The California Department of Education (CDE) reminds all agencies participating in the Food Distribution Program (FDP) to submit their 2026–27 FDP Contract Packet in the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS) by July 31, 2026.
Agencies that miss this deadline may be placed on hold and become ineligible to receive U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foods, so we encourage you to complete and submit your FDP Contract Packet before the due date.
Submission Requirements
All agencies, regardless of participation avenue, must complete and submit the FDP Contract Packet in the Food Distribution module of CNIPS for CDE review and approval. The packet includes:
- FDP Contract
- Agency Information Update/Certification
- Program, Ordering, and Billing Contacts
How to Access and Submit
- Log on to the CNIPS website
- Choose the Food Distribution Program box on the Programs menu
- Select Agencies from the blue tool bar located at the top of the screen
- Select Contract from the menu
- Select Contract Packet from the menu
- Select 2026–2027 from the Program Year dropdown menu
- Select SNP from the Program dropdown menu
- Select Continue
Status Guide
- Not Submitted = Action required
- Red arrows = Fields to update
- Green checkmarks = Ready to submit
Once all sections are complete, click the Submit for Approval button to finalize. Contracts are not considered submitted until this button is selected.
CNIPS Maintenance Reminder
As part of your Permanent Single Agreement with the CDE, participating agencies are required to establish procedures to ensure the accuracy of the information entered in the CNIPS and to maintain up-to-date contact information in all CNIPS modules throughout the school year.
For more information on the policy regarding this process, review the Annual Update of the FDP Contract in the CNIPS Management Bulletin NSD-FDP-07-2011.
To assist you in completing the FDP Contract Packet, please view the instructional video, How to Complete the FDP Contract in the CNIPS and Useful Features of the CNIPS FDP Module
(Video; 28:11).
For further assistance, contact the Food Distribution Program by email at FoodDistribution@cde.ca.gov.