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.
Check out this database to access vendor-specific product information for all direct delivered USDA Foods for the National School Lunch Program.
This interactive webinar series highlights resources and materials that address hot topics in school meals. FNS regional offices, state agencies, school food authorities and others who may be interested are invited to participate.
Team Nutrition staff and guest speakers from the Arizona Department of Education and Bellingham Public School, Washington shared strategies and success stories utilizing standardized recipes that incorporate cultural food preferences and locally grown foods.
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.
USDA has established procedures to annually collect and publish the paid lunch prices charged by school food authorities.
These questions and answers provide more information about the USDA Foods Database for states/school districts.
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 Farm to School team has cultivated resources, trainings, and technical assistance to help your program grow.