Purupose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize the training needs of state agency staff and determine preferences for training formats, delivery methods, length of training, and best time of year to deliver training. Methods: A rigorous 3-phase data collection approach was used. A draft survey was developed in Phase I based on a comprehensive review of the literature related to training and development needs for school nutrition staff and input from an expert work group comprised of eight State agency staff members. The survey was validated in Phase II using State agency staff representing nine states and five USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) regions. In Phase III, data were collected (26 states responded) using Qualtrics and analyzed using SPSS (version 25). Results: Results indicate that State agency staff perceived the highest need for training in two key content areas--financial management and procurement. Application to Child Nutrition Professionals: Based on the results of this study, researchers recommend the following--(1) Develop and test a multi-format approach to teaching a content area such as financial management specifically for State agency staff working with school nutrition programs. This format might begin with a Zoom meeting/instruction for introductions with instructor/participants and outline goals and objectives for the course. Periodic webinars might be provided and participants could have self-paced work. Periodically, Zoom meetings could be used to allow discussion among participants; (2) Divide training topics into small, focused areas that can be completed in a short (1-2 hours) amount of time. For example, one training could focus on understanding and utilizing a basic financial statement as the financial management topic rated as the highest need for training; and (3) Include both participant and instructor evaluations for any new training approaches to capture what was effective and changes that would be needed for future training.