completing the Food Safety Inspection Survey available on the CDE Food Safety Inspection for School Year 2024–25 web page.
- Find the list of SFAs scheduled for an SNP Administrative Review (AR) in school year (SY) 2025–26 on the Review Schedule tab of the CDE SNP AR web page.
- Pre-register for California Crunch Day, on the Community Alliance with Family Farmers California Crunch web page
.
- Find the National School Lunch Week graphics and resources on the School Nutrition Association National School Lunch Week website
.
- For more information on the California Green Ribbon Schools Award Program (CA-GRS) or to request an electronic application visit the CDE Green Ribbon Schools Award Program web page.
- If you have any CA-GRS questions, feel free to reach out to George Garcia at GREENRIBBONSCHOOLS@cde.ca.gov.
- Find more information about the Celebrating California School Meals Photo Contest photo contest on the CDE Celebrating California School Meals Photo Contest web page.
- Find links to the photo contest forms on the CDE Celebrating California School Meals Photo Contest web page, or email questions to the Farm to School team at farm2school@cde.ca.gov.
- Learn more about the Chef Ann Foundation and the Healthy School Food Pathway Fellowship on the Chef Ann Foundation Fellowship web page
.
- Register for the 10th Annual Farm to Cafeteria Conference on the National Farm to School National Farm to Cafeteria Conference web page
.
- For more information on ticketing and scholarship information visit the 10th Annual Farm to Cafeteria Conference Ticketing and Scholarship web page
.
- Find the Learning Management System self-registration instructions on the CNIPS website in the Application > Download Forms section > Forms LMS Reg 001 and LMS Reg 002.
- For learning site questions or support, contact the CDE’s learning team at NSDLearning@cde.ca.gov.
Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding this subject, email NSDTownHalls@cde.ca.gov.