USDA intends to use all available program flexibilities and contingencies to serve our program participants across our 15 nutrition programs. We have already begun to issue waivers to ease program operations and protect the health of participants.
The proposed rule - Child Nutrition Programs: Revisions to Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans - is the next step in an ongoing effort toward healthier school meals that USDA and the broader school meals community have been partnering on for well over a decade. This table is a reference tool for stakeholders to visualize the proposed implementation timeline.
Added sugars provision of the Child Nutrition Programs: Revisions to Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans proposed rule.
Provisions in the proposed rule that could impact CACFP and/or SFSP.
Whole grains provision of the Child Nutrition Programs: Revisions to Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans proposed rule.
Sodium provision of the Child Nutrition Programs: Revisions to Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans proposed rule.
Milk provision of the Child Nutrition Programs: Revisions to Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans proposed rule.
Comparison Chart: Current Standards vs. Proposed Standards
For children to grow and reach their full potential, it is critical that they have access to nutritious foods and develop lifelong healthy dietary habits.
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.