SFSP Mandatory Training is Now Available

The California Department of Education Nutrition Services Division (NSD) Community Nutrition Programs Unit (CNPU) is pleased to announce that the 2021 Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) annual online Mandatory Training is now available.

Title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, sections 225.7(a) and 225.15(d)(1), requires all participating sponsors to annually attend state agency training and to train all administrative staff and site staff before they undertake their responsibilities. This training requirement must be met by all current, new, or returning SFSP sponsors by the SFSP Application deadline of May 15th or 30 days prior to the first day of service (in the case of new or inactive sponsors), whichever comes first.

The 2021 Mandatory Training is a two-part training consisting of 11 independent courses and a separate Mandatory Training Assessment.

SFSP Mandatory Training Courses Part 1

Sponsors will be required to designate a supervisory personnel staff member or authorized representative responsible for the food service to complete the 11 individual online trainings which cover SFSP regulations, how to run a successful summer program, and best practices for operating meal sites. This training is based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service 2016 SFSP Administration Guide. Please note that the Administration Guide has not been updated to include current information on program thresholds and policy rescissions. To review current policy and regulations, please visit the CDE Summer Food Management Bulletin web page.

In addition to the 11 training courses, sponsors are required to review and follow - all existing and new regulations and policies pertaining to their program operations, which are located on the following web pages:

The required course work for the SFSP Mandatory Training is available on the SFSP Information web page under the training tab. The course list is as follows:

Course 6 SFSP Program Eligibility
Course 7 SFSP Sponsor and Site Identification
Course 8 SFSP Sponsor Application
Course 9 SFSP Meal Requirements
Course 10 SFSP Vending Options
Course 11 SFSP Procurement and Bid Procedures
Course 12 SFSP Staff Duties and Training
Course 13 SFSP Program Integrity
Course 14 SFSP Program Costs and Reimbursement
Course 15 SFSP Recordkeeping
Course 16 SFSP Food Safety

Certificates of completion will be available to print after successfully completing each course. Sponsors are also welcome to record their certificates of completion through screen captures. Please note that you must select Submit after printing or capturing your certificate of completion. If you do not submit the survey, we may receive incomplete data with which to verify completion of courses. Sponsors will be required to upload their designated supervisory personnel staff member or authorized representative’s certificates of completion for each of these trainings into their Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS) Application Packet. Please submit certificates under the Meal Pattern checklist item for consistency. After successfully viewing and submitting all required certificates of completion, CNPU analysts will verify course completions and provide sponsors access to the second training component: the SFSP Mandatory Training Assessment. Sponsors are encouraged to notify their assigned CNPU analyst of course completion only after all 11 courses have been completed.

To review how to submit checklist items, please review the job aid instructions included in the CNIPS. These can be found on the Download Forms page, Form ID SFSP Job Aid 2 Application Packet. Checklist item instructions begin on page 45, Checklist Summary. Please submit your certificates under the Meal Pattern checklist item for consistency.

Mandatory Training Assessment Part 2

The SFSP Mandatory Training Assessment consists of 30 scored questions based on the content covered in the 11 courses. All questions must be answered. A score of 80 percent or more must be achieved to move on to the final certificate of completion. Sponsors that do not meet this minimum score will be notified to return to their course material and to take the assessment again until a passing score is achieved.

For your convenience, A 2021 Mandatory Training—Step by Step “How To” guide on completing the training is available on the SFSP CNIPS Download Forms section as Form ID SFSP Job Aid 8.