FNS Documents & Resources

School meals are an important part of making sure kids get what they need to grow and learn. We know you want the best for our nation's children and USDA is investing in making school meals even healthier.

Updated School Meal Standards: working towards a common goal of healthy children and helping them reach their full potential.

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.

This memorandum provides updated guidance on crediting tofu and soy yogurt products in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and extends previous guidance on crediting tofu and soy yogurt products to the Summer Food Service Program, as well as to the infant meal pattern in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

The Child Nutrition Database is a required part of the nutrient analysis software approved by USDA for use in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. It is a nutrient database of over 9,000 food items.

The Meats/Meat Alternates Tip Sheet is designed for program operators as a handy and easy-to-use reference on how to credit meats/meat alternates and incorporate them into the meal pattern requirements.

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. 

I'm New to Farm to School is a place full of resources to help you to get your farm to school program growing. 

Comparison Chart: Current Standards vs. Proposed Standards