Join us for the next California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division (NSD) Tuesday @ 2 Town Hall, scheduled for Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at 2 p.m. During the Town Hall we will share an overview of federal and state policies, funding and training opportunities, and best practices for operating Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs).
Draft webinar slides will be available by 10 a.m. on the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS) web page on the date of the Town Hall.
Important Operational Dates: Next 30 to 90 days
- Prior to the start of Seamless Summer Option (SSO) operations: submit and receive CDE approval of your summer 2025 SSO applications.
- May 15, 2025, or 30 days prior to the start of Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) operations, whichever comes first: submit your summer 2025 SFSP applications.
- First week SFSP operations: complete site visit(s) for new SFSP summer meal sites.
- June 30, 2025: deadline for new Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and Provision 2 applications.
- Prior to the end of the School Year (SY): advertise the availability of summer meals to your community, even if you are not offering summer meals at your site(s).
- End of SY 2024–25: Annually obtain two food safety inspection reports for each site from the state or local environmental health department.
Town Hall Webinar PowerPoint
Use the following steps to access slides on the CNIPS web page after 10 a.m. on the morning of the Town Hall:
- For School Food Authorities (SFA): Select the Applications tab and Download Forms.
- For SFSP operators: In the SFSP Module, select the Applications tab and Download Forms.
The Town Hall slides in CNIPS are marked “Draft” and are subject to change. If updates are needed, the CDE will upload the revised slides in the same location following the Town Hall.
After the Town Hall, the CDE posts the final Town Hall PowerPoint slides on the CDE Food Service Staff Education and Training web page under the Town Halls tab.
Background
The Tuesday @ 2 Virtual Town Hall events typically occur on the fourth Tuesday of each month, unless otherwise noted. The Town Halls provide an opportunity for schools to learn about policy guidance, program requirements, and best practices for operating CNPs. The desired audience includes CNP Operators and Food Service Directors.
Participation Information
Tuesday @ 2 School Nutrition Town Hall
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Registration and Cost
This town hall is free to attend. Register in advance for this webinar
.
After registering, you will see a screen that says Webinar Registration Approved with a link to the webinar. You will also receive several emails with information about joining the webinar: First, you will receive confirmation the day you register and then you will receive two reminder emails one day and one hour prior to the webinar. If you cannot find the email confirmation, or do not receive the reminders, you can always reregister.
Tip for Attendees
To save time before the meeting, check your system to make sure it is ready to use Zoom.
- Visit the Zoom test link
.
- If you experience issues, visit the
Zoom Help Center web page
for assistance.
If you receive an error message that the host has declined your webinar registration, try using an alternate email address. While not ideal, you may also join by phone if you have technical issues logging in from your computer.
Professional Standards Crediting Information
- Key Area: Administration (3000)
- Training Topic: Program Management (3200)
- Learning Objective: Manage Staff Work Including Scheduling (3210)
- Instructional Hours: 1.5 hours
Reasonable Accommodation
Pursuant to state and federal statutes, individuals with a disability may request reasonable accommodation to attend or participate in the Tuesday @ 2 School Nutrition Town Hall. Send direct requests for reasonable accommodations to the CDE by email at NSDTownHalls@cde.ca.gov no later than seven days prior to the event. Live captioning will be available during the webinar.
Town Hall Informational Links and Resources Provided on April 22, 2025
The following resources were shared in the chat during the recent town hall:
- A current list of School Nutrition Program (SNP) Specialists is available on the CDE School Nutrition Programs Specialist Directory - School Nutrition web page or SNP staff can be reached via email at SNPInfo@cde.ca.gov.
- Find your assigned Child Nutrition Assistant or Consultant information by visiting the CNIPS web page in the Applications Download Forms section and using the Form ID Caseload.
- Learn about Eat Real and the Eat Real Certification on the Eat Real
website.
- For additional information about the Buy American accommodation process, please see the USDA Policy Memorandum SP 09-2025 Buy American Accommodation Process for School Year 2025–26
.
- Access the CDE Buy American Accommodation Request form directly through the CDE web link.
- If you have any Buy American questions, please email the NSD Buy American Provision team at NSDBuyAmericanProvision@cde.ca.gov.
- View the new Nondiscrimination Statement (NDS) on the CDE USDA NDS web page.
- For any questions send your emails to RestrictUPFs@cde.ca.gov.
- Find SUN Bucks resources on the following web pages:
- CDE SUN Bucks Webinar
- CDE SUN Bucks web page
- California Department of Social Services SUN Bucks
web page
- CDE Universal Benefits Application on the CDE Universal Benefits Application Now Available web page
- CDE California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System or CALPADS Flash
- CDE SUN Bucks Inbox (local education agency inquiries only): SummerEBT@cde.ca.gov
- SUN Bucks Helpline (household inquiries): (877) 328-9677
- More information about the SFSP Annual Updates and the Mandatory Training can be found on the CDE Summer Food Service Program Annual Updates web page.
- For assistance with completing your SFSP application packet, find the CNIPS Application Packet in the SFSP CNIPS Download Forms section, and see Form ID SFSP Job Aid 2 in CNIPS.
- For support with your SFSP application or to get connected to your assigned SFSP analyst, please contact the SFSP team by email at SFSP@cde.ca.gov.
- Questions related to your SSO site application, contact us at SSFO@cde.ca.gov.
- Access the USDA Rural Designation map and see if your rural location is eligible for the Summer Meals Programs available on the USDA Rural Designation
web page.
- View the Rural Non-Congregate Program Integrity Plan in the CNIPS Download Forms Section, SNP module, see Form ID: SSO 2, and in the SFSP Module, see Form ID: SFSP 36 in CNIPS.
- View the CDE Non-congregate Meal Service Options in Rural Areas in Summer Meal Programs Management Bulletin SNP-05-2024; SFSP 06-2024.
- Check out the CDE Non-Congregate Meal Service Option in Rural Areas web page.
- Check out the CDE 2025 Summer Meals Service Site web page.
- Download the California Meals for Kids Mobile App on all iOS, Android or Microsoft devices in the app store or on the CDE California Meals for Kids Mobile App web page.
- The USDA Summer Meals Site Finder
web page will launch on May 9, 2025.
- Send your celebration photos to NSDTownHalls@cde.ca.gov to share during a future Town Hall.
- Visit CDE’s Farm to Summer Celebration Week web page.
- Email your Farm to Summer Celebration Week questions to Farm2School@cde.ca.gov.
- Find the Learning Management System self-registration instructions on CNIPS in the Applications> Download Forms section> Forms LMS Reg 001 and LMS Reg 002.
- For learning site questions or support, contact the CDE’s learning team at NSDLearning@cde.ca.gov.
Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding this subject, email NSDTownHalls@cde.ca.gov.