Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Short and Long Week Calculations

Resource type
Technical Assistance
Resource Materials

Short and Long Week Calculations (rounded to nearest 0.5 oz eq and 0.25 cup)

(Applies to schools who regularly operate on a shorter or longer weekly cycle)

  • Since the dietary specifications are based on a average daily amounts, these are unaffected by varying week lengths (average over length of week, whether consisting of 3 to 7 days)
  • Due to size of weekly vegetable subgroup requirements, the 20% adjustment is not practical. Therefore, adjustments are primarily made to the “Additional Vegetable” category only- which in turn allows increased or decreased offering amounts of any of the subgroups to meet this requirement.

 

Three Day School Week Meal Component Adjustments
3-day School Week- Breakfast Grades K-5
Weekly (daily)
Grades 6-8
Weekly (daily)
Grades 9-12
Weekly (daily)
Fruits (cups) 3 (1) 3 (1) 3 (1)
Grains (oz eq) 4-6 (1) 5-6 (1) 5.5-6 (1)
Fluid Milk (cups) 3 (1) 3 (1) 3 (1)

 

3-day School Week- Lunch Grades K-5 Weekly (daily) Grades 6-8 Weekly (daily) Grades 9-12 Weekly (daily)
Fruits (cups) 1.5 (0.5) 1.5 (0.5) 3 (1)
Vegetables (cups) 2.25 (0.75) 2.25 (0.75) 3 (1)
Dark Green 0.5 0.5 0.5
Red/Orange 0.5 0.5 1
Beans/Peas (Legumes) 0.5 0.5 0.5
Starchy 0.5 0.5 0.5
Other 0.25 0.25 0.5
Additional Veg to Reach Total 0 0 0
Grains (oz eq) 5- 5.5 (1) 5-6 (1) 6-7 (2)
Meats/Meat Alts (oz eq) 5-6 (1) 5.5-6 (1) 6-7 (2)
Fluid Milk (cups) 3 (1) 3 (1) 3 (1)

 

Four Day School Week Meal Component Adjustments
4-day School Week- Breakfast Grades K-5 Weekly (daily) Grades 6-8 Weekly (daily) Grades 9-12 Weekly (daily)
Fruits (cups) 4 (1) 4 (1) 4 (1)
Grains (oz eq) 5.5-8 (1) 6.5-8 (1) 7-8 (1)
Fluid Milk (cups) 4 (1) 4 (1) 4 (1)

 

4-day School Week- Lunch Grades K-5 Weekly (daily) Grades 6-8 Weekly (daily) Grades 9-12 Weekly (daily)
Fruits (cups) 2 (0.5) 2 (0.5) 4 (1)
Vegetables (cups) 3 (0.75) 3 (0.75) 4 (1)
Dark Green 0.5 0.5 0.5
Red/Orange 0.75 0.75 1.25
Beans/Peas (Legumes) 0.5 0.5 0.5
Starchy 0.5 0.5 0.5
Other 0.5 0.5 0.75
Additional Veg to Reach Total 0.25 0.25 0.5
Grains (oz eq) 6.5-7 (1) 6.5-8 (1) 8-9.5 (2)
Meats/Meat Alts (oz eq) 6.5-8 (1) 7-8 (1) 8-9.5 (2)
Fluid Milk (cups) 4 (1) 4 (1) 4 (1)

 

Six Day School Week Meal Component Adjustments
6-day School Week- Breakfast Grades K-5 Weekly (daily) Grades 6-8 Weekly (daily) Grades 9-12 Weekly (daily)
Fruits (cups) 6 (1) 6 (1) 6 (1)
Grains (oz eq) 8.5-12 (1) 9.5-12 (1) 11-12 (1)
Fluid Milk (cups) 6 (1) 6 (1) 6 (1)

 

6-day School Week- Lunch Grades K-5 Weekly (daily) Grades 6-8 Weekly (daily) Grades 9-12 Weekly (daily)
Fruits (cups) 3 (0.5) 3 (0.5) 6 (1)
Vegetables (cups) 4.5 (0.75) 4.5 (0.75) 6 (1)
Dark Green 0.5 0.5 0.5
Red/Orange 0.75 0.75 1.25
Beans/Peas (Legumes) 0.5 0.5 0.5
Starchy 0.5 0.5 0.5
Other 0.5 0.5 0.75
Additional Veg to Reach Total 1.75 1.75 2.5
Grains (oz eq) 9.5-11 (1) 9.5-12 (1) 12-14.5 (2)
Meats/Meat Alts (oz eq) 9.5-12 (1) 11-12 (1) 12-14.5 (2)
Fluid Milk (cups) 6 (1) 6 (1) 6 (1)

 

Seven Day School Week Meal Component Adjustments
7-day School Week- Breakfast Grades K-5 Weekly (daily) Grades 6-8 Weekly (daily) Grades 9-12 Weekly (daily)
Fruits (cups) 7 (1) 7 (1) 7 (1)
Grains (oz eq) 10-14 (1) 11-14 (1) 12.5-14(1)
Fluid Milk (cups) 7 (1) 7 (1) 7 (1)

 

7-day School Week- Lunch Grades K-5 Weekly (daily) Grades 6-8 Weekly (daily) Grades 9-12 Weekly (daily)
Fruits (cups) 3.5 (0.5) 3.5 (0.5) 7 (1)
Vegetables (cups) 5.25 (0.75) 5.25 (0.75) 7 (1)
Dark Green 0.5 0.5 0.5
Red/Orange 0.75 0.75 1.25
Beans/Peas (Legumes) 0.5 0.5 0.5
Starchy 0.5 0.5 0.5
Other 0.5 0.5 0.75
Additional Veg to Reach Total 2.5 2.5 3.5
Grains (oz eq) 11-12.5 (1) 11-14 (1) 14-17 (2)
Meats/Meat Alts (oz eq) 11-14 (1) 12.5-14 (1) 14-17 (2)
Fluid Milk (cups) 7 (1) 7 (1) 7 (1)
Page updated: February 11, 2022