Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Annual Training Kentucky Department of Education School and Community Nutrition Welcome

Ruth Ann Nethery, Administrator of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Contact: – or by phone –

Welcome and Congratulations! You are one of the 38 Kentucky Districts that are a part of the USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Handbook ndbook.pdf

Purpose The purpose is to introduce children to new and different fresh fruits and vegetables. Increase fresh fruit and vegetable consumption by elementary school children. Ensure the FFVP benefits low-income children that generally have fewer opportunities to consume fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis.

Where to Purchase Food wholesalers or brokers. The vendors deliver directly to the schools. Farmers markets, orchards, and growers in your community. Local grocery stores and other retailers are not only good suppliers, but might be valued partners for free nutrition education and promotion activities.

Things to Remember Serve a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in their natural state without additives. Check packaging. Ascorbic acid is acceptable. When purchasing exotic fruits or vegetables that are not available locally or are not domestically grown, always follow proper procurement procedures.

What Should You Do in Your School? Get everyone involved; PTSO, SBDM, Parent Volunteers, etc. Develop nutrition activities. Use free resources and educational materials. Check out the USDA web site. Adapt lesson plans to include nutrition education. Have students create FFV posters for decoration and education purposes.

Dispersing of Funds Funds for the FFVP are dispersed two time during the Grant period. July-Must be obligated by September 30 th. October-Must be obligated by June 30 th. This is in accordance with the Federal Fiscal Year.

Expenses Make sure your expenses are reasonable and support the Programs goals. Program costs are broken out into two categories: operating and administrative. Labor costs in either the operating or administrative category must be minimal. Most of a schools funds must go toward purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables.

Operating Expenses Costs of running your FFVP service. Documented expenses for: acquiring, delivering, preparing, and serving fruits and vegetables.

Operating Costs Fruits and vegetables. Low-fat or non-fat dip for vegetables only. Fruits and vegetables with no additives (Ascorbic acid is acceptable). Small supplies and other. Salaries and fringe benefits.

Small Supplies and Other Low-fat or non-fat dip for vegetables only Nonfood items like napkins, paper plates, plastic bags, serving bowls, trays, cleaning supplies, trash bags, etc. Value added services such as pre-cut, ready- made. Delivery charges. Small serving carts, etc. (Need permission if one item is over $200.)

Salaries and Fringe Benefits (Operational Costs) Employees that have anything to do with the preparation, distribution, and cleaning up afterwards. Employees who do such tasks as washing and chopping produce, preparing trays, distributing produce, cleaning up. Optional as to whether you claim operational costs labor.

Administrative Costs Limited to 10% of your schools total FFVP grant. May all be spent at the same time. Purchasing or leasing larger items; refrigerators, coolers, portable kiosks, etc. (Must be prorated.) Permission for anything over $200.

Salaries and Fringe Benefits (Administrative Costs) Salaries and fringe benefits related to the compilation and maintenance of claims for reimbursement and other financial reports. Plan and write menus. Track inventory. Order produce. Coordinate nutrition promotion activities. Keep to a minimum.

Who May Participate? All children who normally attend and are enrolled in your school. Children attending a Child Care Center, Head Start program or a split-session kindergarten class located in a FFVP school may participate. Only teachers who are directly responsible for serving the fruit and vegetables to their students in a classroom setting. Teachers participating with their students are strongly encouraged to include a nutrition education component.

Who May Not Participate? Adults at a school. Adults attending school functions. General teacher population.

Best Times to Serve Only during the school day. Multiple times during the day. During classroom time to incorporate service with a lesson plan. Morning or afternoon break.

May Not Serve Before school During afterschool functions During the National School Lunch or School Breakfast Programs reimbursable meal service periods. As part of summer school sessions.

Best Places to Serve Classrooms Hallways Kiosks Free vending machines As part of nutrition education activities

Allowable Fruits and Vegetables What is allowed Fresh fruits and vegetables that are normally eaten raw. Introduce children to new and different fruits and vegetables New: Kiwi, star fruit, pomegranate Different: apples-Granny Smith, Red Delicious, McIntosh…

Limitations Dips for vegetables (serving size-1-2 tablespoons). Opt for low-fat, non-fat, or yogurt-based dips Salad dressing (low-fat) when taste testing lettuce greens. Cooked vegetables that are not normally eaten raw; limited to once a week and must be part of a nutrition education lesson.

What is Not Allowed Processed or preserved produce Dip for fruit Fruit leather Jellied fruit Trail mix Nuts Cottage cheese Fruit or vegetable pizza Smoothies Most non-food items, except those allowed under administrative or operation costs

Claiming Costs Costs to be claimed for reimbursement must be claimed at the time of purchase, not the time of use. (Items may be purchased the last of one month and used the first of the next month.)

Purchasing All purchasing of fresh produce follows the same procurement requirements as any other Child Nutrition program. All purchases must be competitively bid. If a purchase falls under the small purchase threshold, documentation of price quotes from more than one vendor must be obtained.

Purchasing Local USDA and NHS encourage local purchasing by schools. Local purchasing is encouraged as part of the FFVP. Farms do not need any special licensing to sell whole produce to schools (Farm to School Bill). School Nutrition Directors decide who is an approved vendor. Handle local whole produce the same way you handle whole produce from regular distributors.

Keep in Mind Most farmers will only have whole produce to sell. The produce will need to be prepped into ready to eat snacks. Apples are easiest for this reason and orchards often like to sell smaller-sized apples. Partnerships with local kitchens, food co-ops, or caterers may help.

Food Safety Food safety is a priority in the FFVP. Training: hand washing, cleaning and use of equipment, proper washing of fruits and vegetables, storage of leftover items, etc.

Nutrition Education Education plans should fit your students. Use free resources from Team Nutrition and other programs. Create partnerships to obtain no-cost promotional items or services. Adapt lesson plans in classrooms to incorporate the serving of the fresh fruits and vegetables.

What is Not Reimbursable Nutrition Education Materials (Take advantage of free resources) Promotion Costs (Recruit volunteers to help create promotion items, posters, etc. Have children create posters as part of a nutrition education lesson and display them around the school.). Travel.

FFVP File A copy of your application and agreement Monthly expenditure documentation (invoices, receipts, etc.) Purchasing/Procurement information Production records Report of activities Financial tracking of grant funds Documentation of staff training on the FFVP FFVP Handbook

Production Records Schools must keep production records to document the month, date, serving time, food items, portion size, the number prepared, the number of portions served and the amount of leftovers. We strongly discourage frequent serving of leftovers during a lunch or breakfast meal service. Try to incorporate into another FFVP serving time.

Education Activities Document on the FFVP calendar the offerings, educational activities and materials provided. These will be inspected during your review and should be kept on file for 3 years plus the current year.

Reviews for the FFVP Reviews of the FFVP are performed at minimum in conjunction with your CRE review or SMI review. A review can still be performed even if you are not up for your CRE and SMI reviews. Program compliance, record keeping, educational activities and the overall implementation of your program will be evaluated.

CNIPS Training Training on how to file the FFVP claims will be done at a later date.

Questions ?