| Summer 2026 FDPIR nutrition education trainings and resources support Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ commitment to strengthening strategies that encourage healthy choices, healthy outcomes, and healthy families. USDA Foods support American farmers and provide safe, high quality, 100% American grown, real food, to Tribal communities. Food and Nutrition Administration The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is now the Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA) – new name, same vital mission! This name change is part of a phased reorganization to modernize, streamline, and strengthen our agency. This will equip FNA to best meet the needs of our participants and partners while delivering our programs with integrity. You can learn more about the reorganization by visiting the FNA website. Updates on the Community Nutrition
Champion Training The Community Nutrition Champion Training (CNCT) is a two-day in-person training designed to provide nutrition education training to non-nutrition professionals who work in FDPIR and engage with participants. Training topics include USDA Foods, food labels, food safety, recipe modification, evaluation, and more. Oklahoma Tribal Engagement Partners (OKTEP) hosted two CNCT opportunities this fiscal year. Twenty Champions from 13 Tribal nations attended CNCT in Tucson, Ariz., and Oklahoma City, Okla. 
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CNCT attendees at Oklahoma (left) and Arizona (right) trainings.
CNCT is more than just nutrition education training – it’s engaging and fun. Check out what a few Champions shared about the training.
- “I am grateful for this opportunity to feel more comfortable as a new nutrition educator. I enjoyed meeting and collaborating with all of the attendees.”
- “I am super happy to have been a part of this training. This will definitely benefit our distribution site and future endeavors.”
- “Very informational and engaging. I learned a lot and it gave me new ideas.”
- “It was very simply presented. Inspiring to do and well planned out.”
- “Overall, it was very thorough. It was also confidence strengthening, as I went from a person who doesn’t know how to cook well to a person confident in doing a cooking lesson.”
- “I think learning food safety, demos, and other food info is important. All FDPIR workers should get in tune to teach others.”
Building on the nutrition foundation Champions receive in CNCT, OKTEP has developed an advanced training – CNCT 2.0 – and will pilot the new training with Champions and key stakeholders in late July 2026. CNCT 2.0 is a three-day small group training that includes immersive program tours to showcase community partnerships built through local engagement and nutrition education outreach opportunities. CNCT 2.0 curriculum includes a variety of new nutrition education topics and activities, expanding upon the original CNCT. Look for more information about CNCT 2.0 in future FDPIR Connect e-letters!
Updates on the FDPIR Produce Training
The Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (IFAI) recently hosted FDPIR Produce Trainings at Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Wisconsin and Spirit Lake Tribe in North Dakota. FDPIR warehouse teams from all over the country attended to participate in this hands-on learning opportunity designed to support FDPIR staff in maximizing the quality and safety of fresh fruits and vegetables available through the program. Participants explored best practices for produce handling and storage, strategies to reduce food waste, and approaches for encouraging greater produce consumption among FDPIR participants. The training also outlined appropriate reporting processes to ensure delivery concerns are addressed quickly and effectively.
| Red Cliff Food Distribution Center The training concluded with participants developing customized produce safety plans and standard operating procedures (SOPs) tailored to their own warehouse operations. These take-home resources provide practical tools that staff can immediately implement to strengthen produce handling practices, improve food safety, and create consistent procedures within their FDPIR programs. Feedback from participants showed that the safety planning exercises and peer-to-peer discussions were among the most valuable parts of the training. Attendees appreciated the opportunity to learn from one another, share challenges and successes, and leave with actionable plans they could bring back and implement in their own warehouses. Apply for the FDPIR Innovative Nutrition Education Cooperative Agreement Project Help shape the future of FDPIR nutrition education with your innovative ideas! FNA is excited to announce the FDPIR Innovative Nutrition Education Cooperative Agreement Project. Through this Request for Applications (RFA), FNA is seeking an organization or agency with deep experience working with Tribal communities to develop, design, and deliver an innovative, culturally appropriate nutrition education project for FDPIR participants and program staff. A maximum of $500,000 will be made available for the project period of September 2026 to September 2028. To learn more and apply, visit grants.gov. Share Your Thoughts on the FDPIR Food Package FNA is committed to ensuring that the FDPIR food package continues to provide nutritious foods that meet the needs of participants. FDPIR program operators and participants are encouraged to share feedback about the food package with their FDPIR Food Package Review Workgroup regional representatives. The FDPIR Food Package Review Workgroup is comprised of NAFDPIR board members and FDPIR program operators that focus on enhancing the nutritional quality of the food package. To learn more about the topics discussed in previous meetings, check out the meeting minutes and share your feedback with your regional representative ahead of the next work group meeting scheduled for July 22, 2026. | |
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