Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Resource | Infographics How We Got Here: School Nutrition Standards Final Rule

School nutrition professionals continue to make school meals the healthiest meals children eat in a day! To take school meals to the next level, USDA is updating the school nutrition standards after considering recommendations from the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans and listening to a diverse range of voices with experience in child nutrition and health.

04/24/2024
Resource | Technical Assistance & Guidance USDA Foods Database

Check out this database to access vendor-specific product information for all direct delivered USDA Foods for the National School Lunch Program.

11/09/2023
Resource | Toolkits USDA Foods Toolkit for Child Nutrition Programs

The USDA Foods Toolkit is a collection of valuable resources to assist child nutrition professionals in effectively using their USDA Food entitlement and to help them educate students, staff, and the community about the healthy contributions that USDA Foods provide to their meal programs.

10/20/2023
Resource | Technical Assistance & Guidance Integrated Food Management System (IFMS)

The Integrated Food Management System replaces the legacy, Automated Inventory System. IFMS consolidates food distribution transactions into a seamless, easy-to-use cloud-based platform.

10/11/2023
Resource | Technical Assistance & Guidance USDA DoD Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program

The USDA DoD Fresh program allows schools and ITOs to buy fresh produce. The program is operated by the Defense Logistics Agency at DoD. 

07/12/2022
Resource | Info Sheets School Lunch and Breakfast Sodium Limits and Timeline

National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program sodium limits and timeline

02/24/2022
Resource | Technical Assistance National School Lunch Program Meal Pattern Chart

Meal pattern chart for the National School Lunch Program

02/24/2022
Resource | Webinars/Videos Transitional Standards for Milk, Sodium and Whole Grains - Webinar for State Agencies and School Food Authorities

Webinar on transitional rule for state agencies & school food authorities.

02/16/2022
Resource | Final Rule Transitional Standards for Milk, Whole Grains and Sodium - Final Rule

This final rule will establish transitional standards to support the continued provision of nutritious school meals as schools respond to and recover from the pandemic and while USDA engages in notice-and-comment rulemaking to update the meal pattern standards to more comprehensively reflect the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

02/07/2022
Resource | Policy Memos Child Nutrition Waiver Update to Address Meal Service During Unanticipated School Closures and Supply Chain Issues

This memo announces a new set of child nutrition program waivers for school year 2021-2022. Since March 2020, USDA has worked to ensure state agencies, schools and other community partners have the tools they need to maintain children’s access to nutritious meals during COVID-19.

09/22/2021
Page updated: October 14, 2021