National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program

Apply to Operate the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program

If your entity would like to become a School Food Authority of the National School Lunch Program, please contact Peg Turner by calling (602) 542-8735 or email [email protected]. The first step towards providing healthy meals to your students begins with the Prospective Sponsoring Entity Form.

• Prospective Sponsoring Entity Form

Apply to Operate the USDA Foods and DoD Fresh Produce Program

The USDA Foods and the Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Produce Programs provide nutritious foods for schools to use in their school nutrition programs. If you would like to join these programs, please contact Nan Flores at [email protected] or (602) 542-8729.

Meal Pattern

• National School Lunch Program (3-day, 4-day, 5-day, 6-day, 7-day)
• School Breakfast Program (3-day, 4-day, 5-day, 6-day, 7-day)

Reviews Conducted by the State Agency

Administrative Reviews (ARs)

ADE must conduct Administrative Reviews (ARs) of all School Food Authorities (SFAs) of the NSLP and/or SBP at least once during each three-year review cycle. The AR consists of an off-site portion where the reviewer will requests documents for the SFA to submit, and an on-site portion where the reviewer will observe meal service at a select number of sites within the SFA. The reviewer will notify the SFA of the deadline for the off-site portion, the date of the on-site portion, and the sites that will be reviewed. Each year, ADE will announce the list of SFAs scheduled to receive an AR in the upcoming school year. 

• Administrative Review Schedule: School Year 2020-2021

Procurement Reviews 

SFAs will also receive a procurement review within the same program year of their scheduled AR. The procurement review assesses compliance surrounding the SFA's procurement of goods and services.

• Procurement Review Schedule by Group

Guidance Manuals

School Nutrition Program Manual

• Introduction to the School Nutrition Programs
• Application to the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program
• Residential Child Care Institutions (RCCI)
• Student Eligibility
• Verification
• Second Review of Applications
• Meal Pattern
• Smart Snacks in Schools (Competitive Foods)
• Accommodating Special Dietary Needs
• Meal Counting and Claiming
• Professional Standards for School Nutrition Personnel
• Civil Rights
• Food Safety
• Local Wellness Policy
• Resource Management
• Potable Water
• Outreach for School Breakfast
• Special Assistance Provisions
• Administrative Review
• Procurement
• Farm to School
• USDA Foods and Department of Defense Fresh Produce

ADE Toolkits

• Breakfast in the Classroom Toolkit
• Grab ‘N’ Go Breakfast Toolkit
• Second Chance Breakfast Toolkit
• Fruit and Vegetable Nutrition Education Toolkit

USDA Manuals and Handbooks

• The Eligibility Manual for School Meals, Revised July 2017 (changes highlighted)
• The 2017 Edition: Overcoming the Unpaid Meal Challenge: Proven Strategies from Our Nation’s Schools
• USDA’s Food Buying Guide
• USDA’s Offer Versus Serve Manual, Effective beginning School Year 2015-2016
• USDA's Special Assistance: Provision 2/3 Guidance
• USDA's Community Eligibility Provisions: Planning and Implementation Guidance
• USDA’s Guide to Professional Standards for School Nutrition Programs
• Food-Safe Schools Action Guide - Creating a Culture of Food Safety
• Guidance for School Food Authorities: Developing a School Food Safety Program Based on the Process Approach to HACCP Principles
• Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Handbook for Schools
• USDA Procuring Local Foods for Child Nutrition Programs

Financial Guidance

• Indirect Costs: Guidance for State Agencies & School Food Authorities
• The Uniform System of Financial Records for Arizona School Districts
• The Uniform System of Financial Records for Arizona Charter Schools
• The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars
• State Match for Districts
• State Match for Charters
• Institute of Child Nutrition Financial Management Information System - 2nd Edition
• Procuring Local Foods for Child Nutrition Programs

Required State Reporting

• Administrative Reviews Summary
• CEP Eligible and Near Eligible Sites SY 20-21
• Non-Response Rate

upLIFT

The upLIFT webpage is created for you, the school nutrition professional, to learn and get inspired in how and what you feed your students. We hope you share your successes and ideas to teach your colleagues of Arizona. Together we can influence positive dietary behaviors in
students!

School Nutrition Programs Advisory Council (SNPAC)

The School Nutrition Programs Advisory Council (SNPAC) is comprised of dedicated school nutrition professionals who will advise ADE on issues that impact growth, compliance, and nutrition integrity in Arizona school nutrition programs. The SNPAC consists of 13 individuals representing 38 LEAs and 178 sites in Arizona. The council members were carefully selected to create a diverse and representative sample of LEAs in Arizona. The SNPAC will be meeting monthly in Program Year 2021. SFAs are encouraged to contact the SNPAC member who best represents their LEA with any questions or concerns they would like to bring to the council.

• Meet the SNPAC

Arizona Farm to School Network

The Arizona Farm to School Network envisions an Arizona food system in support of schools, producers and industry partners (distributors and processors) that work to engage children in healthy eating and connections made to where food comes from.

• Arizona Farm to School Netwrok Structure
• Strategic Road Map
• Get involved with the Arizona Farm to School Network