State of Emergency Due to Fires

The California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division is sending this notice to all statewide participants in the Child Nutrition Programs in response to an emergency proclamation issued on July 23, 2022 by Governor Gavin Newsom regarding a fire burning in Mariposa County.

SACRAMENTO –Governor Gavin Newsom today proclaimed a state of emergency for Mariposa County due to the effects of the Oak Fire, which has destroyed homes, threatened critical infrastructure and forced the evacuation of more than three thousand residents. Driven by hot, dry weather and drought conditions, the Oak Fire has burned more than 11,500 acres since it began burning yesterday.

Guidelines on Disaster Relief

For information on Governor Newsom’s emergency proclamation, please refer to the web page for the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom.

For information on the CDE Disaster Relief Guidelines, please refer to the CDE Disaster Relief Guidelines web page.

For information on disaster assistance and resources in California, please refer to the CDE Disaster Resources web page.

For information on emergency resources from federal, state, and local agencies, please refer to the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) website.

Reimbursement Claims Submission Flexibility

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) can authorize the CDE to allow school food authorities, institutions, and sponsors to submit claims beyond the 60-day submission requirement. Claims submitted after 60 days, as a result of a disaster, are not subject to the one-time exception for late submissions. For more information on late claim submission due to disasters, refer to the USDA Policy Memoranda SP 46-2014, CACFP 12-2014, SFSP 18-2014 web document.

For assistance with submitting your claim, contact your Child Nutrition Fiscal Service Analyst on the CDE Nutrition Services web page.

Use of U.S. Department of Agriculture Foods during a State and Federally Declared Disaster

Disaster relief organizations may designate schools as community feeding sites or request that schools provide their USDA Foods to other feeding sites. USDA Foods can be released on request to recognized disaster relief organizations such as the American Red Cross or the Office of Emergency Services. Information regarding USDA Foods usage, reporting, and claiming procedures during a disaster can be found in Management Bulletin 02-401 on the CDE Use of USDA Foods in Disaster Feeding web page.

The Disaster Feeding Guidance for School Food Service using USDA Foods can be downloaded from the CDE Food Distribution Guidance, Manuals, and Resources web page.

Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact the following programs:

School Nutrition Programs (SNP) & Summer Meal Programs

• Mia Bertacchi, Child Nutrition Assistant, by phone at 916-445-1261 or by email at mbertacchi@cde.ca.gov.

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

• Annie Hohn, CACFP Specialist, by phone at 916-651-7066 or by email at Annie.Hohn@dss.ca.gov.

Food Distribution Program

• Augie Aguilar, Food Administration Unit Manager, by phone at 916-445-4850 or by email at aaguilar@cde.ca.gov.