Perishable Foods in Child Nutrition Programs

This management bulletin is intended to remind all Child Nutrition Program Operators that federal regulations require all foods and beverages purchased for any of the Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) to be competitively procured, except under the limited exemptions listed in Title 2, Code of Federal Regulations (2 CFR), Section 200.320(f). After review of California Education Code (EC) Section 38083, the California Department of Education has determined that the California statute is inconsistent with federal procurement regulations and therefore all CNP program operators approved to operate any of the CNPs must comply with 2 CFR, Part 200, Subpart D.

As noted previously, the federal allowance for noncompetitively procuring goods and services is described in 2 CFR, Section 200.320(f):

Procurement by noncompetitive proposals is procurement through solicitation of a proposal from only one source and may be used only when one or more of the following circumstances apply:

1. The item is only available from a single source;
   
   
2. The public exigency or emergency for the requirement will not permit a delay resulting from competitive solicitation;
   
   
3. The federal awarding agency or pass-through entity expressly authorizes noncompetitive proposals in response to a written request from the nonfederal entity, or;
   
   
4. After solicitation of a number of sources, competition is determined inadequate.

Any perishable foods or seasonable commodities noncompetitively procured under the authority of EC Section 38083 will result in disallowance of the purchase(s) and the local educational agency will be required to repay the nonprofit school food service account from an allowable nonfederal funding source.

Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact the appropriate Nutrition Services Division staff member for your agency as indicated below.

• Procurement Resources Unit
  
  If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact the Procurement Resources Unit by email at SFSContracts@cde.ca.gov [Note: The preceding email address is no longer valid and has been replaced by NSDProcurementReview@cde.ca.gov.]
  
  
• School Nutrition Programs
  
  You can find contact information for the School Nutrition Programs (SNP) Specialists in the Download Forms section of the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS).
  
  
• Summer Meals Unit
  
  Please contact the Summer Meals Unit at SFSP@cde.ca.gov.