Skip to main content
California Department of Education Logo

CNAC Guidelines

Guidelines for the Child Nutrition Advisory Council (CNAC).

The Child Nutrition Advisory Council (CNAC) is committed to fulfilling its role as an advisory body to the California Department of Education (CDE) and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. It values its role in providing relevant feedback to those entities and their representatives for the improvement of the health and nutrition for California's children.

In order to provide thoughtful and informed advice and recommendations to those entities, the CNAC utilizes the following process for receiving information for consideration:

  • Information that is critical and relevant to the topic to be considered should be provided to the CNAC staff liaison in electronic format at least six weeks in advance of the meeting date. The CNAC staff liaison will ensure that this information is provided to the Chair for consideration for the agenda or other resolution.

  • Information should include the entity being represented (if any), a summary of key points, the specific areas of focus for the Council members to consider, and any proposed recommendations.

  • The CNAC Chair and the CNAC staff liaison will jointly determine whether the item should be placed on the agenda for action.

  • If the item is placed on the agenda, the representative of the entity requesting CNAC input should attend the CNAC meeting and be prepared to participate in any discussion and respond to questions raised by the CNAC members or the public.

  • The CNAC may provide recommendations or take other action it deems appropriate such as placing the item on a future agenda for further discussion and consideration.
Questions:   Nutrition Services Division | 800-952-5609
Last Reviewed: Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Recently Posted in Nutrition
  • Annual FDP Contract Packet Update Due July 31 (added 29-May-2026)
    The California Department of Education (CDE) reminds all participating agencies to submit their 2026–27 Food Distribution Program (FDP) contract in CNIPS by July 31, 2026.
  • Free Virtual Training Opportunities (added 29-May-2026)
    CalFresh Healthy Living Statewide Training is offering partners five new free training opportunities. Trainings include a combination of self-paced work and live online meetings, which include trauma-informed approaches, when possible.
  • Updated UBA Template Now Available (added 28-May-2026)
    The California Department of Education is pleased to announce that an updated version of the Universal Benefits Application for the SUN Bucks program is now available.
  • State and Federal Emergency Declarations (added 28-May-2026)
    State and Federal Emergency Declarations due to Orange County Chemical Incident.
  • April 28, 2026 Tuesday at 2 Town Hall Resources (added 21-May-2026)
    The California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division (NSD) hosted the monthly Tuesday @ 2 School Nutrition Town Hall webinar April 28, 2026.