FNS Documents & Resources

These resources provide school nutrition professionals with the knowledge and tools to implement and meet the professional standards requirements within their programs.

The Professional Standards Summary of Updates flyer provides an overview of the professional standards requirements which consist of hiring standards and annual training requirements for state directors of school nutrition programs, state director of distributing agencies, school nutrition program directors, managers, and staff.

The Food Buying Guide for child nutrition programs has all of the current information in one manual to help you and your purchasing agent buy the right amount of food and the appropriate type of food for your program(s), and determine the specific contribution each food makes toward the meal pattern requirements.

A central resource outlining the USDA Professional Standards requirements for state and local school nutrition professionals.

This Q&A memorandum is designed to provide an overview of the policies related to the Professional Standards regulations for state and local school nutrition program personnel. 

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.

This final rule adds four flexibilities to the hiring standards for new school nutrition program directors in small local educational agencies and new state directors of school nutrition programs under the Professional Standards regulations for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.

This memorandum informs stakeholders on the progress made by FNS in updating the food crediting system for all child nutrition programs. This is a first step towards improving the crediting system to best address today’s evolving food and nutrition environment and meet the needs of those operating and benefiting from the CNPs.

This proposed rule would add four flexibilities to the hiring standards for new school nutrition program directors in small local educational agencies and new school nutrition program state directors under the professional standards regulations for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.

The Special Nutrition Program Operations Study is a multiyear study designed to provide the Food and Nutrition Service with a snapshot of current state and school food authority policies and practices of the school meal programs, including information on school meal standards, competitive foods standards, professional standards, school lunch pricing and accounting, and Smarter Lunchrooms activities.