School Breakfast Meal Pattern Requirements

Course Description

This training describes how breakfast relates to children's health and achievement, the benefits of eating breakfast, and the daily and weekly requirements for a reimbursable breakfast. A variety of types of breakfast service is included as well as resources to provide and promote nutritious school breakfasts.

• Course Number: 131
• Training Length: 30 minutes
• Certificate: Available at the end of the training
• Target Audience: Food Service Director and Staff
• Mandatory: No
• Cost: Free
• Date Recorded: October 2019

Online Course

Please note that this training reflects the 2018 final meal pattern rule which codified three menu planning flexibilities for milk, whole grains and sodium in the National School Breakfast Program (SBP). On April 25, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), posted the Final Rule for Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. As of July 1, 2024, this final rule offers new flexibilities for School Nutrition Programs and implements updates to nutrition standards, the most notable being added sugar and additional sodium limitations. These updates will be phased in through school year (SY) 2027–2028.

This final rule also offers new flexibilities for Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) to meet the needs of vegetarian diets and other dietary preferences. Additionally, CNP operators may now include the term ‘local’ in bid specifications and procurements to support more fresh local foods. Review the following for additional details for meal pattern updates contained in the final rule:

Grains or Meats/Meat Alternates Meal Component

The meal component “Grains” is now the “Grains or Meats/Meat Alternates” meal component. The revised meal component provides flexibility for meal planners who wish to offer grains, meats/meat alternates, or both to meet the daily and weekly ounce equivalent requirement at breakfast.

Substituting Vegetables for Fruits at Breakfast

Vegetables may be substituted for fruits at breakfast.

• For SY 2024–25 only, schools may substitute any vegetable in place of fruit at breakfast on two or more days per school week without offering at least two different vegetable subgroups.
  
  
• As of SY 2025–26 (July 1, 2025) and beyond, schools offering vegetables in place of fruit once per school week may offer any vegetable. Schools offering vegetables two or more times per week in place of a fruit must offer vegetables from at least two vegetable subgroups which include dark green, red/orange, beans, peas, and lentils, starchy, or “Other Vegetables” subgroups, as defined in Title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (7 CFR) Section 210.10(c)(2)(ii).

Whole grain-rich

• The final rule did not include any major change to the meal pattern requirement requiring whole grain-rich products; for grades K-12; at least 80 percent of all grains offered weekly in school breakfast must be whole grain-rich. The remaining 20 percent or less of grains, if any, must be enriched. Preschoolers must be offered whole grain-rich foods at least once per day.

The USDA now defines a whole grain-rich product as one that contains between 50 and 100 percent whole grain, with any remaining grains being enriched.

Flavored Milk

Effective July 1, 2025, the flavored milk offered must contain no more than 10 grams of added sugar per 8 fluid ounces.

Program operators may continue to offer flavored fat-free or low-fat (1 percent) milk as part of the reimbursable meal for children in grades K-12. At least two milk choices must be offered. Pasteurized, fluid types of milk must meet state and local standards and contain vitamins A and D at levels specified by the Food and Drug Administration. All milk must be fat-free or low-fat. Milk with higher fat content is not allowed. Review the California Department of Education (CDE) Milk Requirements in Child Nutrition Programs for additional information.

Sodium Limits

The maximum sodium allowance for breakfast remains at Sodium Target 1 through June 30, 2027. Beginning July 1, 2027, the maximum sodium allowance for breakfast is reduced by 10 percent.

Sodium limits apply to the average meal offered during the school week. It does not apply daily or per-meal.

Added Sugars

• Product-based limits: Effective July 1, 2025, added sugar limits apply to breakfast cereals (≤6 grams or added sugar per dry ounce), yogurt (≤12 grams of added sugars per 6 ounces or 2 grams of added sugars per ounce), and flavored milk (≤ 10 grams of added sugars per 8 fluid ounces), as noted in the Flavored Milk section above.
  
  
• Weekly dietary limit: By July 1, 2027, the weekly dietary specifications will now include added sugars, requiring that less than 10 percent of calories per week in the school lunch and breakfast programs be from added sugars.

Refer to the California Department of Education (CDE) Breakfast Meal Pattern (Grades K–12) web page for the most up-to-date information on the meal pattern requirements.

For more information on the final rule, visit the USDA Final Rule - Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) web page or the Federal Register: Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 DGA web page.

Begin the School Breakfast Meal Pattern Requirements course.

California-specific Requirements

In addition to ensuring federal requirements for meals served as a part of the CNPs are met, program operators must also meet state requirements. Recently two new acts were passed in California that impact foods served in schools:

California Food Safety Act (Health and Safety Code Section 109025)

Prohibits the manufacture, sale, or provision (delivering, distribution, holding, and offering) of food products that contain brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and red dye number 3 beginning January 1, 2027.

California School Food Safety Act [California Education Code (EC) sections, 49431, 49431.2, 49431.5, 49501.5, and 49531]

Amends the definition of a nutritionally adequate breakfast and a nutritionally adequate lunch found in EC 49501.5, as of December 31, 2027, to meals that do not contain any of the following substances: Blue 1(Chemical Abstracts Service [CAS] 3844-45-9), Blue 2 (CAS 860-22-0), Green 3 (CAS 2353-45-9), Red 40 (CAS 25956-17-6), Yellow 5 (CAS 1934-21-0), and Yellow 6 (CAS 2783-94-0). Additionally, the act amended EC sections 49431 and 49431.5 to prohibit, effective December 31, 2027, the same additives in competitive foods sold in elementary, middle and high schools.

Referenced Resources

The following resources are referred to throughout this online course:

• CDE Breakfast Meal Pattern (Grades K–12) web page
  
  
• USDA Offer versus Serve Guidance for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the SBP SY 2015–16 web page
  
  
• USDA Whole Grain Resources for the NSLP and SBP web page .
  
  
• USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) web page
  
  
• CDE Competitive Foods and Beverages web page
  
  
• CDE Modifications to Accommodate Disabilities web page
  
  
• CDE Final Rule: Fluid Milk Substitutions web page
  
  
• USDA SP 40-2019 Smoothies Offered in the CNPs policy memo
  
  
• USDA Certification of Compliance Worksheets: 5-day Schedule web page
  
  
• Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Serving up Successful School Breakfast Program (PDF)

Crediting

• Crediting: 0.50 Hours
• Key Area: Nutrition (1000)
  • Training Topic: Menu Planning (1100)
    • Learning Objective: Analyze Menus (1150)

For more information on crediting, visit the USDA Professional Standards Learning Objectives and Training Topics web page.

Additional Information

For more information about nutrition education training and resources, visit the CDE Healthy Eating and Nutrition Education web page.

General Resources

• The CDE's NSLP and SBP Meal Patterns web page
  
  
• No Kid Hungry Center for Best Practices web page provides the tools and resources needed to help elected officials and their staff, educators, and community leaders achieve success in fighting childhood hunger. Learn what works in the fight against childhood hunger and discover toolkits, case studies, hunger stats, issue briefs, reports, and more.
  
  
• Action for Healthy Kids Breakfast for Healthy Kids web page provides resources including marketing materials, webinars, and helpful facts about school breakfast programs to help sell breakfast to administrators.
  
  
• Food Research and Action Center School Breakfast Scorecard (PDF) shares a report that indicates that school breakfast participation continues to rise, but did not grow fast enough to meet the urgent need of eligible, low-income children to receive a healthy breakfast every day.
  
  
• USDA Energize Your Day with School Breakfast web page provides a collection of digital resources that program operators and other stakeholders may use to establish or expand the breakfast service within their school. The web page includes modules on getting started, implementing, and marketing school breakfast.
  
  
• USDA SBP Marketing web page will help you develop a promotion plan for your SBP. It includes fun ideas to make the program more appealing to students and parents, strategies for approaching your marketing plan, and adaptable resources such as flyers, letters, public service announcements, newsletter inserts, newspaper articles, and information sheets.
  
  
• USDA Nutrient Analysis Protocols (NAP): How to Analyze Menus for USDA’s School Meals Programs (NAP Manual) provides process suggestions for selecting nutrient analysis software, obtaining nutrient analysis of menus, and guidance calculating nutrient analysis of menus offered in NSLP and SBP.
  
  
• USDA Offering Smoothies as Part of Reimbursable School Meals-Grades Kindergarten Through 12 (K-12) web page provides you menu planning ideas, crediting tips, sample menus, and more to demonstrate how both scratch-made and commercially-prepared smoothies can be offered as part of a reimbursable school breakfast or lunch.
  
  
• USDA Offering Meats and Meat Alternates at School Breakfast guide shows school nutrition professionals how to offer meats and meat alternates at school breakfast by providing menu planning ideas, crediting information, sample menus, and more.
  
  
• USDA Best Practices for Reducing Added Sugars at School Breakfast-Grades Kindergarten Through 12 guide provides school nutrition professionals training on how to identify sources of added sugars and specific ways to reduce the amount of added sugars in school breakfast meals.
  
  
• USDA School Breakfast Materials web page provides resources, hot topics, nutrition education, and recipes to incorporate in the SBP. 

Contact Us

If you have technical difficulties, please contact the Education and Nutrition Policy Unit by phone at 916-445-9127 for assistance. For questions regarding the course content, email your School Nutrition Program questions to SNPinfo@cde.ca.gov.