National School Lunch Program

 In FY 2018, schools served over 4.8 billion lunches to children nationwide.

 In FY 2018, schools served over 4.8 billion lunches to children nationwide.

Feeding the Future with Healthy School Lunches

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day. The program was established under the National School Lunch Act, signed by President Harry Truman in 1946.

Program Fact Sheet
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State Agency Program Operator Household

What's New?

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Food Distribution Program: Value of Donated Foods (July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020)
Notice
Method II ART Grant Summaries
Grants
Demonstration Project for Non-Congregate Feeding for Outdoor Summer Meal Sites Experiencing Excessive Heat with Questions & Answers
Policy
USDA FNS Data Validation Service Information for Vendors and State System Owners
Webinars/Videos
Evaluation of the School Meal Data Collection Process
Research
National School Lunch, Special Milk, and School Breakfast Programs: National Average Payments/Maximum Reimbursement Rates (July 1, 2019 -June 30, 2020)
Notice
NSLP USDA Foods Product Information Sheets - Vegetables
Info Sheets
Child Nutrition Tables
Data
NSLP USDA Foods Product Information Sheets - Fruits
Product Information
NSLP USDA Foods Product Information Sheets - Grains
Info Sheets
NSLP USDA Foods Product Information Sheets - Meat/Meat Alternates
Info Sheets
Comment Request - Food Programs Reporting System
Notice
Comment Request - Information Collection for the National School Lunch Program
Notice
Farm Bill Implementation Memo: Donated Traditional Foods and Civil Liability
Policy Memos
Comment Request - Food Distribution Programs
Notice
Child Nutrition Reporting Burden Analysis Study
Research

Spotlights

Smart Snacks in Schools

Tools for Schools: Focusing on Smart Snacks

A number of tools and resources are available to help schools identify food items that meet Smart Snacks criteria. See the resources below for information about the Smart Snacks requirement, helpful tools, and ways to encourage children to make healthier snack choices that give them the nutrition they need to grow and learn.

Verification Toolkit
Sat, 12/08/2018 - 11:04 am
Community Eligibility Provision
Fri, 04/19/2019 - 10:39 am