The success of any school food service program depends largely on its personnel. The school food service staff should be highly responsible and well trained. Managers and School Food Service Administrators need an understanding of their responsibilities, through training and detailed instructions, to do a satisfactory job. Motivation will be increased if the employee understands the purposes of programs and tasks necessary to achieve those purposes. Training also instills a sense of positive self-esteem through improved professional competency in the area of school food service. As changes in programs and regulations occur, training is provided for school district staff.

Decide to Succeed: An Orientation for New Managers is held each June in the metro-Jackson area. New Administrator Orientation is held in the fall each year. Recertification courses for Program Managers and School Food service Administrators are developed on a three year cycle. For information about these sessions, contact the Training Division.

For further information about certification requirements for school program managers and school food service administrators, click here, (Shortcut to certification section of CNP Policy and Procedure Manual, Section 15).

Training sessions to update sponsors of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) are held annually. Orientation for new sponsoring CACFP sponsors are held several times a year. Training sessions for sponsors of the Simplified Summer Food Program (SSFP) are held in the spring of each year. Orientation for new sponsoring SSFP sponsors is also held each spring.

For questions about training resources, current and planned training events, or certification for NSLP, please contact the Training Division at (601) 576-4910, or access the calendar in the training portion of OCeaN.