The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) seeks an experienced Child Nutrition Program culinary trainer for three (3) in-person, 2.5-hour training sessions for Early Childhood Education (ECE) Centers that are on the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). This initiative is part of IDOE’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the quality, local procurement, and creativity of ECE meal programs while supporting professional development for cafeteria teams. Each training will consist of 15 participants. Participants will be from childcare centers in the respective regions where the training is held. Participants will include staff person responsible for meal preparation. 2 hrs. will be spent on recipe preparation and culinary skills and .5 hrs will be spent on a general Farm to ECE training. IDOE staff will present the Farm to ECE Portion of the Training. These workshops will take place between March – August 2026, based on the trainer’s availability. IDOE will make the final determination of training dates based on vendors’ schedule. The trainer will demonstrate how to prepare a standardized entree recipe for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which will be provided by IDOE. The trainer will also provide basic training on how to process commonly used produce, which will be included in the recipe. The training locations will be in the northern, central, and southern regions of Indiana. The trainer must be willing to travel to all three locations. IDOE will determine the training locations. The vendor will coordinate with the training locations regarding day of needs and preparation.
