Nutrition CARES Act Guidance
On May 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued guidance regarding the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act provides funding to Child Nutrition Programs to assist with the impact of COVID-19. The California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division (NSD) is providing clarification on how the CARES funding can be used.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has instructed us that these funds can only be used for paying reimbursement claims for actual meals served to eligible children in the National School Lunch Program, Summer Seamless Option, and School Breakfast Programs, Special Milk Program, Child and Adult Care Food, and Summer Food Service Programs, and therefore cannot be used to offset revenue loss. In addition, these funds can only be used for claims during the time period March through September 2020.
The CDE NSD is committed to advocate and support your needs. We are seeking additional flexibility for the use of CARES Act funds for child nutrition programs to ensure students continue to receive nutritious meals during this difficult time.
Please note, these funds cannot be used for Child Care Audit, Child Care Sponsor Administration, Summer Food Service State Administrative Expenses or Health Inspections.
Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact Mike Salazar, Financial Management Unit Manager, by phone at 916-322-3287 or by email at msalazar@cde.ca.gov.
Questions: Nutrition Services Division | 800-952-5609
Nutrition CARES Act Guidance - Nutrition (CA Dept of Education)
FEMA Deadline Extension
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Main Web Page
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced that the deadline for Reimbursement of Purchases and Distribution of Food, FEMA-4482-DR-CA (COVID-19) has been extended until June 10, 2020.
FEMA’s March 19, 2020 Fact Sheet
describes emergency protective measures in more detail.
Resources
- FEMA Coronavirus Pandemic: Purchase and Distribution of Food Eligible for Public Assistance: FEMA Policy FP 104-010-03 web page (PDF)..
- FEMA Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide: FP-104-009-2 web page.
- The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services has information and training for local governments (including local educational agencies) on the request for public assistance (RPA) application process and federal procurement rules on their COVID-19 recovery web page.
The COVID-19 Application Overview session will cover:- COVID-19 process flow
- Streamlined Project Application in Grants Portal
- COVID-19 documentation and forms
The Grants Portal Application Basics will cover how to:- Register and set up a new Grants Portal account
- How to Submit an RPA
- Upload documents and create tiles
Contact Information
Please direct any questions related to FEMA training sessions to FEMA-Recovery-PA-Grants@fema.dhs.gov or call the Grants Manager/Portal Hotline at 1-866-337-8448.
LEA questions about FEMA Public Assistance and the RPA deadline can be directed to Cal OES at PAProcurement@caloes.ca.gov.
Questions: Nutrition Services Division | 800-952-5609
FEMA Deadline Extension - Nutrition (CA Dept of Education) - https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/femadeadlineextension.asp
