Know

An Overview of Inventory

Inventoryrefers to the foods or supplies a facility has in dry or cold storage. Having sufficient inventory on hand to produce weekly menus helps ensure that your center does not run out of an important ingredient or supply needed to serve meals or snacks. But having too much inventory can tie up financial resources, and if it is perishable, can result in a financial loss if the food goes bad before it can be used. For child care centers, the recommended amount of inventory to have on hand is enough for one to two weeks’ worth of meals.

How much inventory should you have on hand? The correct amount is what you will need to produce food for your "customers," with a small cushion for unpredicted usage, substitutions, or other unforeseen events. Apar value systemis one type of inventory control: it establishes a maximum quantity of inventory to keep on hand. The par value is the amount needed to fulfill menu requirements for one ordering period, plus a small amount for安全库存或者在可能影响您的计划的任何无法预料的情况下，在发生任何无法预料的情况下，“缓冲区”库存的数量。

When placing orders, the amount of product to order is the amount needed to bring inventory back to the maximum or par level. If an item is served more than once between delivery periods, such as a favorite fruit or vegetable, you must also consider how much will be used before the order is received.

通常为每天服务的物品设置PAR水平，如牛奶，多种配方中使用的成分，清洁化学品和纸品。对于用作面包等主体，水果，蔬菜和粮食产品的食物，最好估计在本周菜单的过程中您将获得多少服务。

这inventory turnover raterefers to how quickly inventory is used in a specified period of time. To calculate the inventory turnover rate, you must first know the number of days of inventory on hand. You can either calculate this or go by the standards identified at your facility. See the equations below.

If your facility receives weekly deliveries for most products you order, a good target is to have enough inventory on hand forseven to ten days并具有两到三个的营业额，这意味着库存应该每月使用两到三次。如果您的交货更频繁，您将需要较少的库存。相反，如果您的交付较少，您需要更多库存可用于防止食物或其他用品的短缺。以下文档概述了某些程序中使用的库存管理概述，包括一般术语和最佳实践。使用记录保存PDF文件。

• Costs of Goods Sold

Check with your supervisor to determine which inventory management system is in place within your program. You may also ask your supervisor how they determine when to order new inventory and what systems are in place to lessen the risk of running out of a food or other product before the next delivery.

保持记录中

Food Production Records

食品生产记录s document the types and amounts of food produced for reimbursable meals. Some states have guidelines that require child-nutrition program participants to keep food production records for the meals they produce. These records must show how the meals served contribute to the required food components each day meals are served and how they contribute to meeting the age-appropriate nutrient standards over the weekly menu. Food production records are produced for every meal served each day and must be kept on hand for three years plus the current year, according to the Administrative Handbook for CACFP Centers. Check the regulations for your state to determine if production records are required at your program.

食品生产记录s, when completed accurately, provide information about which foods and recipes to use and what portions to serve. Staff can also make notes about actual quantities prepared and number of meals served. Thus, they are important tools for planning and controlling food production and can be used to forecast future meal preparation when a similar menu is planned. This, in turn, leads to more accurate meal planning, reducing the chance of over- or under-production and more controlled costs.

Since food production records capture a variety of different information about meal service, different sections are completed by different food service staff members. As a general rule, the person performing certain job duties related to meal preparation would fill out the corresponding sections of the food production record.

Staff member & duties	Food Production Record sections to complete	When to complete each section
Menu planner (e.g., nutrition director, dietitian)—plans the menus, completes the menu planning process	Food Item Used & Form Recipe or Product Age/Grade Group 部分尺寸	Before the menu is distributed to individual facility kitchens
营养经理（食品服务经理） - 基于食品生产记录的工作人员的工作职责	Date of meal service List of food items 负责人（员工作业） Projected child servings Total projected servings (for adults & children)	在食品生产(餐服务)
营养助理(食品ervice staff)	Amount of food used Actual child servings Actual adult servings Amount of a la carte servings Leftover food	During and after food production (meal service)

Source: National Food Service Management Institute

Annual Inventory

这Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 226 states that sponsoring programs for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) must demonstrate fiscal accountability for funds received to implement the CACFP. One such way that this is done is through accurate record keeping, including a summary of inventory. The CACFP requires sponsors to conduct an annual physical inventory as part of the fiscal-management process. Anannual inventory是一项逐项列表，所有未开封的食品和非食物的供应，即设施在财政年度结束时手头。库存以先前购买的食品和非食物供应的形式代表了金钱。本发明的货币价值必须包括在一个财政年度结束和下一个财政年度开始时产生的食物和非食品成本。完成年度库存要求，在每个财政年度结束时，拍摄了所有食品和相关的非食物，如纸商品，如纸商品，这些物品的纸质商品的计数是拍摄的。反过来，这些值成为下一个会计年度的开始库存值。

采购

BusinessDictionary.com definesprocurementas the process of obtaining or buying goods and services that includes preparation and processing of an order as well as the end receipt (delivery) of the product or service and approval of payment. In child care food service, foods and goods can be procured in several ways, but the two most common are from wholesale vendors and from retail establishments (such as grocery stores). Often, both methods are used. Wholesale vendors allow for better price control, bulk ordering capabilities, and routine delivery windows. Buying from retail vendors, like grocery stores, is usually more expensive per unit and requires a food service staff member to leave the premises in order to buy food. But, if a last-minute menu substitution has to take place, retail vendors are a simple and quick solution.

Facilities purchasing products in volume from vendors must have a written contract with that vendor. The contract must specify the guaranteed pricing and how long it is good for, as well as what financial adjustments will be made in the event of problems with goods or services. Below is an example of a vendor contract template for a child care center. Contracts for initial bids are lengthier and more detailed than renewal contracts for current vendors.

• Sample Vendor Contract Template

无论您是批发供应商还是零售供应商订购，所有食品和供应订单都应是菜单驱动的。参与CACFP的CACFP与供应商合同必须遵守联邦法规守则中概述的规定（7 CFR部分226）。在与特定卖方谈判合同之前，请在与特定供应商谈判之前，咨询国家机构或当地资金管理局是一个好主意。

Estimating How Much to Buy

美国农业部食品和营养服务有几个致力于为CACFP购买食品的资源。这Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programsis available on the USDA website (https://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/food-buying-guide-for-child-nutrition-programs). Each section of the document can be downloaded separately directly from the website.

When it comes to determining how much food to order, theFood Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programssuggests some key points to consider. For instance, foods are most often purchased in case lots, which may or may not be exactly the quantity you need for your recipe. Thus, it is recommended to round up when calculating how much food to buy. On the flip side, you should always round down when calculating the creditable component toward meeting a meal-pattern requirement for CACFP.

To calculate how much of a type of food to purchase, consider these questions:

• How many servings will I need?
• Will different serving sizes be used for various age or grade groupings?
• 我计划的那种食物的规模是什么？
• In what form will I purchase this food?
• What serving size does the food provide for meal contribution?
• Is the listed serving size the same as my planned serving size?
• How many purchase units of the food will I need to buy?

这Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programsalso has an online calculator you can use to estimate how much food to purchase. Like the print copy, it is organized by meal component and contains several categories within each component. The Food Buying Guide Calculator rounds up to the nearest whole purchase unit or next quarter pound with the information it computes.

使用菜单

Inventory management begins with the menu. The menu dictates what types and how frequently foods and other items need to be purchased. Cycle menus are an excellent way to manage inventory because they allow for predictability of necessary supplies, which improvesforecasting. Forecasting refers to the ability to make an informed prediction when placing orders, based on previous results. Planning menus ahead of time—including using cycle menus—ordering forecasts are more accurate.

Receiving and Storing

When you receive food from a wholesale vendor, have your order summary ready. Check each food that is being delivered against the initial order summary to make sure that everything you ordered is received and that the price is correct. Foods that require time and temperature control for safety are known as TCS foods. TCS foods should be free of off-odors and colors and be delivered at the correct temperature (41° F [5° C ]or colder for refrigerated foods and 0° F or colder for frozen foods). Ensure that frozen foods have not been previously thawed and then refrozen. For dry goods, check cans for the presence of bulges, severe dents, or rusted cans with pitted edges. Reject any food that does not meet these criteria.

这following table contains information about the receiving process for specific food items.

After you have received your food order from the vendor, it will need to be put into storage right away to keep temperatures from crossing into the temperature danger zone (41 F to 135 F). Ideally, you will be able to have your deliveries come at a time when you are not busy serving a meal. (It is also a good practice to have simple-to-prepare menus on delivery days.)

When storing food in the freezer, make sure that air can circulate around the items; do not overstuff the freezer. Defrosting should take place at regular intervals. Store items in such a manner that you can read what each item is. Oldest food should be in the front, with newer foods in the back. This is calledfirst in, first out (FIFO) rotation.FIFO is the recommended rotation method for foodservice. However, there are sometimes instances when FIFO is not followed, such as when a more-recently-ordered food commodity has a closer use-by date.

Refrigerated foods should be stored in a hierarchical fashion according to cooking temperature, with ready-to-eat (uncooked) foods on the top shelf, foods that get cooked to an internal temperature of 145 F on the next shelf, foods that get cooked to 160 F on the third shelf, and foods that get cooked to 165 F on the bottom shelf. (This is covered in more detail in Lesson Seven.) As with freezer foods, refrigerated foods should be rotated according to FIFO so that the oldest foods get used before newer foods.

Dry storage areas should be maintained at 50–70 F and be well ventilated. Nonperishable food items need to be stored at least 6 inches from the floor and away from chemicals. Foods should be rotated according to FIFO rotation when possible to do so to ensure maximum quality. Use the following mini-poster from the National Food Safety Management Institute,Storeroom Basics，并将其挂在您的设施的储藏室。

• nfsmi“Storeroom基础”迷你海报

See

Watch this video clip featuring a registered dietitian nutritionist who explains the process of inventory management in child care kitchens. Make notes of anything you learn from this video that you would like more information about in your own facility.

Inventory Management

Do

了解如何把每年的过程ventory is an important skill for food service workers in child care centers, especially to be in compliance with CACFP regulations. Use theOhio CACFPAnnual Inventory Requirementspacket below. Review each page with your supervisor. Ask your supervisor to explain the process for taking annual inventory at your facility.

• Ohio CACFP Annual Inventory Requirements packet