FNS Documents & Resources

This webinar provides USDA Foods recipients, USDA FNS regional offices, and state agencies a refresher on the FNS Instruction 709-5: Shipment and Receipt of USDA Foods. The webinar highlights the five key areas involved with the shipment and receipt of USDA Foods: arranging shipment and delivery, guidance on inspecting the shipment, accepting and receipting the shipment, unloading the shipment, and disposition and replacement of USDA Foods. In addition, E-invoicing in WBSCM and filing complaints is covered.

This pre-recorded webinar features USDA Farm to School Program staff, who summarize grantee reporting requirements and review the processes for submitting no-cost extensions, as well as project and budget amendments.

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will discontinue the requirement for vendors to use high security seals to secure USDA Foods deliveries as of July 1, 2023. 

In this webinar for state distributing agencies and recipient agencies, Tony Wilkins of the Food Distribution Division reviews best practices for using WBSCM in resolving complaints, provides analysis of USDA Foods complaint trends, shares 2016 complaint successes, and discusses what’s in the complaint pipeline.

In this webinar focused on the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), Tony Wilkins and Matthew Martin from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Food Distribution Division, discuss warehousing, explain the USDA Foods feedback process, and provide instructions on how to formally enter a complaint into the Web-Based Supply Chain Management System (WBSCM).

Recently, we have received several questions about the use of funds from the nonprofit school food service account to cover expenditures related to farm to school activities and school gardens. The questions and answers below address specific scenarios that school food authorities may be dealing with when considering the allowability of such costs.

Recently, we have received several questions regarding the operation of a school garden. Attached are questions and answers to address this issue. As in the past, please share this information with your school food authorities.

The purpose of this memorandum is to advise you of a new and revised requirement for all Receiving Organizations (i.e., organizations that receive shipments of Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foods, including Distributing Agencies, Indian Tribal Organizations (ITO), recipient agencies, processors, and warehouses). This memorandum replaces the previous FD-062 dated April 25, 2011 , and adjusts the maximum timeframe for entering shipment receipts in the Web-Based Supply Chain Management System.

The Farm to School Census and Comprehensive Review includes the 2019 Farm to School Census; a descriptive review of the USDA Farm to School grant program; a review of published research on farm to school since 2010; and a set of interviews with school food distributors.