Ohio's Office of Nutrition, part of the Department of Education and Workforce, issued its items-of-interest bulletin dated Sept. 28 covering school nutrition program guidance and training.
A misprint in the 2026–2027 Ohio Verification Manual led the office to revise pages 3–4 on the Confirmation Review Process, specifically the points at which benefits drop from Free to Reduced or from Free or Reduced to Paid. The updated manual is posted in the Claims Reimbursement and Reporting System under Download Forms, and the office cited the Eligibility Manual for School Meals, page 104, as its reference.
Sponsors using the combined CACFP/SNP application for At-Risk Afterschool meals ran into CRRS system problems affecting the accuracy and timeliness of required information. Those sponsors must now submit a separate CACFP application for ARAS sites, mark NO on Question 5 of the Sponsor Application, and remove Section E from all Site Applications.
A simplified geographic preference procurement rule for child nutrition programs takes effect Nov. 9. The office said the change leaves existing policies and implementation processes intact while clarifying requirements across NSLP, SBP, Special Milk, CACFP and SFSP, and supports USDA's Harvest to Hallways Initiative. The Food and Nutrition Administration plans a follow-up memorandum on the direct final rule.
Verification season opens Oct. 1 with a 3% pull of household applications on file, not students. Exempt are directly certified students, documented migrant, runaway, homeless, foster or Head Start students, RCCI residents, and Special Milk-only schools. Schools with a 20% non-response rate in 2025–2026 must target error-prone applications — those approved by Oct. 1 with income within $100 monthly or $1,200 annually of the applicable limit. Verification ends Nov. 15, and the CRRS report is due Jan. 15, 2027 for every school, including CEP, Provision 2 and RCCIs.
Training includes on-site commercial kitchen equipment instruction of at least 90 minutes with 1.5 CE hours, virtual chef consultations, CEP webinars Oct. 8 and Nov. 5, and a Buy American and procurement webinar Oct. 29.