FNS Documents & Resources

Meal pattern chart for the National School Lunch Program

A webinar overview on the Transitional Standards for Milk, Sodium, and Whole Grains for Industry Partners. 

Meal pattern calculations for short and long weeks. This applies to schools who regularly operate on a shorter or longer weekly cycle.

Professional Standards for school nutrition professionals is a key provision of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The final rule, published March 2, 2015, requires a minimum amount of annual training hours for all state directors of school nutrition programs, state director of distributing agencies, school nutrition program directors, managers, and staff.

FNS staff discuss the updated preschool meal patterns in the National School Lunch Program (including snack service) and School Breakfast Program, as well as the updated milk requirements in the Special Milk Program, which went into effect on Oct. 1, 2017.

These materials were compiled to assist companies who are developing or revising certification of compliance/menu planning software for USDA to approve for use in certification of compliance with the National School Lunch Program meal pattern requirements.

FNS menu worksheet is a tool designed to assist school food authorities in demonstrating that each of the menus meets the new meal pattern for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.

Attached for your use is a prototype Performance Work Statement, Evaluation Criteria and Performance Metrics document to assist state agencies that wish to procure a contract(s) to perform the performance-based reimbursement certification and other training activities to support the Certification of Compliance With Meal Requirements for the National School Lunch Program Under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 Interim Rule and the new meal pattern final rule.

Presentation. Certification of Compliance with New Meal Pattern Requirements

Summary of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act 2010 by Program