USDA's school meal programs - the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) - serve nutritious meals to 30 million children each day to support their growth, learning, and overall health. In close collaboration with our school meals partners, USDA is working toward stronger, healthier school meals to set children up for success.
USDA announced proposed updates to the school nutrition standards. Learn more. |

Updating the School Meal Nutrition Standards
By law, school meals must be based on the goals of the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Therefore, USDA sets school meal nutrition standards to ensure that schools offer students the right balance of nutritious foods and beverages to support good health.
Over the past decade, school nutrition professionals, the school food industry, and other partners have made incredible strides in strengthening the nutrition of school meals; research shows school meals are the healthiest meals children eat in a day! Still, there is more we can do to support child health. USDA is committed to ensuring school meals continue to provide the very best for our children, and we are working with schools, parents, industry, and other school meal partners every step of the way.
For background information on the school meal programs and school meal nutrition standards, see: