FNS Documents & Resources

On April 25, 2024, FNS published the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This rule includes minor updates to the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program to better align Child Nutrition Program requirements. These updates represent continued progress toward supporting the nutrition quality of school meals, strengthening the Child Nutrition Programs, and advancing USDA’s commitment to nutrition security. 

This rulemaking finalizes long-term school nutrition requirements based on the goals of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, robust stakeholder input, and lessons learned from prior rulemakings.

Healthy Eating Index scores range from 0 to 100 and are a measure of diet quality used to assess how well a set of foods aligns with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. A higher score is ideal. The FDPIR Food Package scores an 84. This is higher than the average U.S. diet, which scores a 59.

Check out this database to access vendor-specific product information for all direct delivered USDA Foods for the National School Lunch Program.

The Menu Planner for School Meals has been revised to reflect the Child Nutrition Programs: Transitional Standards for Milk, Whole Grains, and Sodium Final Rule that was published in February 2022.

This rulemaking proposes long-term school nutrition standards based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, and feedback the USDA received from child nutrition program stakeholders during a robust stakeholder engagement campaign. 

This factsheet explains how USDA Foods support the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the school meal pattern requirements to make it easier for schools to prepare healthy meals using local foods.

This webinar provided state agencies and school districts instructions on how to navigate the USDA Foods Database to access vendor-specific product information, including nutrients, allergens, ingredients and certifications.

The FNS State Systems team has produced a series of training presentations designed to help state agencies understand and comply with the FNS approval process. These eight on-line presentations correspond to FNS Handbook 901, with information on the key documents or phases in the process.