Skip to main content
California Department of Education Logo

Formal Purchase Methods for CACFP and SFSP

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) Formal Purchase Methods for Community Nutrition Programs online training.

Course Description

This online training is for CACFP and SFSP operators and reviews the requirements for the formal purchase methods, discusses the differences between an Invitation for Bid and a Request For Proposal (RFP) and identifies the components to include in a formal solicitation, including the scoring criteria for an RFP.

  • Course Number: 633
  • Training Length: 40 minutes
  • Certificate: None
  • Target Audience: CACFP and SFSP program operators
  • Mandatory: No
  • Cost: Free
  • Date Recorded: February 2017

Online Course



Referenced Resources

The following resources are referred to throughout this online course:

Crediting

  • Crediting: 0.50 hours

  • Key Area: Operations (2000)
    • Training Topic: Purchasing (2430)
      • Learning Objective: Purchasing (2430)

For more information on crediting, access the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Professional Standards Learning Objectives & Training Topics External link opens in new window or tab. web page.

Additional Information

Contact Us

If you have technical difficulties or questions regarding the course content, contact the Summer Nutrition Programs and Grants Unit by email at SFSP@cde.ca.gov.

Questions:   Summer Nutrition Programs and Grants Unit | SFSP@cde.ca.gov
Last Reviewed: Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Related Content
Recently Posted in Nutrition
  • Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) Sponsor - 2026 (added 15-Jan-2026)
    Summer Food Service Program Sponsors Survey for summer 2026.
  • Salad Bars in the School Nutrition Programs (added 15-Jan-2026)
    Management Bulletin SNP-02-2026 clarifies that program operators will incur fiscal action for meal pattern violations when there are missing meal components or missing production records.
  • Waiver for Non-congregate Meals During Ramadan (added 14-Jan-2026)
    The Waiver for Non-congregate Meals During Ramadan allows approved school food authorities to offer non-congregate meals to students fasting during Ramadan.
  • Salad Bars in the School Nutrition Programs (added 14-Jan-2026)
    This management bulletin clarifies that program operators will incur fiscal action for meal pattern violations when there are missing meal components or missing production records.
  • Availability of the 2026-27 Breakfast Grant (added 08-Jan-2026)
    The School Breakfast Program (SBP) and Summer Meal Programs (SMP) Start-up and Expansion Grants, administered by the California Department of Education, provide schools with funding to start-up or expand their SBP and SMP.