How to ParticipateLearning Support :

Food Distribution Program (FDP) CLiCS Manual  1Mb (3/21/2006)

Communication

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Food Distribution program uses the Commodity Listserv to communicate important information to School Food Authorities (SFAs) regarding the CLiCS preference surveys, bonus commodity offerings, food safety recalls and program participation updates. Use the Listserv Subscribe/Unsubscribe form to be included in the Commodity Listserv. View the Subscribe Unsubscribe form.

FNS also publishes bulletins focusing on surveying, tracking and rebating activities.

Minnesota Food Distribution Program - September 2009 Bulletin  53Kb (9/14/2009)
	The Fall School Year 2009-2010 Bulletin highlights peanut recall reimbursement, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program grants, Whole Grain Pilot and the latest regular and rebate commodities
Minnesota Food Distribution Program - October 2008 Bulletin  114Kb (10/27/2008)  669Kb (10/27/2008)
	The Fall School Year 2008-2009 Bulletin highlights the Farm Bill, commodity procurement, beef recall reimbursements, U.S. Department of Agriculture continually making healthy commodity improvements, Unraveling the Commodity Mystery and Pierre Foods' Chapter 11.
Minnesota Food Distribution Program - October 2006 Bulletin  212Kb (10/10/2006)  525Kb (10/10/2006)
Minnesota Food Distribution Program - March 2006 Bulletin  43Kb (3/21/2006)
Minnesota Food Distribution Program - October 2005 Bulletin  49Kb (10/5/2005)
Minnesota Food Distribution Program - August 2005 Bulletin  70Kb (8/25/2005)

Planning

Food Distribution program participants need to develop a Commodity Plan to utilize their Commodity Entitlement and take advantage of Bonus Commodities. When developing this plan, think about:

Calendar of Activities for School Procurement of Commercial and Commodity Foods  98Kb (2/17/2009)  78Kb (2/17/2009)
	Quarterly checklists for procurement of commercial food products and USDA commodities for the Food Distribution Program (FDP) by schools participating in the School Nutrition Programs.
Procurement Guidance - School Food Purchases  226Kb (4/24/2007)  256Kb (4/24/2007)
	Manual on preparing Invitation for Bids (IFB) for line-item food purchases and Request for Proposals (RFP) for prime vendor contracts and/or distribution of USDA commodities.
Request for Proposals - Distribution of USDA Commodities  35Kb (8/3/2005)  43Kb (8/3/2005)
	Format and instructions to create a Request for Proposals (RFP) for distribution of USDA commodities from the Food Distribution Program (FDP) for a school participating in the School Nutrition Programs.
Prime Vendor Contract - Products List  50Kb (8/3/2005)  25Kb (8/3/2005)
	Excel spreadsheet for creating a list of products to attach to a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a prime vendor contract for schools participating in the School Nutrition Programs.
Prime Vendor Contract - Request for Proposals (RFP)  351Kb (8/3/2005)  170Kb (8/3/2005)
	Format and instructions to create a Request for Proposal for a prime vendor contract for a school participating in the School Nutrition Programs. Also refer to the manual on "Procurement Guidance".
Line Item Bid - Products List  44Kb (8/3/2005)  24Kb (8/3/2005)
	Excel spreadsheet for creating a list of products to attach to an Invitation for Bids (IFB) for food purchases for School Nutrition Programs. Also refer to the manual on "Procurement Guidance".
Invitation for Bids - Line Item  330Kb (8/3/2005)  145Kb (8/3/2005)
	Template to create an Invitation For Bids (IFB) on specified food products for a school participating in the School Nutrition Programs.

Surveying

Twice a year in the spring and fall, School Food Authorities (SFAs) have an opportunity to use their annual Commodity Entitlement by responding to CLiCS preference surveys. SFAs also have the opportunity to respond to CLiCS Bonus Preferences surveys when USDA Bonus Commodities become available.

Minnesota offers three distinct, demand-driven CLiCS preference surveys to enable SFAs to utilize their Commodity Entitlement and/or Bonus Commodities. The CLiCS Regular Commodity Preference Survey features regular USDA packaged commodities. The CLiCS Processed Commodity Preference Survey features Fee-for-Service commodities. The CLiCS Products Survey features commercial products using commodities through the Minnesota Rebate Program.

All three of the CLiCS Preference Survey options are available to all SFAs. SFAs determine which of the three options best meets their needs and enables them to utilize their Commodity Entitlement and/or take advantage of Bonus Commodity offerings. Planning turns into action when responding to a CLiCS preference survey.

CLiCS Regular Commodity Preference Surveys offer more than 50 types of traditional dry, canned and frozen USDA packaged commodities. Regular USDA commodities may be packaged with either a generic USDA label or a commercial label. Surveys are arranged in commodity groups. Group A commodities include meats, poultry, fruits and vegetables. Group B commodities include cheese, flour, pasta, peanut butter and oil.

SFAs participate in the survey by submitting the desired quantity of cases for the months available for a specific commodity. In addition to responding to the survey, SFAs must select one of the 17 approved foodservice distributors and coordinate the receipt of the commodities.

The CLiCS Regular Commodity Preference Survey can utilize either Commodity Entitlement or Bonus Commodities. There is a warehouse fee and distributor-handling fee for USDA Regular Packaged Commodities. Once commodities are ordered, SFAs can monitor and track their commodity allocation throughout the school year using the CLiCS Order Summary screen.

CLiCS Processed Commodity Preference Surveys offer SFAs the opportunity to divert beef and pork to an approved processor to convert a specific commodity into more usable end products for school menus. SFAs work directly with the processor and/or their broker to determine the desired end products, the quantity of raw pounds to divert and the Fee-for-Service charged.

After identifying a commodity and processor, SFAs respond to the spring CLiCS Processed Commodity Preference Survey, submitting the total number of pounds of the commodity to be diverted for the entire school year.

The processor and/or broker assist SFAs in identifying the available end products and calculating the number of pounds to enter in the respective surveys. The SFAs submit an order form to the processor that corresponds to the quantity entered on the survey. In addition to the Fee-for-Service, a shipping and handling charge will apply. SFAs track and coordinate the receipt of the desired end products with the processor.

The CLiCS Products Preference Survey features the Minnesota Rebate Program (MRP) for approved commercial products using commodities. The MRP allows SFAs to utilize Commodity Entitlement with commercial foodservice products available through their foodservice distributor. The MRP provides Commodity Entitlement to SFAs through a state-administered rebate system. The MRP offers a commodity rebate for over 880 commercial products from 35 manufacturers that use cheese, flour, peanut butter, potatoes, non-fat dry milk, oil and poultry.

SFAs participating in the MRP submit planned purchase quantities of approved products offered on the CLiCS Products Preference Survey for the entire school year. After making the purchase, SFAs submit a rebate claim in CLiCS. Eligible rebates are paid twice each month. Once the commodities have been diverted to the manufacturer, SFAs can monitor and track their available rebate dollars throughout the school year using the CLiCS rebate summary.
There are no documents listed for this section

Rebating

To make an invoice claim, log into CLiCS, click on Food Distribution and then select Rebate and Payment from the list on the left. Select the red Rebate Invoice tab at the top of the page to enter the purchase information by distributor invoice. Sponsors will need a copy of the actual invoice to keep for their records.

Sponsors may request a monthly summary of purchases from a distributor and enter this information into CLiCS. Log into CLiCS, click on Food Distribution and select Rebate and Payment from the list on the left. Select the orange Rebate Monthly tab at the top of the page to enter this information. Note that Rebate Monthly claims are entered by calendar year, not by school year.

When distributors send a sponsor's monthly purchase record to FNS via CLiCS, the Rebate Monthly claim is created automatically. The sponsor reviews the information in CLiCS. All commercial products purchased within a committed rebate group will appear. A Rebate Monthly claim submitted by a distributor will not be processed for payment until the sponsor checks the Release box located on the rebate claim. If the claim is incorrect, do not release the claim.

To correct a Rebate Monthly claim, click save, manually make the changes and release the claim, or ask the distributor to submit a new rebate claim. To view all of the products surveyed in a claim, click the Save button. Release the Rebate Monthly claim after verifying or making corrections.

The CLiCS Manual contains full instructions for these procedures.
View the CLiCS Manual.

Rebate Monthly Claims for CLiCS  7Kb (11/22/2005)

Tracking

After responding to CLiCS preference surveys, tracking helps ensure that School Food Authorities (SFAs) receive the full value of Commodity Entitlement and Bonus Commodities ordered. Tracking USDA Packaged Regular Commodities throughout the school year enables SFAs to monitor and coordinate deliveries from distributors. Tracking also assists in the receipt and reconciliation of USDA Packaged Regular Commodities. The timing and quantities of deliveries depends on demand from SFAs and USDA's ability to make purchases, so deliveries need to be tracked throughout the school year, beginning late in the fall and ending in the spring.

The CLiCS Customer Order Summary screen is the primary tracking tool for SFAs. It includes information on amounts ordered, anticipated delivery dates and when commodities have arrived at the warehouse. It includes the original survey quantity to compare with the ordered quantity; the expected quantity and anticipated delivery date, confirming that USDA has purchased the commodity; and the received quantity and date, which indicates the amount available from the central distribution center.

The Commodity Tracking Form supplements the information available on the Customer Order Summary screen. This form lists all of the USDA Packaged Regular Commodities available. SFAs can enter the quantity ordered and chart the receipt of commodities throughout the school year.

Shortly after the last truckload of USDA Regular Packaged Commodities has arrived in Minnesota, SFAs receive the Commodities Received Report for the Auditor, which is a summary of the information available in the CLiCS Customer Order Summary screen. The report details the commodities received during the school year and summarizes the value of Commodity Entitlement and Bonus Commodities. The report is designed to assist SFA's year-end reconciliation of received commodities. Public school auditors use this report to document the value of received commodities.

Commodity Complaint Instructions for Minnesota Schools  25Kb (10/27/2009)
	Instructions on how to submit a commodity complaint to the Food Distribution Team to receive an entitlement reimbursement.
Regular Commodity Pricing School Year 2009-2010  10Kb (10/26/2009)
	Listing of all commodities offered in School Year 2009-2010/Service Year (SY) 2010 on Preference Surveys along with the per case pricing based on the "November 15, 2008" file provided by the United States Department of Agriculture used to initially draw down entitlement for SY 2010 for the Food Distribution Program (FDP)
Regular Commodity Pricing School Year 2008-2009  23Kb (7/1/2009)
	Listing of all commodities offered in School Year 2008-2009 on Preference Surveys along with the per case pricing based on the "November 15, 2007" file provided by the United States Department of Agriculture used to initially draw down entitlement for SY 2009 for the Food Distribution Program (FDP).
Regular Commodity Tracking Form (Excel)  50Kb (5/28/2008)  67Kb (5/28/2008)
	This form is developed/designed to be modified to suit the needs of each individual sponsor in tracking their regular packaged/fee-for-service commodities by removing products not ordered, or adding lines for new items for the Food Distribution Program (FDP).
Sponsor Commodity Over Short Claim Form  102Kb (5/25/2007)  310Kb (5/25/2007)
	To facilitate schools reconciling the commodities received throughout the year with the data on the CLiCS Customer Order Summary screen for over and short commodities with the distributor, and notifying the Food and Nutrition Service by June 15th if unresolved.
Instructions for Food Distribution Program (FDP) Regular Commodity Tracking Form  12Kb (10/17/2005)