Updated School Meal Standards: working towards a common goal of healthy children and helping them reach their full potential.
School meals will continue to include fruits and vegetables, emphasize whole grains, and give kids the right balance of nutrients for healthy, tasty meals. For the first time, schools will focus on products with less added sugar, especially in school breakfast.
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.
Learn more about the nutritious, 100% American grown USDA Foods that are designed to meet the needs of the specific population each program serves.
Decision tree to help determine how to get your product considered for USDA Food distribution programs.
USDA foods are required to meet a minimum criteria to be considered for purchase.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foods are foods purchased from American farmers, dairies, ranchers, and fisheries to support Federal nutrition assistance programs and American agriculture.
The Child Nutrition Labeling Manual provides food manufacturers with instructions on how to apply and obtain approval for a CN label.
The Operational Challenges in Child Nutrition Programs surveys, are designed to collect timely data on emerging school food service operational challenges, including but not limited to supply chain disruptions, food costs, and labor shortages, and/or related issues.