Check out this database to access vendor-specific product information for all direct delivered USDA Foods for the National School Lunch Program.
Find resources to implement, sustain and maintain your farm to school program.
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.
This factsheet provides information on "Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption.".
This fact sheet provides information on Good Agricultural Practices, recognized practices intended to prevent the microbial contamination of fresh produce, and how these practices apply to purchasing and growing local food products for farm to school activities.
This fact sheet outlines a number of additional resources for those seeking to directly purchase or raise food products for school nutrition programs.
"Food Safety Frequently Asked Questions: The Food Safety Modernization Act and its Impact on Farm to School Activities": This document includes common questions related to food safety when purchasing locally grown and raised food products directly from producers as well as food safety considerations for edible campus gardens.
The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will discontinue the requirement for vendors to use high security seals to secure USDA Foods deliveries as of July 1, 2023.
These questions and answers provide more information about the USDA Foods Database for states/school districts.
This fact sheet presents effective strategies for supporting community food systems.