Gradual implementation of nutrition updates, to include less sugar, set to begin in Fall 2025

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2024 – Today, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced major steps to promote the health of America’s children through school meals. Nutrition standards for school meals will be gradually updated to include less sugar and flexibility with menu planning between Fall 2025 and Fall 2027. The Department arrived at these changes after listening closely to public feedback and considering the latest science-based recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The new rule continues the work of the Biden-Harris Administration to address both food and nutrition security.

K-12 schools serve nutritious breakfasts and lunches to nearly 30 million children every school day. These meals are the main source of nutrition for more than half of these children and help improve child health.

“We all share the goal of helping children reach their full potential,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Like teachers, classrooms, books, and computers, nutritious school meals are an essential part of the school environment, and when we raise the bar for school meals, it empowers our kids to achieve greater success inside and outside of the classroom. Expanding on this major milestone, the Biden-Harris Administration will continue to partner with schools, districts, states and industry to build on the extraordinary progress made to strengthen school meals.”

The final rule previewed today, is a significant step toward advancing the Administration’s national strategy to end hunger and reduce diet-related disease by 2030 set forth at the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in September 2022.

“The new standards build on the great progress that school meals have made already and address remaining challenges - including reducing sugar in school breakfasts. These updates also make it easier for schools to access locally sourced products, benefiting both schools and the local economy,” said USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service Administrator Cindy Long.

Key updates to the nutrition standards to support healthy kids include:

Added Sugars

• For the first time, added sugars will be limited in school meals nationwide, with small changes happening by Fall 2025 and full implementation by Fall 2027. USDA heard concerns from parents and teachers about excessive amounts of added sugars in some foods, which factored into this new limit. Research shows that these added sugars are most commonly found in typical school breakfast items. Child care operators will also begin limiting added sugars in cereals and yogurts – rather than total sugars – by Fall 2025.

Milk

• Schools can continue to offer flavored and unflavored milk, which provide essential nutrients that children need, such as calcium, vitamin D and potassium. There will be a new limit on added sugars in flavored milk served at breakfast and lunch by Fall 2025. Thirty-seven school milk processors – representing more than 90% of the school milk volume nationwide – have already committed to providing nutritious school milk options that meet this limit on added sugars.

Sodium

• Schools will need to slightly reduce sodium content in their meals by Fall 2027. In response to public comments, USDA is only requiring one sodium reduction, and not the three incremental reductions that were proposed last year. This change still moves our children in the right direction and gives schools and industry the lead time they need to prepare. The sodium limits in this final rule will be familiar to schools, as they were supported by leading school nutrition and industry stakeholders during previous rulemaking activities in 2017 and 2018.

Whole Grains

• Current nutrition standards for whole grains will not change. Schools will continue to offer students a variety of nutrient-rich whole grains and have the option to offer some enriched grains to meet students’ cultural and taste preferences.

Supporting Other Food Preferences

• While not a new requirement, starting in Fall 2024 it will be easier for schools to serve protein-rich breakfast foods such as yogurt, tofu, eggs, nuts, and seeds, which can help reduce sugary food options, while also supporting vegetarian diets and other food preferences.

Supporting Local Food Purchases

• Also starting in Fall 2024, schools have the option to require unprocessed agricultural products to be locally grown, raised or caught when making purchases for school meal programs, making it easier for schools to buy local foods.

Additionally, starting in Fall 2025, schools will have limits on the percentage of non-domestic grown and produced foods they can purchase, which will enhance the role of American farmers, producers, fishers, and ranchers in providing nutritious foods to schools.

For more information about how school meals will be strengthened, see these resources:

• Infographic – Overview of Key Updates to School Nutrition Standards
• Infographic – Implementation Timeline for Key Updates to School Nutrition Standards

What’s Staying the Same

School meals will continue to emphasize fruits and vegetables; whole grains; and give kids the right balance of many nutrients for healthy, tasty meals. School nutrition professionals are local experts in their communities and will continue serving meals that their students want to eat, while also prioritizing cultural and religious food preferences.

Nutritious School Meals Are Invaluable to Everyday Families

• "Free breakfast lunches that my grandkids eat at school are huge relief,” said MomsRising member Mary Beth Cochran, a disabled homemaker raising four grandkids in Canton, North Carolina. “Honestly, I don't know what we would do without school meals. It gives me so much peace of mind to know that no matter what the kids will eat two balanced meals five days a week at school. So, I'm thrilled the USDA is taking action to raise nutrition standards for school meals. As a grandmother I'll move mountains to make sure my grandkids get the healthy food they need to learn and grow. I'm proud to support this rule because I know it will make a real difference for the health and well-being of families like mine."

School Districts Empowered to Meet Updated Standards

Today’s announcement comes a few weeks after the Spring 2024 Heathy Meals Summit in St. Louis, Mo., where hundreds of school nutrition professionals gathered to celebrate and share their innovative efforts to enhance the nutritional quality of school meals. As part of USDA’s Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, 264 small and rural school districts each received up to $150,000 to equip them with the resources to improve their meal service operations and help them meet these updated nutrition standards.

Through the School Food System Transformation Challenge Grants, the initiative is also supporting innovation in the school meals market by increasing collaboration between schools, food producers and suppliers, and other partners.

Food Industry is Answering the Call to Produce Nutritious School Foods

• “Prior to the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, my company JTM food group began reformulating our K 12 product offerings to reduce sodium. During COVID, we continued our R&D efforts in reviewing formulations, especially in our cheese and items to further reduce the sodium in anticipation of the new meal pattern,” said Carole Erb, JTM Executive Director of Education and Governmental Sales. “JTM team members have collaborated in bringing to the market reduced sodium products that will meet the new meal pattern today. We are ready to continue supporting all food service directors across the country and the important work that they and their staff are doing, feeding America's children and nourishing the nation.”
• “As a mom and an industry member I think it's important to reduce sugar in school meals. To help schools, we created a sample menu showing how our products fit with the updated standards. We’ve also reduced added sugar by using high quality natural ingredients that ensure our baked goods are healthy and delicious," said Laura Trujillo Bruno, RDN, SNS, President of Buena Vista Foods

More Support from a School Nutrition Professional

• “The nutrition standards give us a framework to build on and help us know that the meals we're serving are nutritious for our students. The standards help us create equity in our food system by ensuring that all kids receive healthy meals at school. And in fact, we know that school cafeterias are the healthiest places that Americans eat,” said Boston Public Schools Executive Director for Food and Nutrition Anneliese Tanner. “In Boston Public Schools we've already been moving in this direction. We have the same added sugar limits in place and reduce sodium in our menus and we have for many years. So, complying with the new regulations is totally doable. There's a long implementation runway for others to move in this direction as well.”

Additional Background on School Nutrition Standards

By law, USDA is required to set standards for the foods and beverages served through the school meal programs that align with the goals of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Each school develops meals that fit within these standards and reflect tastes and preferences of the students they serve.

The Department proposed updates to the standards in February 2023 and received tremendous feedback during the 90-day public comment period that resulted in more than 136,000 total public comments. These comments were considered in the development of the finalized nutrition standards. Leading up to the proposed standards, USDA held more than 50 listening sessions with state agencies, school districts, advocacy organizations, tribal stakeholders, professional associations, food manufacturers and other federal agencies.

The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA are dedicated to supporting the school nutrition programs. While schools bounced back from the pandemic, the Department provided them more purchasing power to buy American foods and opportunities for enhanced grant programs for updating equipment, product innovation, staff training and farm to school efforts that serve the needs of their local school districts.

To learn about more ways USDA is investing in school meal programs, see the Support for Schools webpage.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe and healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean-energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

Additional Resources

• Webpage – Final Updates to the School Nutrition Standards
• Media Toolkit – School Nutrition Standards Media Toolkit
• Comparison Chart – Current and Final School Meal Standards
• Infographic – How We Got Here: School Nutrition Standards Final Rule
• Webpage – Healthy Meals Incentives
   

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service recently published a proposed rule that will help ensure the federal child nutrition programs are being operated properly. These regulatory updates will strengthen and clarify the process for correcting major mismanagement problems, also called serious deficiencies, found in FNS’ child nutrition programs.

The proposed changes will ensure that procedures in Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program, also known as CACFP and SFSP, align with current requirements under law, by:

1. Providing operators a fair path to fully correct serious mismanagement problems;
2. Clarifying termination and disqualification criteria for SFSP operators;
3. Addressing legal requirements for obtaining records of individuals who are disqualified from the program and sponsoring organizations that operate in multiple states;
4. Establishing a serious deficiency process for unaffiliated child care and adult day care centers in CACFP.

USDA is also proposing a standard definition of what it means for an operator to be in “good standing,” which currently does not exist.

This rule is one of many steps that USDA is taking to continually bolster the integrity of the federal child nutrition programs, which help millions of children across America reach their full potential.

The public is invited to comment on the proposed changes. The comment period is open until May 21, 2024.

###

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

The 2018 Farm Bill authorized USDA to establish a demonstration project for one or more tribal organizations administering the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) to enter into self-determination contracts as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, to purchase USDA Foods for the FDPIR food package for their tribe.

Under normal program operations, all USDA Foods provided in the FDPIR food package are purchased and provided by USDA. Through this demonstration project, participating tribes are able to:

• select one or more foods that they would like to procure for inclusion in the food package,
• identify the food(s) in the food package that they would like to supplant with the tribally procured food(s),
• establish contract(s) with a vendor(s) to procure the selected food(s), and
• distribute the tribally procured food(s) alongside other USDA-provided foods in the FDPIR food packages distributed to their tribal members.

There are a few requirements associated with the tribally procured foods, including that they are domestically sourced and that they are of similar or higher nutritional value as the food(s) being replaced.

The demonstration project:

• supports tribal self-governance by allowing participating tribes to purchase similar foods of their choosing, supporting tribal dietary preferences;
• allows tribes to purchase foods through commercial vendors of their choice;
• supports tribal economies as tribes may choose to contract with local, regional, and/or tribal vendors; and
• provides FNS with an opportunity to see how tribal procurement may work under a food distribution program model across region, program size, and food selection.

The map below highlights tribes currently participating in the demonstration project:

Round 2 Projects

USDA awarded $4.4 million dollars to tribal nations participating in round 2 of the demonstration project. Project implementation began in August 2023 with some contracts expected to last up to three years, through 2026. More information on each tribe's project is outlined below.

Cherokee Nation

Tribally Procured Foods	beef chuck roast, ground beef chubs
USDA Supplanted Foods	beef chuck roast, ground beef chubs
Vendors	1839 Cherokee Meat Company (Native vendor)
Distribution Months	36 months

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

Tribally Procured Foods	ground beef, beef chuck roast, celery, lettuce, cabbage, carrot, squash, cucumber, honey dew melon, peaches, oranges, apples, cherries, apricots, eggs
USDA Supplanted Foods	ground beef, beef chuck roast, celery, lettuce, cabbage, carrot, squash, cucumber, cantaloupe, peaches, Crenshaw melon, apples, cherries, apricots, eggs
Vendors	Hines Meat Company, Yakama Nation Farms (Native vendor), Rez Chicks Fresh Eggs Cooperative (Native vendor)
Distribution Months	36 months

Gila River Indian Community

Tribally Procured Foods	tepary beans
USDA Supplanted Foods	dry beans
Vendors	Ramona Farms (Native vendor)
Distribution Months	14 months

Quinault Indian Nation

Tribally Procured Foods	canned albacore tuna, canned Coho salmon, canned King salmon, King salmon fillet, razor clams, ling cod, rock fish
USDA Supplanted Foods	chunk light tuna, canned chicken, canned beef, frozen salmon, bison, walleye, whole frozen chicken, catfish
Vendors	Quinault Pride Seafood (Native vendor)
Distribution Months	36 months

Sokaogon Chippewa Community

Tribally Procured Foods	wild rice, carrots, cauliflower, pickling and slicing cucumbers, sweet corn, roma and slicing tomatoes, zucchini, bison burger, ground beef, pork chops, chicken breast
USDA Supplanted Foods	wild rice, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, sweet corn, tomatoes, zucchini, bison burger, ground beef, pork chops, chicken breast
Vendors	Forest County Potawatomi's Bodewewadmi Ktegan Farm (Native vendor), Carson Ackley, Wild Rice Harvester (Native vendor), James Polar, Sr., Wild Rice Harvester (Native vendor)
Distribution Months	36 months

Spirit Lake Tribe

Tribally Procured Foods	bison
USDA Supplanted Foods	bison
Vendors	North American Bison, LLC
Distribution Months	36 months

Beginning Oct. 2023, Spirit Lake Tribe will be offering a variety of tribally procured bison products to their participants as part of their FDPIR Self-Determination Demonstration Project. The products include: bison dogs, bison ribeye, bison sirloin steak tips, and bison burgers.

Tohono O'odham Nation

Tribally Procured Foods	soft wheat berries (various), hard wheat berries, wheat flour (various), white tepary beans, brown tepary beans, garbanzo beans
USDA Supplanted Foods	dehydrated potatoes, cherry apple juice, corn flakes cereal, all-purpose flour, egg noodles, canned pinto beans, dry pinto beans, cream of chicken soup
Vendors	Ramona Farms (Native vendor), San Xavier Cooperative Farm (Native vendor)
Distribution Months	36 months

White Mountain Apache Tribe

Tribally Procured Foods	barbecue corn, corn, summer squash, patty pan squash, green chilies, blue corn meal, ground beef, tongue, intestines, steak, liver, sweet bread, walnuts, acorns, pine nuts
USDA Supplanted Foods	canned corn, fresh corn, squash, canned carrots, jalapenos, yellow corn meal, ground beef, bison, chicken, roast beef, canned chicken, canned beef, peanuts, peanut butter, and fruit and nut mix
Vendors	Ndee Bikiyaa Farm (Native vendor), SPO Land and Cattle Co.
Distribution Months	36 months

Round 1 Projects

USDA has awarded $5.7 million dollars to tribal nations participating in round 1 of the demonstration project. Project implementation began in October 2021 with some contracts expected to last up to three years, through 2024. More information on each tribe's project is outlined below.

Oneida Nation and Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin (joint project)

Tribally Procured Foods	ground beef, bison, beef roast, apples, white fish/lake trout, wild rice, walleye
USDA Supplanted Foods	ground beef, bison, beef roast, apples, catfish/salmon, wild rice, walleye
Vendors	Oneida Nation Farm, Oneida Nation Apple Orchard, Red Cliff Fish Company, and Spirit Lake Native Farms
Distribution Months	6 - 24 months

A video showcasing the Oneida Nation - Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, self-determination demonstration project, and the many benefits the project is bringing to tribal members. Video production credit: The Self-Governance Communication & Education Tribal Consortium (SGCETC).

Wild rice from Spirit Lake Native Farms. The Oneida Nation and Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin are partnering on a joint self-determination demonstration project that will provide tribally procured ground beef, bison, beef roast, white fish, lake trout, apples, and wild rice to their FDPIR participants.

Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBB)

Tribally Procured Foods	all fresh produce, walleye
USDA Supplanted Foods	all fresh produce, walleye
Vendors	Red Lake Nation Fishery
Distribution Months	24 months

Jake Robinson (right), General Manager of Red Lake Nation Fishery, delivers walleye fillets to Joe Van Alstine (left), FDPIR Program Director for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. Red Lake Nation Fishery is located in Redby, Minnesota, and is owned and operated by Red Lake Nation.

Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Tribally Procured Foods	frozen white fish, carrots, potatoes of various colors, cucumbers, romaine/butterhead/green leaf lettuce, frozen squash, apples, fresh and frozen blueberries, wild rice, tomatoes, onions, summer squash, radishes, cherry tomatoes, winter squash, salad mix, smoked fish
USDA Supplanted Foods	salmon, carrots, red potatoes, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, canned vegetables, apples, frozen blueberries, wild rice, tomatoes, onions, summer squash, radishes, cherry tomatoes, winter squash, canned fish
Vendors	Dynamite Hill Farms, Highland Hill Farms, Red Cliff Fish Company, and Mino Bimaadiziiwin Tribal Farm
Distribution Months	31 months
Program Contact	Vincent "Butch" Bresette Butch.bresette@redcliff-nsn.gov (715) 779-3740

The Mino Bimaadiziiwin Farm, which is owned and operated by The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, provides fresh produce to FDPIR participants through the demonstration project. Produce items provided by the farm for the project include everything from carrots and squash to lettuce and salad mix.

The Red Cliff Fish Company is located within the Red Cliff Reservation, which spans 22 miles of Lake Superior shoreline in northern Wisconsin. Through the FDPIR self-determination demonstration project, Red Cliff Fish Company will provide fish products to FDPIR participants in The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the Oneida Nation, and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.

Check out the project photo gallery. 

Chickasaw Nation

Tribally Procured Foods	ground beef, roast beef, dry hominy, stew meat, pecans
USDA Supplanted Foods	ground beef, roast beef, wild rice, canned beef, peanuts
Vendors	Rolland Ranch Beef, Guderian Foods, and Bryant Pecan Company
Distribution Months	24 - 33 months

Ground beef from Rolland Ranch Beef, LLC. The Chickasaw Nation is utilizing FDPIR self-determination contract funding to purchase both ground beef and roast beef from Rolland Ranch Beef, LLC., a tribally-owned and family-operated ranch in Checotah, Oklahoma.

Beef products from a local tribal producer at a Chickasaw Nation food distribution warehouse. Through the demonstration project, Chickasaw Nation is purchasing a variety of tribally-produced foods for the FDPIR food packages distributed to their tribal members. These products include ground beef, roast beef, dry hominy, stew meat, and pecans.

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC)

Tribally Procured Foods	Alaskan halibut, cod, Alaska grown potato
USDA Supplanted Foods	catfish, walleye, russet potato
Vendors	Kodiak Island WildSource and Knik Tribe
Distribution Months	14 - 28 months
Project Contact	Dana Diehl ANTHC Director, Wellness and Prevention info.fdpir@anthc.org (907) 729-2440

The Alaska Native Health Consortium, known as ANTHC, operates a FDPIR self-determination demonstration project that provides foods to 18 tribes across Alaska. Learn more about the ANTHC project in this video.

Healthy potato plants growing at the Knik Tribe farm near Palmer, Alaska. Beginning in fall/winter 2022, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium will purchase potatoes from the farm with FDPIR self-determination contract funds.

Gregory Nothstine (center), FDPIR Program Director for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), and Mike Reusser (left) and Jim Baldwin (right) of the Food Bank of Alaska (FBA), receive a first shipment of Alaskan halibut at the FBA warehouse in Anchorage, Alaska. ANTHC purchases the fish with self-determination contract funds and then works with FBA to ship the product (along with other FDPIR foods) to 21 tribal villages throughout the state.

Barbara Lopez (FNS Senior Technical Advisor for Supplemental Nutrition and Safety Programs), Gregory Nothstine (FDPIR Program Director for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC)), and Dana Diehl (Director of the Wellness and Prevention Department at ANTHC), in front of the Kodiak Harbor in Kodiak, Alaska. Fresh Alaskan cod and halibut for the demonstration project are fished out of the harbor and processed by Kodiak Island Wildsource, a business owned and operated by the Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak, before being shipped to FDPIR participants across Alaska.

Lummi Nation

Tribally Procured Foods	salmon, halibut, prawns/shrimp, crab
USDA Supplanted Foods	catfish, walleye
Vendors	Nexwelhqeyem Seafood, LLC and Finkbonner Shellfish
Distribution Months	six months or more

Lummi Nation Commodity Foods staff proudly display frozen sockeye salmon fillets purchased with FDPIR self-determination contract funds. Lummi Nation manages several treaty-reserved fisheries off the Washington coast and will be providing a variety of local seafood items to FDPIR participants through the demonstration project.

Check out the project photo gallery!

Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI)

Tribally Procured Foods	turnip greens, collard greens, yellow squash, red/green tomatoes, tomato berries, bell peppers, hot/sweet peppers, cucumbers
USDA Supplanted Foods	romaine lettuce, summer squash, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green pepper, cucumbers
Vendors	Choctaw Fresh Produce
Distribution Months	36 months

An employee of Choctaw Fresh shows off some fresh collard greens that will be put into FDPIR food packages for eligible tribal members. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is purchasing a variety of fresh vegetables from the Choctaw Fresh Farm, an organic produce farm located on the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Reservation.

Collard green seedlings waiting to be planted in a high tunnel. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is purchasing turnip greens, collard greens, yellow squash, tomatoes, tomato berries, bell peppers, cucumbers, and a variety of hot and sweet peppers, for FDPIR participants through the FDPIR self-determination demonstration project.

Demonstration Project Resources

• Federal Register Documents
• Resources (webinars/FAQs)
• USDA Communications (press releases/blogs)
• FDPIR Sharing Gallery
• USDA Indigenous Food Sovereignty Initiative