FDP: USDA Foods Purchasing and Ordering Cycle

The Food Distribution Program (FDP) U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foods Purchasing and Ordering Cycle online training.

Course Description

This training provides an overview of the purchasing and ordering cycles for USDA Foods and describes the USDA procurement process, why California has specific ordering timelines, and how recipient agencies can plan their USDA Foods purchases for an upcoming school year.

Course Number: 867
Training Length: 29 minutes
Certificate: Not available
Target Audience: Food Service Director and Staff
Mandatory: No
Cost: Free
Date Recorded: December 2016

Online Course

Referenced Resources

The following resources are referred to throughout this online course:

California Department of Education (CDE) Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS) web page
CDE NSD-FDP-02-2013: Changing Receipt of USDA Foods management bulletin
CDE NSD FDP State Cooperative and Allocation Agency Ordering and Delivery Timelines web page
CDE USDA Foods Processing Program Information web page
USDA Food Distribution Processor Material Prices web page
USDA Food Distribution Foods Expected to be Available web page
USDA Food Distribution Value of Donated Food Notices web page

Crediting

Crediting: 0.25 hour
Key Area: Nutrition (1000)
- Training Topic: Menu Planning (1100)
  - Learning Objective: Plan for effective use of USDA Foods (1170)

For more information on crediting, see the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) web document Professional Standards for School Nutrition Professionals

Additional Information

For more information on USDA Foods, access the CDE Food Distribution web page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact the Food Distribution Program by email at FoodDistribution@cde.ca.gov.

Questions: Food Distribution Program | FoodDistribution@cde.ca.gov | 916-324-7132

Last Reviewed: Monday, August 17, 2026

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