FNS Documents & Resources

This final rule - Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans - is the next step in continuing the science-based improvement of school meals and advancing USDA’s commitment to nutrition security.

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.

This webinar gives an overview of the rulemaking process, highlights specific regulatory changes and provisions that impact the school meal programs, and provides information regarding resources for the final rule.

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.

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

Los estándares profesionales son una norma que determina los requisitos anuales de capacitación y criterios de contratación para profesionales en los programas de nutrición escolar. Estas normas brindan estándares profesionales consistentes a nivel nacional y fortalecen la capacidad de los profesionales de la nutrición escolar para desempeñar sus funciones de manera eficaz y eficiente.

From this page, you may download the Spanish translation of the Prototype Application for Free and Reduced Price School Meals and accompanying materials.

The purpose of this new collection is to collect qualitative and quantitative stakeholder feedback through meetings, focus groups, interviews, other stakeholder interactions and surveys, as well as requests for administrative data, as part of the planning process for FNS regulatory actions, the semi-annual regulatory agenda, research studies, outreach, training and the development of guidance.